Also: Wasteful spending | Costly changes | Musk contracts | Recruiting gains | Steer tailing. East Bay Times reader letters to the editor for Feb. 9, 2025.
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Before gutting DEI,
prove it’s doing harm
Re: “DEI will not be missed in the United States military” (Page A9, Feb. 2).
Bret Stephens notes that, under DEI, physical fitness standards have been lowered for women in military combat roles. Since Stephens does not mention any other group (ethnic and racial minorities, gays, etc.) as having difficulty with the previous standards, the issue is apparently only the comparatively small group identified — women in combat roles — and it seems a bit of a stretch to justify eliminating all DEI on that basis.
But even limiting the discussion to that group, are the original standards appropriate, or are they unnecessarily restrictive? No Americans are in combat anywhere today (thank you, Joe Biden), so we can’t directly observe whether women inducted under the lower standards can succeed in combat. But is there any indication, from training or other stressful peacetime activities such as rescues and disaster mitigation, that women don’t measure up? I would like to know that before throwing the DEI baby out with the bathwater.
Merlin Dorfman
Livermore
Trump, DOGE will soon
end wasteful spending
Over the past four years wasteful government spending has been at an all-time high. This excessive spending has caused the worst inflation in over 40 years.
The first order of business to curb inflation is to cut excessive spending. With the appointment of DOGE, I for one am delighted that the wasteful government spending will finally come to an end. DOGE will be able to identify wasteful spending and put an end to it. It is a breath of fresh air and long overdue.
Successful and prosperous days are in America’s future with DOGE.
David Ott
Pleasanton
Constitution, rule of law
cost of Trump’s changes
In the past three weeks, the Trump administration has taken bold steps to further its agenda. You may believe that reducing government waste and creating efficiency is necessary. My question for you is this: Do you stand for the Constitution, or do you abandon it? Do you agree with the rule of law, or do you feel illegal actions are necessary?
Rule of law, balance of power and the voice of the people are some of the most pivotal frameworks of democracy. Subverting the rule of law is never necessary. It sets a dangerous precedent for our future. Garnering power for a single branch of our government upsets the framework of our Constitution. Do you stand for our country and the principles it was founded on, or do you abandon them in service to efficiency and wealth?
Allie Felker
Livermore
Army’s recruiting gains
follow Trump’s victory
The Pentagon recently announced that December provided its highest Army recruitment number in 15 years. And in January, recruitment numbers again hit the highest levels in 15 years.
This could be an amazing coincidence, but I note the election was in November, and the inauguration was in January.
Perhaps Army recruits were waiting for a proud and strong commander in chief, rather than some other kind. The numbers speak for themselves.
Mike Heller
Walnut Creek
State ban on steer tailing
could spark U.S. ban
Back in 1994, California outlawed the Mexican charreada’s brutal “horse tripping” event. Accordingly, the U.S. Charro Federation changed its rules for the entire country. That’s progress.
Charreadas feature an even more brutal event, “steer tailing” (aka “colas” or “coleaderos”), wherein a mounted charro grabs a running steer by the tail, wraps the tail around his leg, then rides off at an angle, slamming the hapless animal to the ground. Tails are routinely broken, stripped to the bone (“degloved”), even torn off. “Steer tailing,” not a standard ranching practice anywhere in the United States, was banned in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the 1990s and all of Nebraska in 2008. Even Cesar Chavez was an outspoken critic.
Passage of a California ban would likely result in a U.S. Charro Federation rule change banning “steer tailing” nationwide. Let your representatives hear from you.
Eric Mills
Oakland
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