The word architect means master builder. It also carries with it the master responsibility.

This is in response to Les Muller’s Jan. 14 letter titled “Unions now angry.”

In reference to the Jan. 23 Valley Voices commentary by George L. Strasser about our electric rates with Pacific Gas & Electric, let’s be clear: PG&E is a for profit company, not a public utility. Just as insurance companies (both medical, life, auto) are for profit, any benefit or rate reductions are an anathema to a for-profit entity. They report to their investors, not to the public.

The Bee had an editorial Jan. 20 about Pacific Gas & Electric spending $3.5 million to collect signatures for “The Taxpayers Right to Vote Act,” which The Bee pointed out sounds good, but it’s just opposite.

What has happened to the money for our schools? When you have too many social welfare programs that require more money than allowed for with the tax revenues, you have to cut education costs.

Since Time magazine began in 1923, its covers have often been the faces of history, portraits of those on whom Americans' attention was focused. Only Herbert Hoover, among 16 U.S. presidents since 1923, was never on Time's cover. Franklin D. Roosevelt, a president often compared to President Obama (and once morphed by Time into him), was on a cover once before and only four times during his 12-year presidency.

Speaking of homeless people, how about the new gathering over at Blackstone and Barstow? Sometimes there are panhandlers on all four corners and both medians at the same time. They actually work in shifts and have an early and a late shift.

As I go through my day, I wonder when we Americans will wake up to the fact that our government is corrupt? Our government has gotten so big, we can no longer afford it! Are we ever going to wise up to their tricks?

On the news recently, there was a story of a 2010 Camry that speed out of control and overturned in a river. The driver, it was reported, has spinal injuries.

A Baghdadi blows herself up to take a few dozen others with her who disagreed with her on who should have succeeded Muhammad 14 centuries ago. (This was the source of the Sunni-Shiite disorder.) Splendid enlightenment!

I read George Strasser's Valley Voices commentary about Fresno's outrageous energy bills with a great deal of interest.

The crowd was there (more than 200). The subject was known (water). But where was Jim Costa, our elected congressman?

A universal single-payer health care system is the only solution to the current disaster with a “for profit” that is only beneficial to the insurance industry at the cost of taxpayers dollars the health of the citizens of our country.

At a water meeting in Los Banos, Congressman Jim Costa was asked why he didn’t vote for all seven of Rep. Devin Nunes’ legislative attempts to pass “Turn on the Water Pumps” bills. Rep. Costa responded he voted six of seven times for the Nunes legislation.

I noted with great interest and approval your Jan. 24 article on lawyers who turn to crime. However, you should have noted the statistics. The State Bar of California notes the group of attorney violators amounts to .0121% statewide.

In response to the column, “Even White Men Can Exceed Expectations,” by Leonard Pitts Jr, I believe we should all take into consideration of Mr. Pitts’ message that “excellence is a question of expectation, of how you see yourself.”

Recent letters from Beverly Sue Hartshorn and Rodney J. Nidever both agree: Do what Jesus did and the Bible says. Basically, interpolating God’s word in 2010. They believe their modern answers to illegal aliens and homosexuality can simply be found in the archaic Bible. But my findings differ, using exactly their own logic.

Regarding the column, “Even white men can exceed expectations”: I think it is pitiful that people want to start a white-only basketball league. Men that think they have a right to establish this league because they can’t compete with black men are just ridiculous.

They say they need a “supermajority” to provide health care to Americans. The U.S. constitution says that you need a two/thirds senate vote to declare war. That didn’t stop them from running off to war in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

To the irresponsible pet owners of the grey and white cat that roams the area of Belmont and Clovis avenues, this update is for you. Your unspayed cat found shelter in my front yard for her six kittens, who were still nursing. Since I already have two house cats and a dog, keeping the new ones inside permanently was not an option. Before I could find shelter in my backyard, one got killed on Belmont Avenue. I am providing for the remaining five kittens and the mother, hoping each day that no more will get killed.

A recent letter from Douglas Jackson took issue with the city of Fresno for enforcing trespassing laws, which resulted in the displacement of a group of people who had set up a homeless camp on a vacant downtown lot. It’s important to note that the city and its partner agencies spent the prior two months working directly with the men and women living in the camp to connect them with services and available housing.

Thanks to Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea, it is now obvious that Sheriff Margaret Mims did not exhaust all budgetary remedies before deciding on the draconian cuts she proposed in her budget.

A reader wrote, “After reading about marchers in Phoenix …” related to deporting illegal aliens, “I would like to answer the question … What would Jesus do?” Her answer was, “He would say keep the laws of the land. He believed in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.”

'Feel Better Now?' The entire national financial calamity was caused by American people spending money that didn’t actually exist. To rectify the grievous error of people spending money that doesn’t exist, the government decided to spend a lot of money that doesn’t exist (taxing people and businesses).

A recent blog entry I read argued that security is not an issue for high-speed rail because hijacked rail cars can not fall from the sky like aircraft. In Fresno, however, they could.

In response to Leonard Pitts’ column on the absence of a conservative conscience, I would submit that his piece was unfair and one-sided. The statement he quoted by Rev. Pat Robertson is unjustifiable, however, neither he nor Rush Limbaugh are representative of all conservatives or Christians.

Scott Roeder has rightly been convicted of murdering late-term abortionist George Tiller. The so-called Army of God, whose Web site promotes acts of violence against abortionists, does not represent the pro-life movement, which is convinced of the need to love the many staff members in every abortion center, just it is convinced of the need to build a culture of life through loving both mother and child.

I was standing in the grocery check-out line when I saw the news. Brad and Jen are back together.

Two days after changes to breast cancer screening guidelines were announced, Steve Poizner, California’s insurance commissioner, said state law continues to require insurance coverage for breast cancer screening.

We recently learned that John Ostlund’s KYNO radio will expand to reach from Sacramento to Santa Barbara to compete with KMJ. I feel it important to mention that KMJ is about marginalizing a large swath of the people who live here, polarizing listeners in our community into halves.

Victor Davis Hanson (Fresno Bee, Jan. 31) points out that since the beginning of the Obama administration unemployment has gone from 7.6% to its present 10%. What he does not point out is that since around May or June of 2009, only three or four months after the Obama stimulus package was passed, the rate of increase has been declining and seems to have leveled off.

In response to the editorial, “President, cabinet members don’t understand Valley issues,” The Bee left out Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, along with Rep. Jim Costa.

As we were watching highlights from the recent State of the Union Address, our government class was wondering why the Democrats and the Republicans sit on different sides of the aisle. If they sat together, wouldn’t they send the message that they would be more willing to work together?

Let’s get rid of the term limits law and replace it with a term limit law. “Limiting” a politician to six years in the Assembly and then eight years in the Senate still makes a pretty nice career of living off of the public.

In response to Mike Loudon’s Jan. 30 letter: There is a San Francisco group called “TURN” that helps with telephone, electricity and other outrageous utility problems endured by the taxpayers.

It struck me after learning of the Citizens United case that money is not speech. Sorry, guys. The trouble with legal training is it can lay false parameters to decisions, which create a tunnel-vision effect, even for those who strive to use reason correctly.

Prisons are designed to punish criminals! God has said thou shalt not kill! Part of punishment is loss of choices that are yours before incarceration.

Regarding the column, “Even white men can exceed expectations,” Leonard Pitts is completely right. It feels as if whites have been making excuses for themselves since the dawn of time.

Promises. Promises. Another long campaign speech by our President, and a lot more promises. Let’s hope he keeps them this time.

Krisztina Mendonca (Jan. 29 letter) fails to realize that the Supreme Court in the case of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Committee upheld the right of freedom of speech in an election when they overturned the Feingold/McCain Act. These controls over our free elections had to be stopped if we are to continue to function as a free democratic republic. What a sad state of affairs if one of the greatest nations on earth would have to admit that our people have been so naďve, so gullible, so completely helpless in making decisions of political importance that we should fear giving our opponents the freedom to voice their side of the matter.

Thank you for your story on Cliff Tutelian’s improvements to the International Trade Center (along with John Walker’s photographs).

Thomas Jefferson: “I place economy among the first and most important of virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.” How true!

In his Jan. 26 commentary, Jerry Duncan failed to mention several things.

Krisztina Mendonca [letter Jan. 29] fails to realize that the Supreme Court, in the case of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Committee, upheld the right of freedom of speech in an election when they overturned the Feingold/McCain Act. Besides restricting campaign contributions, the Feingold/McCain Act placed a gag order on all new campaign ads within 30 days of an election.

Kudos to Fresno Unified School District Superintendent Michael Hanson for wanting to provide opportunities for students and teachers with his new charter proposal [story Jan. 27]. What about my colleagues and me?

The president has again done a magnificent job of embarrassing himself as well as our great nation. Rep. Joe Wilson was correct in accusing the president of not being truthful.

The California Charter Schools Association congratulates the Fresno Unified School District on its creativity in developing a new district charter and its associated nonprofit organization [story Jan. 27].

Ironically, Rodney J. Nidever’s letter Jan. 28 regarding Christians righting the wrongs of other Christians in regard to such things as slavery, gives weight to the argument that history will be on the side of same-sex marriage.

America’s economy is in the tank and needs a shot. We are blessed with great amounts of oil in Alaska, under our coastal waters, and in large fields of shale oil lying on top of the ground.