Letter: Now that Election Day has passed, clear away your signs, candidates

Clear the clutter

Now that the elections are over, and whether you won your race or not, it is time to collect all the campaign signs that remain littering corners throughout the Coachella Valley.  

Please don’t sit on your hands and hope that the wind will remove them for you!

Mary Belardo, lifetime Coachella Valley resident

Senate was the ‘people’s choice’

Re: “Supreme Court needs change,” Oct. 31 letter

The author complains about the selection of the new Supreme Court Justice. 

It's unfortunate that the Republican Senate decided to take this action, however, contrary to this gentleman's opinion, the people DID have a choice in the selection. The government elected in 2016 and 2018 are still the people's choice, in spite of this emotional commentary. 

Their action was legal, though, shortsighted, certainly in the eyes of those who do not like the Republican Party. They remain the people's choice until after the election whereby, should the choice change, there will be another choice by the people of our governing representatives.

Mixing emotions with reality isn't usually the solution. The Constitution doesn't deal with emotions, nor does it need "meaningful change."

Harry Schoning, Palm Desert

Free press and public interest

Journalistic publications, including WikiLeaks, exist to tell the people the truth — even when the government tries to spin it or hide it. Confronting uncomfortable truths is necessary in a democracy; for this reason I am deeply concerned with the U.S. government’s prosecution of Julian Assange.

It is already hard enough to get the truth to the public. Sometimes it takes brave whistleblowers willing to leak secrets, knowing they are putting their careers and freedom on the line. Soon, however, the journalists who help reveal these secrets might be targets of prosecution. 

If Assange is extradited to the U.S. to face 175 years in prison for journalism, it would set a dangerous legal precedent that could impact press freedom around the world. If reporting in the public interest becomes a crime simply because the government declares something a secret, we fall deeper into our worst authoritarian tendencies.

Sheila Ruth Goldner, Cathedral City