Letters: The real waste of cash was US war with Iran, not Steyer campaign

A letter to the editor argues that the real waste of cash was the US war with Iran, not Tom Steyer's $558 million campaign spending, which provided employment. Another letter criticizes elected officials for being unresponsive, while a third adds the Iran war to Donald Trump's failed ventures, citing costs in lives and money. A fourth letter defends the US and Israel against accusations of aggression, blaming Iran for regional instability.

Getting your Trinity Audio //trinityaudio.ai player ready... Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. The real waste of cash was the war with Iran Re: “ Tom Steyer spent $558 million. What a colossal waste of cash. https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/16/cottle-he-spent-558-million-what-a-waste/ ” Page A6, June 16 . Referring to Tom Steyer’s “waste of cash,” spending $558 million on his failed campaign, dig deeper into how it was spent to clarify “waste.” Is it a waste to provide employment to graphic artists, meeting planners, radio stations — employment mostly enabling people to provide for their families, pay mortgages and live lives? What surely is “waste” is bombing buildings, causing loss of lives and loss of shelter. What a waste this Iran war is. Joe Margevicius Palo Alto Elected officials seem to forget who they serve During the last 18 months, I’ve noticed how unresponsive elected politicians have become. They want our vote and our money. The office staffs for Rep. Ro Khanna and City Councilperson Rosemary Kamei don’t answer any requests. Khanna has time for television, but his office staff doesn’t seem too responsive to voters living in his own district. Jon Ramos San Jose Add war with Iran to Trump’s failed ventures Re: “ Trump touts peace deal https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-war-ceasefire-deal-e0a9e4e1152ea8da10ea066ad174a23a ” Page A1, June 15 . Here is the tally as I understand it: 13 soldiers dead; 400 soldiers wounded; direct cost to taxpayers of $29-70 billion in missiles, lost aircraft, ammunition, personnel, etc.; indirect cost to Americans for increased gas of ~$50 billion; untold billions of dollars that the American consumers have had to bear in additional inflation. All of this investment in blood and treasure so that we could end up where we started: Strait of Hormuz is open; a radical regime is in charge of Iran with all of its missile capabilities and nuclear material; Iranian proxies still firmly implanted in the region. This is another failed venture by Donald Trump and the sycophants who enable him. The Republicans in Congress need to do their job and help rein him in, or get out of the way, so new leadership in Congress can hold him accountable. John Holton Los Altos Letter is the product of believing propaganda Re: “ America has assumed the role of aggressor https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/15/letters-board-psychology-picking-someone-good/ ” Page A6, June 15 . The views expressed in this letter reflect the dangers of propaganda and ignorance. Although the writer compares the United States and Israel to the Axis powers, it is Iran that brutalizes its own citizens, spreads terror throughout the region and threatens the world with the possibility of possessing a nuclear weapon. The accusation that Israel is trying to expand its borders ignores history. With the exception of the results of the 1948 war and the Golan Heights, Israel has returned or offered to return every wartime territorial gain. Both Gaza and the West Bank were offered back and refused https://www.voanews.com/a/abbas-admits-rejecting-peace-plan-israel/3064595.html . Israel has a large Arab population who are Israeli citizens. The final telling point is the response of the Iranian people themselves. They wanted the bombing to free them of the totalitarian regime that holds them in its murderous grips. Rich Kroll San Jose Will Trump apologize for fighter’s comment? The UFC event held at the White House https://apnews.com/article/trump-80th-birthday-ufc-biden-e14d1bbccc1cbaaad42fd541b1fe833d to “honor” Donald Trump’s birthday was an ugly enough desecration of a national landmark in and of itself. But I want to take issue especially with an even uglier moment when one of the fighters felt compelled to make a crude insult about former first lady Michelle Obama. I’m old enough to remember when the D.C. press corps demanded that Bill Clinton denounce divisive remarks made by political activist Sister Souljah remarks that had nothing to do with him , and then years later demanded that Barack Obama condemn his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, over controversial remarks he made when Obama was not present . These types of episodes became known as “Sister Souljah moments.” My question is, when will the D.C. press demand that Donald Trump denounce and apologize for the ugly remarks https://www.espn.com/mma/story/ /id/49074842/josh-hokit-disparages-michelle-obama-ufc-white-house-event made by the UFC fighter? Robert Green Cupertino Musk should put his fortune to work Re: “ Musk is first trillionaire https://apnews.com/article/musk-spacex-tesla-ipo-trillionaire-billionaire-worth-rockets-7723f82b6063a9a17c194e25982cd66d ” Page A1, June 13 . I would like to acknowledge the fantastic achievement and continuing engineering brilliance of Elon Musk. No doubt in my mind that he was partly driven by competition with Jeff Bezos, et.al., to get to the elusive trillion-dollar mark — but look what we got: the belief that great things can be attained by taking great calculated risks and a convincing sales pitch. Fintech innovations, electric cars, Starlink, SpaceX, etc., have helped transform our economy. He truly seems to be the pivotal change agent of our time. Kudos to you, Elon, even after the heartless damage to political institutions that protect and defend the disadvantaged. A few weeks ago, he said that the jobs eliminated by AI would require some form of guaranteed income. Now is the time for him to put a little bit of his money where his mouth is and lead an effort to begin this process. Harry Fish Moraga