Hood Robin Bill

The budget bill currently under consideration by the Senate should rightfully be called the “Hood Robin Bill” as it is the exact reverse of what the Robin Hood legend stood for. This bill takes from the poor to give to the rich.

According to economist Robert Reich, Americans making between $17,000 and $51,000 will lose about $700 a year under the bill. Americans with incomes of less than $17,000 will lose more than $1,000 a year. But if you are among the top 0.1% of earners, you’re in luck: you’ll gain nearly $390,000 a year.

Hood Robin, indeed.

— Sandy Schuller, Carmel Valley

Artificial intelligence

Here’s a way to think about AI: you’re in high school taking the final on the Industrial Revolution. The kid next to you leans over and whispers “I know all the answers, trust me.” Tempting, right? But this isn’t the history nerd offering to help; this kid stole the term papers from everyone in class. Yes, everyone, from the student who spent hours researching to the goofball who fabricated a story complete with fake revolutionaries and a guillotine.

Next stop the art room where drawings of bouquets are on display. Yours looks great, thanks to AI. But look closely — the rose in your drawing looks a lot like that kid’s work, and the color balance seems like that one over there. You and the whisperer are happy; the true artists wonder, “wait, isn’t that by me?”

In tech speak it’s called “scraping.” A whole world of research, artistic talent, and goofball answers, chopped in tiny bits and presented with authority. Like that high school whisperer, there’s no knowing if sources are trustworthy or which artist deserves credit. So, as with an unreliable friend, let AI help with mundane tasks, but it shouldn’t replace thinking for ourselves or valuing creativity.

— Helen Spiess Shamble, East Garrison

PG&E rates

According to the Herald, after a whopping 68.6% increase in PG&E bills over the last five years, the CEO somehow predicts that bills won’t rise, and may even fall, despite the fact they are requesting their “smallest general rate case percentage increase in a decade.” That’s like your proctologist telling you that this year’s colonoscopy will be more enjoyable because he’ll take it slower.

— Glenn Nolte, Carmel Valley

Monterey crosswalks

To the Monterey City Council: Prices are rising and public funding for critical needs is in short supply. Should you squander tax money on the offensive stupidity of rainbow crosswalks, I for one will recreate elsewhere to avoid my cooperation, and I will urge others to do the same.

— John Conricode, King City

Transgender athletes

The Monterey County Republican Party strongly supports President Donald J. Trump’s threat to protect women’s sports by threatening to withhold federal funding from California due to its non-compliance with his February 2025 executive order banning transgender women from competing in female sports. This move addresses the unfair participation of biological males in women’s athletics, ensuring fairness and equal opportunities for female athletes.

Citing the case of AB Hernandez, a California high school junior who won titles in girls’ triple and long jump at the CIF Southern Section postseason, President Trump emphasized the need for compliance with his executive order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” He stated that California’s allowance of such participation is “totally demeaning to women and girls” and warned of potential permanent funding cuts if the state does not comply.

“We applaud President Trump for defending our daughters and upholding fairness in women’s sports,” said Greg Fuller, Vice Chair of the Monterey County Republican Party. “This action will protect the integrity of female athletics in Monterey County and beyond. Gavin Newsom and the California Democrats clearly don’t care about our children.”

The Monterey County Republican Party remains committed to advocating for policies that ensure fairness, protect women’s rights, and strengthen our communities.

— Brian Higgins, political director, Monterey County Republican Party