To the editor: First, President Trump illegally froze the distribution of funding allocated by Congress. He has no authority to do this. This alone is a huge breach of the Constitution.
Next, Elon Musk’s unelected “DOGE” minions entered the Office of Personnel Management and gained access to private information about millions of federal employees. They locked senior OPM managers out of their own agency’s computers.
Then Musk and his DOGE folks took control of the U.S. Treasury payments system. They now have the power to stop funding, have access to information about Musk’s competitors, and — worst of all — they have access to our personal Social Security and Medicare data.
None of us, not even the most ardent Trump voter, elected Musk. How is this happening? How is this legal? How is anyone OK with this?
Everyone should be speaking out about this cold, calculated, illegal and blatantly unconstitutional power grab. Everyone should be furious about Musk’s intrusion into our government, our data and our lives. This is not normal. This is not constitutional. We need to stand up, speak out and demand that this stop now.
Marilyn Green, Malibu
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To the editor: The power of the press has been diluted for so long that reporter Kevin Rector’s piece on Trump “bucking” the law shines brightly.
I see Trump committing irrational and evil acts, and just when I think it couldn’t get more outrageous, it does. Why can’t he be stopped? Why are these bright, well-meaning people like former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and many others unable to get a result?
I cannot ignore the parallels between the fascist strongmen of recent history and the era of tea party politics that ultimately spawned Trump and MAGA.
In his chilling memoir of pre-war Nazi Germany, “Berlin Diary,” CBS correspondent William Shirer could not hide his uncontrolled rage and indignation over what he was witnessing. While listening to almost every word of Trump’s impeachment proceedings and the House Jan. 6 committee hearings, I felt the same. After watching many, many journalists, pundits and politicians vent their indignation, I realized that not one person has been able to do anything effective about this threat to rational democracy.
I am reminded of the crusty Boston lawyer who finally stood up to Sen. Joe McCarthy in 1954, saying in exasperation, “Have you no sense of decency?”
I own an advertising and marketing agency, and I believe newspapers are declining because of a failure to provide what people want. It is not only the digital ecosystem capturing attention. People want the truth, but it must be communicated in a way they can use, not just read.
Kudos to Rector for his article. It stands for reason, and I for one appreciate it.
Michael Blair, Simi Valley
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To the editor: All over this great country, prisoners are waking to the news that they have been incarcerated for “bucking the law.” But, alas, for them, the penalties are far more severe than they are for the law-bucker in chief.
Candida Pugh, Oakland
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To the editor: Did you vote for Musk? I didn’t. How did he become the most influential person in the U.S. government?
What happened to constitutional checks and balances? In just two weeks we voting citizens have lost our country.
I’m scared. You should be too.
Jean Brandt, Encino
