Your letters to the editor: Biden, traffic cameras in Victorville and justice

Biden's energy policies are causing price hikes

President Biden is so blooming belligerent by blaming the oil and gas companies for high gas prices trying to pull the wool over our eyes to forget it was his executive orders that killed the Keystone Pipeline. He is now Ben Franklin’s national bird in fruition: A Turkey.

— Irv Kettler, Victorville

Authoritarian streak in American politics must be eradicated

Regarding Eugene Robinson's recent column on the Republican party: You had me until this statement: "But seeing the GOP as some kind of unstoppable juggernaut is wrong." Au contraire, Mr. Robinson. Believing the GOP, while in disarray, are not a formidable threat is naive. Two points: Firstly, the elected GOP has cowered to an autocrat. The real threat isn't just those in power positions. It's GOP voters who have been duped into supporting a new authoritarian regime with principles rapidly leading to an autocratic takeover of our government. Reference the authoritarian laws the GOP states are adopting. These voters and the new laws are perpetuating the threat against our nation's democratic principles. Just as threatening are the voters opposing authoritarianism yet choosing to remain silent. Voter complacency is a constant danger to the loss of democracy. Secondly, Mr. Robinson's rehashing everything Trump's narcissism has caused is counterproductive. We know the problem: Trump caused it, and the GOP and Republican voters are helping. Like an invasive plant killing off all the native vegetation, the threat of autocracy is spreading its roots. We need more comments focusing on the eradication of the threat and less on its proliferation.

— Ed Jackman, Apple Valley

American justice system badly needs reform after recent verdicts

Charles Dickens wrote in "Oliver Twist" that "The law is an ass." I'm inclined to agree. When we have cases such as the Zimmerman and Rittenhouse verdicts handed down, numerous men spending decades in prison then being released due to faulty convictions, and many states making attempts to disenfranchise voters, how can any other conclusion be reached? The depictions of a blindfolded Justice holding scales should show her with one eye exposed because justice in America is neither blind nor even-handed.

— Jerry Hutchinson, Apple Valley

Traffic cameras in Victorville are a government intrusion

Now that the city of Victorville has decided to engage in the surveillance of its tax-paying citizens, who, by the way, are paying for this intrusive eye in the sky with their taxes, I wonder how many conservatives out there think it's a good idea. We all know your pro-law enforcement rhetoric is simply a sham, but aren't you supposed to be for a smaller government, free from government "control "? The city says this is in response to the crime rate in the city. I doubt this will prevent any shootings, burglaries, or robberies on the streets. I would rather see that money go to another officer or two on the street instead of law-abiding innocent people having their vehicle information and their daily whereabouts recorded and shared with "who knows who." Why does law enforcement need to track our daily movements? Oh, that whole bit about "we only share the info with other law enforcement agencies" is just laughable. Businesses can easily have their databases hacked by a fifth-grader with a laptop. Nothing is safe anymore. What is the cost of personal freedom vs. privacy in America? Suppose only 1% of the information recorded is responsible for the arrest of a criminal. In that case, we have to ask ourselves, is it worth giving up our privacy for such an invasion of our privacy with an inconsequential result? The answer is no. Even if only one criminal is caught, is giving up my privacy worth it. So the next time you are driving on the streets of Victorville obeying the law, going to your church, businesses, friends place, smoke shop, or liquor store, remember your vehicle info, location, time, and date will now be recorded and can be used by law enforcement for whatever reason they see fit to concoct a reason to use it. We all know law enforcement would never lie to us.

— John Martin, Victorville

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Your letters to the editor: Biden and traffic cameras