Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.
Kennedy Center change
is a marketing stunt
Re: “Trump’s handpicked board votes to rename Washington performing arts center the Trump-Kennedy Center” (Dec. 18).
The board of trustees of the Kennedy Center, stacked with Trump appointees, recently voted to rename the institution the “Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” The White House has embraced the change, but legally, it means nothing.
The Kennedy Center was established by Congress in 1964 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. Its name is codified in federal law, and no board — no matter how politically loyal — has the authority to rename it. What Trump’s board has done is a marketing stunt, a symbolic attempt to attach his legacy to one of America’s most respected cultural institutions.
Paul Osborn
Morgan Hill
Rivian shareholders
should get over cold feet
Re: “Rivian tumbles after AI unveiling” (Page C7, Dec. 12).
It seems that some Rivian shareholders aren’t happy about management incorporating LIDAR into their internally designed AI chip, going into the second generation of the company’s vehicle.
As a current Rivian lessee, I had access to the livestreamed rollout of the new chip. The addition of the laser technology to the chip makes an already impressive sensor system into what is certainly one of the standard setters, if not the standard setter, in the industry.
Rivian’s vertical integration model for integrating hardware and software is designed to cut costs and facilitate innovation.
When the second-generation Rivian comes out in 2026, our only decision will be whether to stick with the larger R1 or go to the smaller R2.
Rivan shareholders need to be forward-thinking. Rivian will leave Tesla in the rear-view mirror with its innovation and engineering excellence.
Bruce Halen
San Jose
Homelessness takes
toll on whole society
Homelessness is not solely because of individuals, but a systemic failure.
As a student, my eyes remain open to the issues our country faces. Saddened and heartbroken, I cannot escape the reality that many people lack access to safe shelter, a basic human need for survival. People live on the streets, in their cars, in temporary shelters or in places where they face eviction, yet they keep living.
With ongoing economic uncertainty and fast-paced changes in living conditions, while structural and systemic support remains slow, the country’s economic balance is at risk. If the number of homeless individuals continues to grow, it shows that the government is failing to address a basic need.
This problem affects the overall social, psychological and economic well-being of the country.
Charmaigne Abad
Los Gatos
Dystopian dreams reflect
our dystopian times
I’ve had some very dark and scary dreams over the past month. In one, it’s a cold, overcast day when a young blonde boy loses his head in a guillotine, while in another, young women are in a cistern that is draining rapidly and begin to circle the drain before going under. The boy may be my own innocence decapitated, as well as the morality and values of the country that are being disposed of as the people vote against their best interest for people who promise them something they’ll probably never get.
The women circling the drain represent compassion, caring and inclusiveness dying all around me in a world gone mad with populism.
Politically, it is the “winter of our discontent.” In Steinbeck’s eponymous novel, a man willingly gives up his morality for success through unethical means. Frighteningly, our world is doing the same. I pray for better dreams.
Bob Cole
San Jose
Trump takes another
shot at people of color
Re: “National Park Service adds Trump’s birthday to free admission, drops MLK Day and Juneteenth” (Page A3, Dec. 7).
Donald Trump has decided his birthday is more important to our country than MLK Day and Juneteenth. Is it “America First” or “Trump First”? Next, he will have his birthday recognized right up there with Washington’s and Lincoln’s, along with his likeness on Mt. Rushmore.
Trump’s bashing of people of color is absolutely shameful and as un-American as anything can be. We have all made our contributions, and we all deserve respect.
Thomas Rudolph
Brisbane
Leave a Reply