Drought, Delta tunnels, Rush Limbaugh

Pay attention to water

Re “Progress laudable last year in water policy” (Editorials, Jan. 4): Your editorial on water policy progress is informative. The focus on groundwater and conservation are both critical.

But your editorial lacks reference to water quality. The need for an adequate supply is obvious. Meanwhile, our water gets dirtier. Gov. Jerry Brown aims through regulatory action to gut the federal Clean Water Act.

Constant weakening of regulatory controls pays off politically, as cities, businesses, and big agriculture profit from the lowering of enforcement standards. Meanwhile, our creeks and rivers are becoming more polluted.

The consumer is oblivious as long as what comes out of the tap doesn’t make us actually sick. Eventually, the costs of treatment will make us even sicker. Losing our concern for quality in the debate over quantity will harm us all in the long run.

Scrap the Delta tunnels

Re “Delta tunnels are in California’s best interests” (Another View, Jan. 4): Jerry Meral got it wrong about the giant tunnels Gov. Jerry Brown wants to bore to divert Sacramento River water from the Delta. The tunnels will not solve California’s gravest water supply problems. Instead, they will continue to centralize the state’s water supply approach when decentralization and regional resilience are desperately needed.

Additionally, Meral says that environmental groups are on board with the tunnel idea. But no major environmental group has come out in support of the tunnels as proposed, and the group I work for, Sierra Club California, strongly opposes the tunnels. The tunnels aren’t a solution, but rather, a rehash of the peripheral canal that Meral supported and voters smartly rejected decades ago.

Deal with facts on tunnels

Jerry Meral’s simplistic take on the Delta tunnels is proof he is disingenuous. Does anyone really believe a “few Delta farmers” are the only opponents of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan process? Of course not.

Voices have been raised from throughout California – municipalities, water agencies, water exporters, thousands of Delta recreationists and businesses, farmers from south of the Delta, fishermen from here to Canada – who oppose the tunnels and destruction of Delta farmland the BDCP proposes.

Meral’s environmental credentials have been tarnished by his narrow view of the Delta and how best to utilize it for water transport. He needs to read the report by the Delta Stewardship Council’s independent science panel and the comments from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Then he needs to check his opinions at the door and deal with facts.

Calling Limbaugh what he is

Re “Limbaugh and the spy who shouldn’t be black” (Forum, Jan. 4): Bravo and kudos to William Endicott for identifying Rush Limbaugh as the rabble-rouser he is. From Idris Elba portraying James Bond to the insults of Sandra Fluke and the pathetic attack on then-12-year-old Chelsea Clinton, Limbaugh is exposed for the racist, sexist and just downright mean-spirited person that he is.

He is just a college dropout with loud opinions. I don’t get why anyone would waste their precious time listening to his opinions, unless it’s purely for entertainment value.

Limbaugh is entertaining

The thought police are at it again. William Endicott berates Rush Limbaugh in a second-hand attack based on old, and sometimes decades-old, reports. It appears as if Endicott never has tuned in to Limbaugh’s program.

Endicott shamelessly excoriates Limbaugh and “what’s left of his listenership.” A quick Web search will reveal that Limbaugh occupies the top spot on syndicated radio talk shows with 13 million weekly listeners, more than “Morning Edition” or “All Things Considered,” both National Public Radio favorites.

I am no Limbaugh fan. However I have listened to him when I’m driving, and I find him humorous, particularly his political commentary.

Honor the author’s vision

William Endicott takes too big of a jump when he goes from Rush Limbaugh’s opinion of a black actor portraying James Bond to actual bigotry against real people such as a black president or black CEO.

Characters created by authors are in some cases specific, and it is disrespectful of the author to change his creation.

James Bond being black is as incorrect as Othello being portrayed as white, Hercule Poirot changed to Japanese, or Quasimodo as a lesbian ballerina.

In some literary works, a character’s physical appearance or nationality does not matter to the story, if an author is specific about a character, then a producer should at least try to honor the author.

Endicott is right about Limbaugh

I wanted to thank William Endicott for expressing so eloquently how many of us feel about Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh’s words and demeanor are so consistently repugnant, it amazes me he still has listeners. If ever there were a justification for censorship, he is it.

Limbaugh is a hypocrite

Where is Rush Limbaugh’s indignation about Caucasians portraying brown-skinned historical figures?

Hollywood has a penchant for using Caucasians to portray Egyptians, American Indians, Latinas and Asians. I submit that Limbaugh’s real issue with Idris Elba playing James Bond is that Elba will portray a popular hero, not a drug dealer or pimp. Otherwise, Limbaugh would have something to say about the latest Hollywood film “Exodus” and all the Caucasian Egyptians. In this film, the Caucasian Egyptians build a sphinx with Caucasian features and the brown-skinned people are portrayed as guards and slaves.

Limbaugh cares about money

When I worked as a news anchor for a Stockton radio station, I had to wait each morning before my newscasts began and endure Rush Limbaugh’s bombast.

I recall his commenting on a news story about a black man. Within the space of just a few minutes Limbaugh used the word “niggardly” three times. I cannot be convinced it was not intended as a slur. This from a man who says he is “the least racist host you will ever find.”

Limbaugh is also frequently heard to use black idioms such as “ax” instead of “ask.” It is clear to me that Limbaugh cares not at all what people other than his “dittoheads” constituency think of him, or what damage he does with his racist, sexist, xenophobic rants. He cares about the money and makes lots of it with his misguided, misinformed tirades.

This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Drought, Delta tunnels, Rush Limbaugh."