Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

To the Editor:

Arthur Brooks’s article “Bipartisanship Isn’t for Wimps, After All” (Sunday Review, April 10) is eloquent and sincere denialism.

Especially given what’s happened in the raucous G.O.P. contest this year that has ended up with candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, implying that “both sides do it” and everyone’s to blame for “polarization” means that no one’s to blame.

A recent book by E. J. Dionne Jr. and another by Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann patiently explain the “asymmetrical polarization” poisoning our politics. One of our two great political parties has a sizable number if not a majority of members who believe that the president is not an American, man-made climate change is a hoax, “reverse racism” is worse than racism, and Benghazi was worse than Watergate.

Who are the Democratic equivalents of birthers, Birchers, secessionists, white militias, shut-downers, vote-suppressers and Jade Helm conspiratorialists? There really aren’t any.

Until G.O.P. commentators and officials challenge rather than merely inflame their base, there will be a reckoning if not a semi-realignment this fall because, as former Representative Barney Frank, a Democrat, observed, “We’re not perfect, but they’re nuts.”

MARK GREEN

New York

The writer, the first New York City public advocate, is the author of the forthcoming “Bright, Infinite Future: A Generational Memoir of the Progressive Rise.”

Note from KBJ: Mark Green is still crazy after all these years:

1. Barack Obama has never produced his original birth certificate.
2. Global Warming is a hoax perpetrated by left-wing "scientists" and totalitarians.
3. Racism is racism, whether perpetrated by whites or perpetrated by blacks.
4. Nobody died in Watergate.
5. The Democrat equivalents are Truthers, race hustlers, the open-borders crowd, anarchists, wacko environmentalists, communists, Black Panthers, Global-Warming alarmists, sexual perverts, America haters, multiculturalists, baby killers, terrorist sympathizers, and feminazis.

Idiocy never sleeps.

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This afternoon, at a Shell station in Arlington, Texas, I paid $1.999 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. With my Kroger card, it came to $1.899. What're y'all payin' in your neck o' the woods?

To the Editor:

As a practicing Catholic born and raised, I understand the pleas of conservative Catholics to keep the traditions of the church. At the same time, as a millennial living in a big city, I realize that this is simply unrealistic with the social changes that are happening in our society today. And these social changes are a good thing, making our population more open to differences and making us a more accepting community.

The church has no choice but to move with society toward a more liberal approach in teaching. Pope Francis is doing an excellent job keeping both sides of the issue satisfied while slowly moving the church toward a more open approach.

STEFAN BADESCU

Chicago

Note from KBJ: This sounds suspiciously like the notion of a "living Constitution."

Right on, man. I’m with you.

Ted Cruz and his supporters are either stupid or delusional. Consider:

1. There is no way—repeat, no way—that Cruz will be the Republican nominee in 2016. He can't get enough delegates to win on the first ballot, and he's so hated by the powers that be in his own party that he will not be selected at the convention. So why is he in the race? He needs to drop out immediately and support Donald Trump. John Kasich has a better chance than Cruz of being the nominee, since he is not hated by the powers that be.
2. Cruz's people are sleazy to the point of being criminal. I see them on television every day, on both Fox News Channel and CNN. Cruz has already fired his campaign director, Rick Tyler, for engaging in dirty tricks. Cruz's henchmen are currently engaged in stealing delegates.
3. Cruz and his people look on with glee as the Republican establishment and mainstream media savage Trump. Do they not realize that they are being used? First Trump, then Cruz. In other words, as soon as Trump is defeated, the long knives will come out for Cruz. It's astounding to me that the Cruz people don't see this. They should be allied with Trump against the establishment and the mainstream media.
4. Cruz is a Bible thumper. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I have nothing but respect for theists, especially Christians. My wife is a theist. All of my friends are theists. I go to church every Sunday. Cruz and his family creep me out with their laying on of hands, their speaking in tongues, and their incessant references to "God" and "the Bible." Is he running for Preacher in Chief or Commander in Chief? I sincerely believe that if Cruz were president, he would try to turn this country into a theocracy. I will fight that with every fiber of my being.
5. If Trump is denied the Republican nomination, for any reason, his supporters, including me, will walk away from the party, perhaps for good. This means (a) not voting for the Republican nominee in 2016, (b) not donating money to any Republican candidate or to the Republican Party, and (c) encouraging Trump to run as a third-party candidate and wholeheartedly supporting him with money and votes if he does. At this point, I'd rather have President Hillary Clinton than President Ted Cruz. That's the God's-honest truth.

Please don't say that I used to like Cruz and that I am therefore being inconsistent in opposing him. It's true that I used to like Cruz, but his character had not yet been revealed to me. A rational person changes his or her beliefs and evaluations as information comes to light. I now believe that Cruz is a danger to the Republic.

To the Editor:

Jeff Passan is spot on in his warnings about damaging arms in youth baseball (“Baseball Is Hurting Our Kids,” Sunday Review, April 10). Inning limits and pitch counts for young players should be monitored as assiduously in youth baseball as they are in the major leagues.

But one problem is what to do when the children are not pitching. Since they are often good athletes, they are placed in the infield or the outfield, where they will still have to make hard throws that are not counted as pitches but still contribute to arm strain.

One suggestion for coaches: Pitching is as much a mental skill as a physical one, and while young pitchers rest their arms, they can be taught the cerebral aspects of the craft. On the bench, discuss things like location, mixing up pitches, holding runners on and dealing with adversity when things aren’t going well.

Make the pitcher’s mound a classroom. You will save arms and teach children things they can use in other areas of life.

CORY FRANKLIN

Wilmette, Ill.

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