Letters: California should support Hawaii’s Citizens United challenge

California Gov. Gavin Newsom should support Hawaii's legal challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which allowed unlimited corporate political spending and undermined democratic accountability. The letter argues that Hawaii's effort questions whether unlimited campaign spending serves the public interest or fair representation, as elections should be decided by voters rather than corporate bank accounts.

Getting your Trinity Audio //trinityaudio.ai player ready... Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. State should support Citizens United foil Re: “ New California law aims to keep Trump from meddling in midterm elections https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/29/new-california-law-aims-to-keep-trump-from-meddling-in-midterm-elections/ ” May 29 . Speaking of election interference, Gov. Newsom should get behind Hawaii’s challenge https://apnews.com/article/corporate-campaign-money-citizens-united-hawaii-71a28bc7e8f6e0279b31e999f222519a to Citizens United v. FEC. It is a necessary step toward restoring democratic accountability. The 2010 Supreme Court decision allowed corporations and outside groups to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns, which increased the influence of corporate interests in elections. As a result, many American voices got drowned out. By challenging Citizens United, Hawaii is questioning whether unlimited political spending serves the public interest or undermines fair representation. Elections should be decided by voters, not by the size of a corporate bank account. While free speech is a fundamental right, equating unlimited campaign spending with free speech weakened the public trust in government. Hawaii’s effort reflects a reality that campaign finance laws need to protect democracy and ensure that every American citizen’s voice carries meaningful weight. Akeem Mostamandy San Jose Californians must get out and vote this fall At 2 p.m. on June 3, the California Secretary of State’s website https://dp.electionresults.sos.ca.gov/returns/maps/voter-turnout reported voter turnout at that point to be 22.4%. I heard on KQED today that the turnout for this primary election was around a whopping, amazing, astounding 40% … 40%? It made me sad to hear that 60% of us chose not to participate in this very important civic duty. It almost seemed like a message from the divine intelligence of the universe when the solution to a cryptogram I’d been struggling with for a couple of days finally revealed itself a little later. It was a quote from Plato: “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” Voting matters, now more than ever. These people run our state and our country. Come on, people. Educate yourselves, and in November, get out and vote. Rosalie Arntzen Sunnyvale AI’s role in spirituality is to help, not decide Artificial Intelligence is rapidly entering fields once thought to be uniquely human, including spirituality. This development raises concerns. Can a machine teach wisdom? Can software replace conscience? The answer is no. AI cannot replace the human conscience. However, it can help people explore questions of meaning, ethics, compassion and self-reflection. Used responsibly, AI can make spiritual ideas more accessible by providing guidance, answering questions and introducing practices such as meditation to people who might never visit a spiritual center. The danger lies not in AI itself, but in allowing technology to become an authority rather than a tool. Spiritual growth ultimately depends on personal experience, introspection and moral responsibility. As AI becomes more capable, perhaps its highest purpose in spirituality will not be to tell us what to believe but to help us listen more carefully to our own conscience. Gopi Reddy Sunnyvale Trump falls far short of military fitness standards How ironic that strict body composition standards https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/no-heavyweights-allowed-troops-must-meet-fitness-criteria-attend-white-rcna347606 and fitness were listed for any members of the military wanting to attend the UFC event to be held at the White House. Their waist-to-height ratio must be less than 0.55. This requirement applies to all military attendees, but it is not required of the president himself. Has anyone noticed his waistline? He can’t even button his suit because of his huge belly. The man is absolutely pear-shaped. He’s also dropped in height. He’s no longer 6’3″. Watching him walk alongside his daughter-in-law Lara Trump or his wife, Melania, he no longer has the height advantage. Apparently, fitness and waist-to-height ratio don’t apply to him. And his doctors continue to insist he’s in good health. What hypocrisy. Lynda Martinez San Jose No more funds for deportation regime Last summer, under Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” DHS received $190 billion https://www.cato.org/blog/heres-how-administration-plans-spend-largest-immigration-enforcement-funding-surge-history , ICE received $74 billion https://www.citizen.org/news/75-billion-for-ice-cuts-for-citizens-how-the-big-ugly-law-betrays-americans/ and CBP nearly $65 billion https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/big-budget-act-creates-deportation-industrial-complex . This finding will cover operations, including the purchase of additional detention centers, huge industrial warehouses not conducive to human habitation. Moreover, the funds are not being used to maintain the present detention centers where crowded human beings are given moldy bread and denied necessary medication. DHS, CBP and ICE must not be given additional funds in the upcoming vote on the Senate Reconciliation bill. Rosemary Everett Campbell How to save democracy from new robber barons The two greatest threats to America are the Donald Trump regime and the new robber barons of big business. We must stop the Trump power grabs by ending voter suppression the SAVE Act and undoing gerrymandering which politicians love because it guarantees them re-election . All politicians must sign a pledge to vote against and to repeal voter suppression and gerrymandering. Failure to sign the pledge will label them as an “enemy of democracy.” Big business uses its power and resources to squeeze ever greater profits from the American people. We must use our antitrust laws to break up self-serving monopolies and make them act in the public interest. Most businesses are honest and want to serve their buying public, and they should welcome the return to honest competition. Reconstituting the Consumer Financial Protection Board will be a major step toward helping the American buying public. John Cormode Mountain View