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Stan’s and Randy’s give citizens doughnut haven

Re: “A hole lot of doughnuts in town” (Page B1, Aug. 1).

We’ve all been following the Randy’s-Stan’s doughnut debacle for a while now. My father brought home Stan’s in my younger years, and whenever I’ve visited L.A., Randy’s was always on my mind, but I was never close enough to visit the icon.

As I continually see such long lines at both businesses, I must offer myself up as a “doughnut liaison” between the warring factions. I say, there are enough doughnuts for everyone. Enough sales to keep both businesses smiling and beaming. Countless citizens are obsessed with doughnuts, and I’m no different.

But come on, by having both Randy’s and Stan’s in our doughnut toolbelt, we won’t have to wait in such long lines. It’s a win for all cruller customers. More doughnuts equals more happiness. Plain and simple. Just like some doughnuts.

Robert WardSanta Cruz

Excessive aid to Israel hurts U.S. citizens

Re: “Hamas says it will disarm in attempt to end Gaza war” (Page A4, Aug. 1).

Our country must stop providing excessive military aid to Israel.

When Israel was first founded, it did need help to fend off adversaries. But today Israel is a relatively wealthy country with a GDP per capita greater than countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. Israel provides health insurance to their entire population, while roughly one in twelve of our citizens go without health insurance. By financially assisting Israel in their outrageous bombing of Gazan citizens, we have become a participant in the slaughter of civilians. This is inconsistent with the Torah, which emphasizes the sacred value of human life.

Some will disregard this letter as coming from the far left. But I don’t see it that way. A policy that results in so many wars and has resulted in human tragedy needs revision. No one can guarantee who will prevail in future wars.

Gary LatshawCupertino

Fauci vendetta makes Senate look mean, petty

Re: “Senate panel OKs plan to charge Fauci” (Page A3, Aug. 7).

Do our senators have nothing better to do than to rake Dr. Anthony Fauci over the coals in order to humiliate a respected long-term public servant about his handling of the COVID pandemic? What purpose does it serve other than to make our senators appear mean-spirited and petty? All this years after the crisis has passed and hindsight can give all of us a clearer view of events.

And one wonders why voters’ confidence in — and respect for — our elected leaders diminishes by the day.

Genevieve StonerSan Jose

‘Missing Middle’ plan is bad for San Jose

San Jose needs more affordable housing and homeownership opportunities, but the Planning Department’s proposal to increase density everywhere is like throwing darts at the wall and hoping one sticks.

Under the proposal, density would increase to 32+ units an acre across San Jose — comparable to Long Island, New York.

The hopeful maybe of the unproven “Missing Middle Housing” approach won’t deliver the desired results because higher density does not mean greater affordability as it increases per-unit costs, and investors can easily outbid individual homebuyers to build high-density rentals, accelerating the shift away from homeownership.

Let’s make sure the policies we adopt actually deliver the intended results before San Jose becomes a crowded “New York”-style city of renters.

Roberta MooreSan Jose

Are companies keeping CHIPS Act promises?

The CHIPS and Science Act (which aims to reshore semiconductor manufacturing in the United States) is turning four, but I’m not singing “happy birthday.” The United States invested billions of dollars to bring chip manufacturing back home, plus billions more from state and local governments.

We have the right to make sure this industry benefits all of us — workers, neighbors, consumers and the environment.

In exchange for billions of dollars in taxpayer investments, chip manufacturers made promises to “create good jobs, hire and train local workers, provide childcare and respect the environment.” We have the right to know if chip companies are fulfilling their promises.

We worked closely with Rep. Zoe Lofgren to ensure that the CHIPS Act funding required the promised benefits, but the federal government dropped the ball.

Ted SmithSan Jose

Turn off media and Trump’s sound bites

In George Orwell’s book “1984,” we can learn a lot about what Donald Trump’s government is like today.

Which government agency was always waging war in Oceania? It was the Ministry of Peace, much like Trump’s International Board of Peace formed while he continues his war with Iran. What was the media arm of Big Brother called? The Ministry of Truth, known for spreading lies and misinformation. Now we have Truth Social feeding stories to an unquestioning audience.

We need to be vigilant to stop media takeovers by Trump associates like David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance. Trump’s ability to control us seems dependent on public reactions to his latest sound bite. It might help to keep the radio and TV turned off for a while and ignore him.

Bill GrahamSalinas