Letters: Utility tax | Faux originalists

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Put pressure on Parliament
stop utility charges

As expected, last week the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) proposed a new flat rate for utility bills – $24 per month for most ratepayers – which is twice the national average and will increase bills by millions of Californians.

The CPUC’s proposed utility fees will increase electricity bills for millions of people living in apartments and small homes, as well as solar users.

The legislature can stop utility charges. Only sustained public voices will give lawmakers the strength to stand up to public services.

Please call your state congressman and senator and tell them not to be fooled by the CPUC proposal.

Rebecca Elliot
San Jose

The GOP are originalists
when it’s practical

Subject: “Originalists needed on the Supreme Court” (page A6, March 29).

This nonsense about originalism needs to stop. A supposedly noble justification for adhering to time-honored principles, it is invoked when it is convenient and conveniently abandoned when it is not.

Samuel Alito, the originalist’s originalist, didn’t find enough in the Constitution to prevent women from making their own decisions about their bodies. So he had to invoke thinkers from the 11th and 14th centuries to justify this violation of the 14th Amendment. Originalists, finding the Second Amendment’s references to a well-regulated militia impractical for enabling their gun craze, conveniently ignored the original language of the amendment which was written to address a time when the nation He had no standing army and needed a fallback position to cope. English.

Republicans complain of a lack of respect. Start by being honest about your motivations rather than creating artificial justifications to justify your desire to restrict Americans’ freedoms.

Eugene Ely
San Jose