Letters to the editor: Court isn't using common sense; don't wait to conserve water
Court failing to protect rights
Justice Amy Coney Barrett apparently thinks adoption is a satisfactory alternative to abortion, this perhaps to make the Mississippi anti-abortion law seem fairer for those women trapped by its provisions.
Goodness, why don’t these women, many now fleeing to pro-choice states for termination, think of this option? Could it be they’d already rejected it for reasons they deemed fully adequate?
I’d always assumed my body belonged to me, all of it — lungs, heart, spleen and yes, even uterus. Strange to think that ownership of the last could be abridged by the state I live in because of laws made in compliance with other people’s religious beliefs.
I notice Justice Barrett recently commented to a friendly crowd that they should not view the judges as “political hacks.” But I’m afraid that horse already left the barn even before she came on the court. It rode out on Citizens United, a judgment that gave moneyed interests the right to disregard campaign limits on the grounds of free speech, i.e., money equals speech. What a boon to the plutocracy.
Or perhaps it’s our insane gun laws. That poor little Second Amendment, created to assuage southern states’ fears of federal overreach, has been stretched by the Supreme Court to forbid the most ordinary and prudent limits to gun’s use and ownership.
We are awash in heavy weaponry, the body count rises daily — and we hardly need an armed militia these day to return runaway slaves to servitude.
This court majority fails to protect both basic rights and common sense. It does not deserve respect.
Margaret Morris, Ventura
Need water conservation now
Recently, The Star published an article that state water officials were warning of more water conservation measures coming if we did not get more rain. Water levels are very low in reservoirs. What are they waiting on?
As of July 1, we stopped watering our 1,000-square-foot yard of grass. Since July, we have saved, according to our water bills, 21,692 gallons of water for drinking, bathing, toilets, and growing food. Or 29 (HCF) of water. One HCF equals 748 gallons of water. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Charles Shelton, Camarillo
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Court isn't using common sense; don't wait to conserve water
