Mark Twain’s views on race; the Toyota recall; firing state legislators

Twain not a racist

Re “De-romanticizing a Twain classic,” Feb. 18

Mark Twain a racist? Oh, bosh! When we’re talking about Twain, we’re speaking of someone born well before the Civil War, in a small town, from a slave-holding state. That his humanity -- hmmm, like Lincoln’s -- could overcome the fundamental bigotry of his time and place, with all of its attendant horrors, is extraordinary.

Does that make him a 21st century man? No -- and we ought not hold him to the so-called niceties of our own social and political fabric. But that he wrote, so effectively, about a boy coming to understand that a slave is a sentient person and not property is remarkable for his day, and long after.

S.R. Willen
Beverly Hills

To say that Mark Twain was a racist because of his use of the “N-word” is literary ignorance. (If he had not used the word in those times, the entire book would have been unbelievable.)

But to say that Huck Finn “never realizes that slavery was wrong” is even more preposterous. He knew it was correct, legally -- and it was -- but more important, he knew it was wrong morally.

The greatest monument against racism is that moment when Huck, instead of turning in Jim for being a runaway, declares that he will instead, literally, “go to hell” for committing this public sin.

I suppose we mustn’t be harsh with Tom Wortham, considering that Mark Twain himself said, “It is no harm to be an ass, if one is content to bray and not kick.”

Ron Owens
Elmira, N.Y.

Toyota and the blame game

Re “Toyota calls in big guns,” Feb. 18

I bought a Toyota Matrix just before the recall, so I have an interest in fixing the sudden-acceleration problem. Toyota, the government and the media seem to be collaborating to impede the search for a solution.

Toyota insults our intelligence by offering solutions that don’t match the problem, then infuriates us by pretending that there’s no problem. The government encourages this by criticizing Toyota’s handling of the situation rather than taking the lead in defining a path forward.

The media, rather than fixing blame, should offer descriptions of Toyota’s electronic throttle control system and speculation on possible causes and solutions.

Brian Masson
Harbor City

Your article leaves the reader with the impression that you are “shooting a messenger” not quite to your liking.

Though some claims of (sudden-acceleration) malfunctions merit scrutiny and should not be ignored, it is noteworthy that those problems, whatever their causes, were not uncommon with domestic products in the not-too-distant past.

There are much weightier problems confronting this country today -- unless, of course, by overplaying the Toyota card, you somehow feel you are rendering a public service by helping to resurrect the American auto industry.

Dan Fenske
Huntington Beach

Farmers need the water

Re “Feinstein’s water meddling,” Editorial, Feb. 17

Your disappointing editorial summarily dismissed the hard work of generations of family farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, where their struggle for water means the difference between economic survival and bankruptcy. Valley water grows our nation’s food -- the same food found on kitchen tables in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. These crops are vital to California’s economy.

Our local farmers are simply asking for a temporary balance in our water system while long-term solutions are implemented. The delta’s environmental challenges are the result of numerous causes -- including invasive predatory fish, wastewater discharges and urban pesticide runoff -- and agriculture should not bear all the blame.

Characterizing Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s help as “perverse” is insensitive and elitist. If Southern California’s entertainment industry faced economic ruin on the scale of our valley farmers, would your publication be as quick to dismiss the problem?

Dennis Cardoza
Merced
The writer is a Democratic congressman representing California’s 18th District.

Feinstein has a proven record of achieving beneficial results for all of California when it comes to water resources.

Her current effort to provide temporary relief to both the farming and fishing industries is contained in a two-year program that will assist both of these industries without amending the Endangered Species Act.

California cannot wait years for legislative solutions to take effect. Immediate help is needed, and that is what Feinstein’s efforts would provide.

Mike Wade
Sacramento
The writer is the executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition.

Solutions for California

Re “Throw the bums out!” Opinion, Feb. 19

Abraham Sofaer, a senior fellow in foreign policy from the Hoover institution, is incensed. California, he discovers, is in a mess, and the politicians are the ones who have done it.

The original beneficiaries of the tighter restrictions on taxes -- the elderly who could not afford the property tax -- have long since passed on, but immortals called corporations are still profiting mightily.

The Legislature is further crippled by the two-thirds vote requirement on passing a budget that was imposed by the same conservative “revolutionaries” who brought us Proposition 13; and the business of governance has been made impossible by term limits, which ensure that the only experienced people in Sacramento are lobbyists.

I say we repeal Proposition 13 and put in the graduated property tax that we should have had in 1978; repeal the two-thirds rule and term limits as well, and bring in the public financing of elections. Then we’d be on the way back to health.

Jim Hassinger
Glendale

Sofaer rhetorically asks, “But which legislators are acting responsibly and which are irresponsible?”

The answer isn’t hard. The real problem in California is the intransigence of the minority party. Ever since the recall and the installation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, there have been plenty of Democratic proposals and compromises to balance the budget. The response in every case is the opposition of the minority party to any compromise, all based on a pledged opposition to any new taxes. Basic and vital services are decimated.

The problem always has been the tyranny of our Constitution, which allows the minority party to stop all meaningful budget progress.

Ralph Mitchell
Monterey Park

I agree completely and have thought of the same solution -- with one change.

Rather than wait for an election in November, automatically install the next-highest vote-getter from the previous general election. The top several vote-getters would be sworn in at the same time as the winner, contingent on being removed for not adopting a budget on time.

The office transfer would be automatic at midnight on June 30, and the entire staff of the elected incumbents would also lose their jobs -- allowing the new officeholder to begin work. The new incumbent would have one month to get a budget adopted -- or the process would repeat itself.

Bruce Seaton
Cypress

Riverside’s former chief

Re “Chief drank before crash,” Feb. 18

What? The former Riverside chief of police drinks four whiskeys during three hours in a strip club and, at 3 in the morning, drives the wrong way down the street, strikes a curb, hits a light pole and a fire hydrant, then drives three more miles before coming to a stop.

Police said he appeared “unaware that he had been in an accident” and “noted that he had been drinking” but “did not indicate that they had administered a sobriety test.”

How can this be? Oh, never mind, I think I know!

Jon Dosa
Palm Springs