LETTERS Comcast, Christians, Indian Americans, Netanyahu cartoon, etc.

Comcast always misleading

Re “Facts on Comcast merger” (Letters, April 6): Comcast representatives claim the merger will not monopolize the industry. What a laugh – they already do, along with maybe two other competitors. With this new move, they tipped the balance even more in their favor.

Comcast has the worst customer service record in any industry. Enticing potential customers with very low, affordable rates to sign up – from $19.99 per month for the first six months – then gouging them with increases that eventually rise to more than five times that amount. For us, this is an insult, first by offering huge discounts to newbies, while continuing to gouge longtime loyals.

Don’t get me started with the so-called “tier pricing,” wherein we are forced to pay for 75 percent of offerings we will never watch. Every day there are examples of abuses via Comcast customer service organizations. Yet this monster still insists it’s the best thing to happen to California since cable was introduced.

We beg to differ.

Christians have right to beliefs

Re “Religious conservatives are now discrimination targets, attorney says” (Page A8, April 5): Christians are people with rights. There are Christians who support homosexuality and Christians who don’t. Decisions are based on faith and between them and God. In the end, we all answer to him.

Government should have rules that protect Christians. Businesses should not be required to go against their faith. Plenty of Christian and secular businesses can perform services that another Christian might find objectionable. Customers have a right to find a business that supports their needs. I would want the best; why would anyone want to receive services from businesses who don’t want to help them?

Discrimination goes both ways. Some Christians get discriminated against for not supporting same-sex marriage. Not supporting this doesn’t mean you’re homophobic or a hater, it means you’re different from the one who does. Christians are being discriminated against by the very people that claim discrimination, just because their beliefs differ.

No mystery to success

Re “Indian Americans advancing in national, California politics” (Page A3, April 5): There should be no mystery why Indian Americans succeed. Family cooperation is everything. They have entrepreneurial, industrious, nonviolent values. They grasp the advantages of family businesses and dedication to education. A far cry from the Anglo model of doing one’s own thing, no matter how frivolous or silly. Indian Americans will continue to overachieve while we Anglos wonder why.

Don’t like the fine …

Re “Expensive traffic ticket” (Letters, April 2): If a person doesn’t want to pay the $600 fine, she shouldn’t do the crime. My husband got caught by a red light camera, and he paid his $600 fine. Was it high? Absolutely. Did we have to earn the money to pay that ticket? Of course. The letter writer’s suggestion that “the elderly or those with families” should pay lower fines through a sliding scale is outrageous.

Daily, we are assaulted with this “income inequality” talk that says certain groups of people shouldn’t have to pay their own way, even though they have chosen their own lifestyles. If you don’t like your situation and your ability to support yourself in every way – food, housing, insurance, heating, cellphones, gifts for your grandchildren, entertainment, meals out – then do something about it. That includes traffic fines.

Sanctions on Iran

President Barack Obama implied that an agreement had been reached last week with Iran regarding nuclear controls. The truth of the matter is that he should have called it a proposed agreement. He also implied that there was no alternative except war if the agreement was not signed. Also not true. The alternative is more sanctions, which have proved to be a powerful tool.

It’s a reality for Netanyahu

Re “Relax … It’s just Netanyahu blowing up” (Editorial cartoon, Jack Ohman, April 3): Editorial cartoonists’ stock-in-trade is exaggeration, particularly of well-known political leaders. So The Bee’s Jack Ohman depicts an exploding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responding to the agreement on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

What the cartoon fails to acknowledge is Netanyahu’s responsibility to defend his vulnerable nation from the threatening monster that is Iran. It is Israel that is most at risk from a nuclear Iran. As Iranian leaders regularly promise to annihilate the Jewish state, how can one expect Israel to applaud any deal that does less than eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability?

I wish that Ohman had the inclination to portray this reality.

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "LETTERS Comcast, Christians, Indian Americans, Netanyahu cartoon, etc.."