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

Talking Book (1972).

Yours truly on the Isle of Skye in August 2018. Needless to say, it was windy. Click to enlarge.

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To the editor:

Matt Welch argues passionately and persuasively that Republican legislators ought not to cede authority to the president. But he doesn’t touch on why they have lost their spines.

Polls consistently show strong support for the president among the one-third of the national electorate who vote Republican. So, to “poke the bear” raises the ire of their political constituency. If Republican legislators lose their support, they will certainly lose their seats.

The reasons people give for supporting President Trump vary, but at bottom, it seems that authoritarian government suits them. The GOP stresses obedience to authority and party loyalty. That approach gets Republican voters to the polls and, together with gerrymandering, wins elections despite a minority position.

If Welch wants Republican legislators to stand up to the president, he should try persuading Republican voters to shift their support away from Trump and his authoritarian rule.

Eleanor Egan, Costa Mesa

The damage done to our Country from a badly broken Border – Drugs, Crime and so much that is bad – is far greater than a Shutdown, which the Dems can easily fix as soon as they come back to Washington!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2019

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A good movie will inspire you [to] reach for the stars.

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Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?

(Pope Paul VI, "Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions [Nostra Aetate]," 28 October 1965)