After listening to the State of the Union address, I see one of President Obama's promises is to reduce military spending. I assume that's a nice gesture to appease his base. Read comments

Thank you to all Fresno County workers whose tax dollars subsidize small businesses. As a small business owner, Michael Der Manouel Jr. owes these workers a big thanks for all the luxuries he is legally able to write off as business expenses. Read comments

California became a state in 1850, but since then every elected and non-elected official has ignored the fact that this state does not have a train from the capital to the southern end of the state -- not even a "snail train." Now they want a bullet train. Read comments

Gary Walker's diatribe against anyone who seems to target Muslims was an obvious attempt to distort the truth (Valley Voices Jan. 28). Mr. Walker tells of a local Muslim who practices Islam as being unfairly targeted by TSA agents. Read comments

We should not wait until Veterans Day or Memorial Day to thank our veterans for our freedom. Read comments

With California's economy the way it is, I'm against building a high-speed rail system because, after awhile, the car thieves just might think it'll be more exciting to steal a train. They know that the punishment would be minimum. Read comments

Jeffrey W. Eisinger's Feb. 2 letter complains about Michael Der Manouel Jr.'s recent commentary concerning Fresno County employees. Mr. Eisinger says, "Dividing the working classes is an age old trick of the capitalist class." Read comments

Whenever the issue of income inequality is raised, Republicans are likely to accuse one of class warfare. But what do the facts tell us? According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, during the 30-year period from 1976 to 2007, average income for the bottom 90% grew by only about 10%, while average income for the top 1% grew by about 275%! Read comments

In the Feb. 2 Bee, Kathleen Parker wrote a provocative column unknowingly refuting the philosophy of Ayn Rand. In Rand's supernovel, her heroes approach perfection, although what or who is perfect is debatable to some extent. Ms. Parker suggests that Mitt Romney needs a visible defect in the form of a limp so that the "everyday American," with his or her addictions, broken marriages, near poverty, etc., can "connect" with him. Read comments

On Jan. 28, I spent a beautiful day with my family at an open house tour of Critter Creek Wildlife Station. Read comments