The political cartoon portraying conservatives and libertarians as insensitive and callous toward the poor is grossly mistaken (Today’s Cartoon, Pat Oliphant, Wednesday). Caring and compassion are good only when they are voluntary and individual. Voters and bureaucrats are spending someone else’s money. Public compassion is always compulsory and inefficient. Government agencies have spent zillions of dollars over the past decades to alleviate poverty; there is still no lack of poor people. Read More

Your article on the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival (“Outside Lands hits high note,” Monday) stated in passing that there were “fewer than half the number of complaints about noise.” It remains to be seen whether that was because the concert’s noise pollution was actually lower, or whether Sunset and Richmond residents simply gave up trying to get organizers to actually deal with the noise pollution. Read More

Justice was a lost concept in the Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi case (“Mirkarimi deserves another chance,” Wednesday). Read More

It is quite saddening to see that the city attorney and the Election Department have decreased the traditional standards of reason when it comes to issues that may or may not be placed on the ballot (“Voters deserve apolitical details on Hetchy battle,” Monday). After all, it has been my pleasure to have placed nearly a dozen issues on the ballot over the years. Read More