Re “So there’s no way to prevent shootings?” (Nov. 5):
While columnist Larry Wilson is correct about the scarcity of mass shootings in other countries, the real problem in the U.S. is that we resort to violence far more often than other countries.
The possession or absence of guns isn’t the only cause of violence; Utah has relatively lax gun laws compared to California, yet its murder rate and violent crime rates are about half of that of California and firearms are used in a smaller percentage of its murders. If we subtract the murders committed with guns from the U.S. murder rate, we will still have a higher murder rate than England, France or Germany. Our rate of rapes is nearly three times higher than that of Germany, and higher than most other European countries. Let’s address why Americans resort to violence more frequently than the citizens in other countries, and thus drive down all those numbers.
— Jim Winterroth, Torrance
Crisis in the Middle East
Re “Israel resists ‘pause’ in war” (Nov. 4):
Hamas started the current crisis in the Middle East, so why is Secretary of State Blinken and the U.S. pressuring Israel and PM Netanyahu to conduct a unilateral stand down for a “humanitarian pause” in this conflict? Hamas is the culprit. Israel is correct in demanding the release of all hostages (including U.S. citizens being held) if there is to be any “pause” in their retaliation against Hamas for their barbaric actions on Oct. 7. Perhaps Secretary Blinken should have set his plane’s GPS for Tehran, Iran, instead of Tel Aviv, Israel. That way he could meet with the actual players in charge of invoking any kind of “pause” to this ugly war.
— Dain Gingerelli, Temecula
Sen. Tommy Tuberville
In the Friday, Nov. 3 newspaper you had a lengthy story about Sen. Tommy Tuberville holding up hundreds of military advancements over an abortion issue that has nothing to do with the careers he is adversely affecting.
Nowhere in the story does it make clear just how one man can have such authority. To me, that is the real story. Although the review of military promotions is usually routine, a single senator can pause the process by putting a hold on nominations and no one can override him? Details please.
— R.L. Carpenter, Huntington Beach
![Re “Fiscal policy still matters” (Nov. 5): The United States of America’s national debt is $33 trillion. Without figuring the interest and paying the debt off at a thousand dollars a second it would take over a thousand years to pay off the debt. We hear from the running politicians that we are strapping our children and grandchildren with the debt. There aren’t enough generations in the future of America’s history to pay off the debt we now owe. The credit card debt in America is $1 trillion. The credit card debt interest at 18% per year is $180 […]](https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-5.jpg?w=513 "Re “Fiscal policy still matters” (Nov. 5): The United States of America’s national debt is $33 trillion. Without figuring the interest and paying the debt off at a thousand dollars a second it would take over a thousand years to pay off the debt. We hear from the running politicians that we are strapping our children and grandchildren with the debt. There aren’t enough generations in the future of America’s history to pay off the debt we now owe. The credit card debt in America is $1 trillion. The credit card debt interest at 18% per year is $180 […]")
![It is real on our campuses Oh, campus antisemitism is real all right. It’s being shown nightly on the news mostly by the right-leaning Fox News. I am somewhat flummoxed personally because most all modern civilized societies have rejected the tenets of Nazism with its fascist underpinnings. The barbarism exhibited by the terrorist group Hamas justifies Israel’s quest for retribution. It is a terrible shame that they hide behind civilians and expect a pass for their reprehensible actions on Oct. 7. College campuses across our nation now have on full display the poisonous antisemitism of progressive thought. That thinking […]](https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-3.jpg?w=513 "It is real on our campuses Oh, campus antisemitism is real all right. It’s being shown nightly on the news mostly by the right-leaning Fox News. I am somewhat flummoxed personally because most all modern civilized societies have rejected the tenets of Nazism with its fascist underpinnings. The barbarism exhibited by the terrorist group Hamas justifies Israel’s quest for retribution. It is a terrible shame that they hide behind civilians and expect a pass for their reprehensible actions on Oct. 7. College campuses across our nation now have on full display the poisonous antisemitism of progressive thought. That thinking […]")
![Re “HB goes ahead with library censors” (Nov. 2): Well it’s good to know, not surprising, but still disappointing all the same, that your editorial board is another liberally biased media outlet in this state. There used to be a fair amount of conservatives in Orange County. I’m not sure of the percentage anymore but I can assure you we are underrepresented in the media. The column today, “Huntington Beach goes ahead with dystopian library censors,” is a clear attack on conservatives and conservative values. God forbid there are many (if not most) of us who don’t want our […]](https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-2.jpg?w=513 "Re “HB goes ahead with library censors” (Nov. 2): Well it’s good to know, not surprising, but still disappointing all the same, that your editorial board is another liberally biased media outlet in this state. There used to be a fair amount of conservatives in Orange County. I’m not sure of the percentage anymore but I can assure you we are underrepresented in the media. The column today, “Huntington Beach goes ahead with dystopian library censors,” is a clear attack on conservatives and conservative values. God forbid there are many (if not most) of us who don’t want our […]")
![Re “Gov. Newsom’s hypocritical trip to Israel and China” (Oct. 31): During Gavin Newsom’s meeting with President Xi, he discussed climate change and reducing the use of fossil fuels. He ignored the fact that China is building coal-burning power plants at a rapid rate. China is not going to stop this practice for strategic reasons. China has little fossil oil resources and relies on other countries for crude oil, which is normally delivered by tanker ships on the Pacific. If China goes to war with our country, our Navy will immediately stop all oil shipments to China via the […]](https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-1.jpg?w=513 "Re “Gov. Newsom’s hypocritical trip to Israel and China” (Oct. 31): During Gavin Newsom’s meeting with President Xi, he discussed climate change and reducing the use of fossil fuels. He ignored the fact that China is building coal-burning power plants at a rapid rate. China is not going to stop this practice for strategic reasons. China has little fossil oil resources and relies on other countries for crude oil, which is normally delivered by tanker ships on the Pacific. If China goes to war with our country, our Navy will immediately stop all oil shipments to China via the […]")