When floods, tornadoes hit the Midwest, the West helps pay. So why can't we have some water?

I was disappointed to read the letters from Messrs. Cofeil and Babb regarding the pumping of water from the Midwest to the West Coast to ease our drought. First off remember this is the United States, not a group of independent countries.

Rainfall that falls or drains into the Mississippi River on its way to the Gulf of Mexico doesn't belong to anyone unless it is damned and managed. Both authors tend to malign California, but other western states including west Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Nebraska are also facing water shortages. Each year, the Mississippi overflows and inundates towns and farmlands adjacent to the river.

FEMA and insurance companies " bail" the displaced and property owners out of their distress. Don't forget that when hurricanes hit Lake Pontchartrain and the waters overflow into New Orleans, I'll bet then you wish there was a pump diverting the excess water elsewhere.

Also remember — in southern and midwestern states with high unemployment, the number of jobs that could be created with a water pipeline or revenue received for the unused water could certainly help the local economies.  Incidentally, California is the biggest subsidy to the insurance companies and the federal government supporting FEMA and is key in rebuilding your flooded states.

Mike McGinley, Palm Springs

How about going to the water, instead of bringing it to you?

Dear Readers of The Desert Sun: You live in the desert. Either you chose to live in the desert, or you have chosen not to leave it. That's OK. This is America, live where you want. What I want from you is to see that leaving the "Great Mississip" to run her course as a practical decision.

Have you looked at the Mississippi Valley area on a satellite map? Please do so now.

Done? OK. See all that dark green on both sides of the crik? The muddy waters saturate the earth with all that water. I know that you know corn grows in the earth, not in sand. Cows grow fat in this valley and the world depends on that, including yourselves.

As a matter of the aforementioned practicality, leave the river where it's at and move yourself to a place where there is water. "Iowa nice" is a real thing; if that doesn't suit you, Illinois is as blue as it gets.

Now that I think about it, it's pretty narcissistic to think you can bring something like the Mississippi River to you instead of going to her. That's kinda funny.

Taffy Gilman, Davenport, Iowa

Before taking Midwest water, Californians need to stop wasting what they have

Recently, I have read several letters under your banner advocating diverting water from the Mississippi River to California.  That may be viable; however, first, you have to stop Californians from wasting water. When a resident of Palm Springs uses his water hose daily to wash the sand from his driveway, that is a waste of a very necessary commodity.  Stop the waste of water in California before seeking to deprive other Americans of their water.

Hugh Nisbet, Eolia, Missouri

Disappointed in Palm Springs City Council

I’m so upset Palm Springs decided to ignore the sentiment of so many. Frank Bogert deserves his place in Palm Springs history! He should be respected and remembered for all he did to develop Palm Springs. His statue should have been left at city hall.

It's now sitting in storage while they find a way to deceive people into believing this was “the right thing to do.” This council seems bent on destroying a deceased man’s name simply so they can promote their own one-sided, political agendas.

There will always be people who twist history. We the people deserve the freedom to decide for ourselves. Frank was re-elected three times. That says it all.

Is Sonny Bono next? How long before one person is offended by something in his life? “Let’s just erase it.” That seems to be the answer for everything these days.

Frank encouraged people to come, enjoy the multiple and diverse cultures of Palm Springs. His statue should be in a beautiful and honorable location to be seen by everyone who comes to Palm Springs.

The city government? You deserve to be replaced.

Betsy Ceccanti, Palm Desert

A public vote should have been held on Bogert statue

Joining the Cultural-Marxist movement to erase Palm Springs history by the arbitrary removal of the statute of former Mayor Frank Bogert is disingenuous, unethical, and anti-Democratic.

Art displays have always been subject to personal opinions, and even controversy, where, especially discourse and education are called for, not "erasure."

For the sake of the Democratic process of an open, honest display of governance, a public referendum should have been held, and allowed the collective voice of taxpayers decide the issue.

You cannot change history by "erasing" it because it is inconvenient to the narrative you may follow today.

This will cause a backlash by the voters, rightly offended, and suspicious of motives, that will likely lead to the removal of those involved in attempting to subvert democracy and truth.

As Georg Büchner famously had a character say: "Like Saturn, the revolution devours its own children."

Keep that in mind as you try to erase the existence of a (modern) Palm Springs public servant/city builder.

Steven Kovacs, Newmarket, Ontario

Women can challenge patriarchy — if they vote

History books always say that women were “granted” the right to vote on Aug. 18, 1920. Note the passive voice, like this was some gift bestowed by men, a population blessed with its own cherished suffrage from birth.

Women weren’t “granted” the right to vote; they earned it through years of demoralizing dinner-table debates, harrowing street marches, and condescending pats on the head from the men in their lives who found their lady friends’ discovery of their rights kinda cute. So let’s get past the idea of rights being “granted.”

Right now, women have an enormous choice in front of them. Are a minority of their sisters going to get away with deciding when they can procreate? Do citizens have the right to privacy?

The nightmare for men was that once women got the right to vote, they’d be a danger to their dominance. More than a century later, it’s time to prove them prescient.

Stewart Weiner, Palm Desert

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: When floods hit the Midwest, the West helps pay. So give us some water