Definition of scandal is skewed

Re "Up-down day for Gingrich" (Page A1, Jan. 20): We seem to care more about which candidate is having an affair with whom than the 20,000 children who die every day from hunger. Is this what America is supposed to be?

– Julian Woodfork, Sacramento

Obama is wrong on Keystone

Re "Obama rejects oil pipeline for now" (Page A8, Jan. 19): The proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Nebraska to Texas was rejected by President Barack Obama because he said there was not enough time to study the pipeline within the 60-day deadline imposed by congressional Republicans. Yet Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., said that last November, Nebraska came to an agreement to reroute the pipeline, allowing the administration to approve the pipeline permit and create thousands of jobs. There is no reason for continued delay.

– Keith Erlewine, Sacramento

Bain Capital creates jobs

Re "Tax all income similarly" (Letters, Jan. 19): Perhaps the letter writer is not aware of a corporate tax which Bain Capital pays, 35 percent, the highest rate in the world.

I grow tired of hearing the Democrats' whiny mantra of "pay your fair share." Romney created wealth and a tax base.

– Darrell Reeves, Carmichael

Defense cuts are dangerous

Re "U.S. military future: Strong reasons to cut spending" (Online, Jan 9): In his column about President Obama's plan for a slimmer military, defense analyst Michael O'Hanlon noted that the president's vision doesn't account for the trillion-dollar defense cuts proposed by the congressional debt ceiling deal, $500 billion of which would be cut indiscriminately from every defense line-item, from three-ring binders to body armor. To say these cuts are "ill-advised" is an understatement.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, it makes sense to trim our force structure and reform our bureaucracy.

But the debt ceiling deal defense cuts would cut our military to its smallest size since World War II, draining funding to replace fighter jets that are often older than their pilots, aging bomber aircraft that spend more time in the shop than in the air, and critical research and development programs that deliver the superior intelligence and weapons technologies of tomorrow.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the debt ceiling deal could drive unemployment above 10 percent. The defense cuts proposed by Congress's debt ceiling deal aren't just ill-advised.

– Geoffrey P. Wiedeman Jr., USAF major general (retired), Sacramento

School cuts are shortsighted

Re "Brown budget proposes killing transitional kindergarten funds" (Page A4, Jan. 7): I am a high school senior preparing to go to college.

My family and I are struggling to figure out how to pay for my education, as tuition increases at public universities.

Due to cutbacks, I have classes with 40-plus students. My brother's middle school PE class has 57 kids. I cannot imagine where the pre-kindergartners of today will end up.

If the economy continues to falter, class sizes will swell to unlearnable sizes.

The dropout rate will increase, and college will become even more of a luxury.

– Rebecca Fong, Sacramento

Teachers should tweet

Re "Is it OK to tweet to your class?" (Our Region, Jan. 8): As a student at Oak Ridge High in the El Dorado Union High School District, I am worried that the rules that some school districts may have in place restrict how a teacher can connect to a student who may need help.

By adopting technology at their disposal, teachers can better understand their students. Teachers could set up school-related Facebook and Twitter accounts where students could ask questions and get immediate feedback, instead of stressing out because they don't understand material.

– Geoff Augustin, El Dorado Hills

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