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Social media tactics, not content, in question
Re: “Big tech isn’t liable for addictive platforms” (Page A7, Feb. 18).
No, social media algorithms are not speech; they are products.
Even if they were speech, not all speech is protected (e.g., yelling “Fire” in a crowded theater). An algorithm that, by its design, causes harm in the name of profit cannot be considered protected speech under the First or any other amendment.
No social media platform is being held liable for the content of any particular posting; it is rather the classification and targeting of such postings to keep users clicking in a manner that can only be described as addictive, just like tobacco.
William Gascoyne
San Jose
Billions in cash don’t make for a sound sleep
Re: “Fixing the U.S. requires fixing Silicon Valley” (Page A8, Feb. 15).
One of my political science professors at De Anza College, in discussing the socio-political and socio-economic conditions of the day (circa 2005 or so), said one of the most profound things that has stuck with me. It is unclear if this statement was something others had said that my professor shared with us, but in relation to the column by Ed Clendaniel, it resonated and still does for me.
My professor, Nicky Gonzales Yuen, stated, “Taxes are the price the rich pay to sleep well at night.” While I suspect the billionaires referenced in the article are sleeping just fine on their piles of cash, one has to wonder just how long they may do so.
Daniel Hinojosa
San Jose
Cemetery would threaten water supply, wildlife
Re: “Cemetery would ruin Coyote Valley’s value” (Page A6, Feb. 13).
I completely agree with Jennifer Normoyle’s letter to the editor.
This corridor is our key groundwater recharge zone that helps protect our region from drought and flooding. Yes, Coyote Valley is an open space for recreation, but it also serves as a critical wildlife corridor. The proposed Heritage Oaks Cemetery would destroy this vital living landscape for generations to come.
Patricia Blevins
San Jose
Trump administration earns Cs across board
Trying to describe this administration, I realize that all descriptors begin with “c.”
This administration is characterized by a lack of competence, with most appointees such as Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Linda McMahon woefully unprepared for their positions. JD Vance, the least competent of recent vice presidents, has contempt and condescension equal to none except, perhaps, Pam Bondi, as evidenced by her recent House performance.
These pale next to the lack of presidential character. Teddy Roosevelt said character is more important than bodily and intellectual vigor. Donald Trump lacks all three. He has fine-tuned corruption in a government where one must “pay to play.” He admires cruelty, criticizes allies and conspires with Vladimir Putin. This is a catastrophic administration, acting without data, planning or wisdom.
Contempt, condescension, corruption, competence, catastrophe: yes. But the worst is crisis. Quoting Ezra Klein, “This White House is not beset by crises. This White House is the crisis” — for which we will pay dearly.
Lorraine D’Ambruoso
San Jose
No easy solutions for a deeply divided nation
The United States is becoming two separate countries, as illustrated by three announcements this week.
The academic Presidential Greatness Project declared that Donald Trump is the worst president in U.S. history (while many Trump supporters tout him as the greatest of all time). A Yahoo/YouGov survey found that a greater percentage of Americans believe that Bad Bunny, derided by the right, is more representative of America than Trump.
On the other side of the aisle, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, reflecting the Republican Party’s fealty to Trump, recently proposed that February’s Presidents’ Day, founded in 1885 to honor George Washington, should be renamed Donald J. Trump Day.
It’s no wonder there’s been so little compromise with or even empathy for the other side. What’s happening to this country has become pretty scary, and what’s even scarier is that I don’t think anyone knows what to do about it.
Bob Parker
San Jose
Sacred claims, strategic ambitions cloud Gaza
Re: “Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 24; officials say soldiers attacked” (Page A4, Feb. 5).
Palestine has long been less a place on a map than a mirror for empires. Beginning in the 11th century, medieval crusaders crossed continents to “claim” holy ground, mixing pilgrimage with plunder. A hinge moment arrived in 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella backed Christopher Columbus, the same year they expelled up to 200,000 Jews from Spain. With the loss of a vital community of merchants and financiers, that dispossession at home mixed with expansion abroad illustrates a recurring pattern that states solve internal anxieties by exporting them.
Today’s enduring conflict over Palestine is haunted by that history. Competing national narratives are rooted in real traumas, including Jewish persecution and Palestinian displacement. But trauma becomes a trap when it’s used to justify permanent domination. If there is any lesson from 1492 and the Crusades, it’s that when sacred claims and strategic ambitions are fused, then the suffering outlasts the victory.
Akeem Mostamandy
San Jose