America is a nation of laws, not of one person’s personality or ideology | Opinion

America is a nation of laws, not men

The lessons of history are clear. If we as a nation fail to abide by the rule of law, we will descend into anarchy, and disintegration.

A sizable portion of this nation’s people have chosen to blind themselves to those who are committing crimes to be faithful to their ideology. This cannot end well. The rule of law should be the ultimate guide for how our nation should conduct itself, regardless of ideology.

If you do not like the laws that currently exist, change them, but do not ignore the laws that now stand to satisfy your ideological views. Doing so may lead us down a path of destruction from which we may never return.

Move cannabis biz from Pinedale

We, the Pinedale community, oppose a cannabis dispensary in our neighborhood. We are not opposing cannabis; we are opposing the location, which is in close proximity to residences — 345 feet. This is the third attempt by a cannabis business attempting to build in our neighborhood.

It will create a nuisance due to increased traffic. Noise irritants will rid the area of vagrants, who will move into the residential area. We frequent the shopping center, and will be forced to share a parking lot with security guards carrying guns. The applicant scored 43% in safety. This is not conducive to our sense of safety.

Kastner & CW students walk past the location on their way to school. There is no established boundary between the location and the laundromat/restaurants. Pinedale Elementary is 1,000 feet away; City code says it must be 800. Consider the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law. Children have a right to safety. They are powerless, so it our responsibility to speak on their behalf.

We implore decision makers to consider what is best for children. Build it in an industrial area away from homes, schools and churches.

Student loans need to be repaid

It is amazing how many students who knowingly took out a government-financed loan don’t know that it is not a gift, free ride, entitlement, etc., but a loan that they all agreed to repay.

Anything other than having to repay the loan would be a stab in the back to those students who understand the word “loan” and have or continue to be responsible in paying back.

Youth voice on global warming

The Bee is to be commended for its recent publication of an Opinion piece by Shiv Mehrotra-Varma recounting his trip to Washington, D.C. to lobby on behalf of San Joaquin Valley residents affected by global warming.

Considering his age, his writing is stellar, but far more impressive is his dedication to urging our representatives to support climate action.

My sister’s daughter recently confessed she was jealous of her parents, who are in their 70s. I quote: “You’ll be dead before it gets really bad.” Shiv is 16. His motivation makes sense: He’ll be around a long, long time.

Liberals should stop whining

Liberals (which I am) should quit crying and complaining about the Supreme Court’s decisions on abortion and LGBTQ rights. They have only themselves to blame. In the 2016 election they could have voted for the unlikable Hillary Clinton and beat Trump, but many Democrats decided to stay away, thereby giving the presidency to the Republican party.

We are now paying the price for decisions made in November of 2016. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past; we need to study the candidates, understand their platforms and make wise decisions.

Do not base your decisions purely on personality, which many did when deciding not to vote for Hillary Clinton.

Economics of rent control are clear

The economics of rent control are clear: It tends to reduce the supply of rental housing, for a number of reasons spelled out clearly in Thomas Sowell’s lucid analysis of rent control (“Basic Economics,” pp. 39-47). It gives landlords less incentive to repair or maintain their property, leading to the deterioration of that property, hence further reducing the supply of rental housing.

Average rents go up if rent control is restricted below some specified level, as presumably they would be, for the goal is to assist the poor and needy. On top of this, places with rent control, like San Francisco and New York City, have more homeless people than places without it.

Rent control is supported by people who don’t understand the economics of it, and no doubt because it seems common-sensical to them and because it “feels” right. After all, the goal is to assist the poor; and only a hard-hearted Republican landlord would oppose it. In many cases, politicians bow to rent control advocates, knowing that there are more votes to be gained by catering to tenants or would-be tenants than to either landlords or those few people who understand the economics of rent control.

Abortions should always be available

After reading my beliefs on a controversial subject, I would hope for whomever is reading this to be open-minded. Abortions should always be available to those who need a second chance. There are some people out there who are not being careful and safe when it comes to being sexually active, and if we are being honest here, some people are not meant to take care of another human life.

If abortion rights were removed, you would have more teens having babies when they are children themselves. Also, you would have a rape victims stuck with a baby from an action she never consented on.

Some may say that pro-abortion believers are being selfish; I say pro-abortion believers are strong because making a big decision like that is not easy.

This story was originally published July 9, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "America is a nation of laws, not of one person’s personality or ideology | Opinion."