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As always, Facebook’sfocus is on money
“Larry Magid: Looking back on 2022 and ahead to 2023,” Dec. 29:
I have long been a critic of Facebook including its use of Messenger Kids to connect underage users to their parents’ accounts. We must pause and appreciate Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts with his version of the metaverse.
To be clear, he is not innovating here as much as chasing reality. Throughout the pandemic, virtual conference bridges, such as Zoom, allowed the continuance of commerce and became the de-facto social meeting space among friends, family and colleagues. We are already interacting in three-dimensional online conference spaces.
As we embark on 2023, the network connection between Stanford and UCLA back in 1969 that developed into the world wide web by the likes of Tim Berners-Lee in 1990 has given rise to the 5th dimension. The metaverse is about to change all of our lives; Zuckerberg is chasing the gold at the end of the rainbow.
Akeem MostamandySan Jose
Easy fix for problemwith daylight saving
Margaret Lawson’s Letter to the Editor (“If we change time, change to standard,” Page A7, Dec. 30) raises the old canard against year-round daylight saving time, namely “Students would be going to school in the dark.”
This sole problem could be trivially solved by simply starting school an hour later — which is recommended anyway. Then students, as well as the rest of us, would be free to enjoy the extra evening daylight.
Gary BraininSan Jose
Here’s how we canspend money wisely
Food for thought about money.
The no cash bail debate: Money can certainly allow those with means to get out of jail while the less fortunate may get stuck in jail until their hearing. The compromise, depending on the crime we could consider the option of the no-cash bail to be allowed only one time for that individual.
Money may be able to sway votes for politicians. The compromise, politicians running for the Congress, Senate, presidency and possibly other offices would be allowed a fixed equal amount of funds to promote their campaign thus making it a more equal playing field.
And please, if I may, one more item. FasTrak Express lanes are not equitable and according to some could even be considered racist.
Bradford MartinSaratoga
Trump isn’t a genius;he’s a tax cheat
Donald Trump has sources of income from more than a dozen countries. Does that matter? He is able to pay as a percentage of income very much lower than the average citizen. He must be a genius in doing so or a tax cheat.
Did he break the law? Or did he simply take advantage of the existing laws? In the end, the Republican leadership will be claiming that he was the greatest president ever and created the greatest prosperity. He must be exempt from disclosing his income taxes as a candidate.
We as citizens have a say in how our leaders behave.
Mohan RajSan Jose
Disregard for the lawincreases traffic deaths
Why are traffic fatalities increasing? When homicides, carjackings, assaults and shoplifting are all on the rise, it would be naive not to expect traffic laws to receive the same level of disrespect.
When insane requests for police defunding and the vilification of the police combine to lower recruitment, it should come as no surprise that enforcement is down.
When traffic laws are ignored, injuries and fatalities will increase.
It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to see that.
Jim MartinGilroy
S.F. must addresshomelessness problem
On New Year’s Eve at midnight I watched the gorgeous, wonderful San Francisco fireworks on the waterfront.
They were indeed spectacular; however, after the first five minutes, my thoughts turned to how many homeless could have been housed and how many hungry could be fed with the money spent on 15 more minutes of excessive fireworks.
The message has to get to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to put more effort into housing the homeless and feeding the poor.
Sue MallorySaratoga
U.S. governmentshould run free lottery
On Dec. 27, The Mercury News posted an article, “California boasts most winners of largest U.S. lottery jackpots.”
I suggest a U.S. government program with virtually no administrative cost and with a continuous benefit for almost every American resident: a free lottery. Every three months, the Social Security Administration would randomly choose the Social Security number of one adult. The holder of that number would receive, say, $50 million from the U.S. Treasury free from federal income tax. The lottery’s annual cost of $200 hundred million would be a trivial portion of the multitrillion-dollar federal budget. Yet every adult Social Security card holder would constantly hold a free lottery ticket with a $50 million prize.
At a low cost, the government would give all Americans constant hope of an immensely better life. Few government programs can duplicate that.
William K.S. WangSan Francisco
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