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Congress must reclaim
power to declare war

Re: “Alarm grows after U.S. joins fighting” (Page A1, June 23).

The U.S. Constitution clearly states that only Congress has the power to declare war. Instead, Congress allowed Donald Trump to unilaterally bomb Iran.

Trump’s history of making wise decisions is poor. He pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. He replaced intelligence professionals who ran the anti-terrorism agency with a 22-year-old MAGA loyalist. He plans to fire some 1,200 CIA employees. He has alienated our allies with harmful tariffs and bullying. He disregarded national intelligence that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. He chooses advisers based on their loyalty to him rather than their knowledge and experience.

It’s likely that he will use this war to gain more emergency powers to pursue his dictatorship. Please contact Congress and urge them to pass the National Security Powers Act to fortify congressional approval for acts of war and to force a vote on the war through the War Powers Act.

Karen Mandel
San Jose

Protests establish
a sense of community

Re: “Kilmar Abrego Garcia pleads not guilty to human smuggling charges in Tennessee federal court” (June 13).

When I first read about Kilmar Abrego Garcia — shipped abruptly, without trial, to a brutal prison in El Salvador — I felt a duty as a retiree to turn out for the small local protests that sprang up.

Months later, I find myself heading out twice a week, not from a sense of duty, but in a spirit of joy. Drivers honk and wave, and we wave back. We see the occasional middle finger or thumbs down, but I’ve set myself the challenge of flashing an arthritic peace sign before the moment passes.

Meanwhile, I’m meeting people who share my hopes for more kindness and more truth, and for preserving our precious freedoms, like equal protection and due process.

If you’re worried about rising authoritarianism, see you at the curb.

Sue Luttner
Palo Alto

Column exemplifies
reasoned discourse

Re: “Court abdicates its duty with anti-trans ruling” (Page A9, June 22).

While I often disagree with Erwin Chemerinsky, I appreciate his well-reasoned legal analysis. His writing thoughtfully explains both majority and dissenting Supreme Court opinions, in both current and historical contexts, encouraging readers like me to consider all perspectives.

This stands in stark contrast to many prior legal op-eds and letters, which simply resort to accusing the opposing side of constitutional ignorance.

It’s a shame The Mercury News doesn’t feature more contributors of Chemerinsky’s caliber to articulate positions on legal, political and social issues.

Fred Gutmann
Cupertino

Trump should stop
delaying TikTok ban

Re: “Trump extends TikTok ban again” (Page C7, June 20).

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Digital safety is not something to negotiate with. TikTok needs to come to an end and should stop being given so many chances. Owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance, which is legally required to share data with the Chinese government if asked, is a real threat.

Over the past few months, we’ve had extensions and deadlines that have given TikTok more time to influence young users, such as children and young adults, and collect their data. President Donald Trump would have followed through with the ban if he cared about protecting Americans’ privacy. Ending the delays and banning TikTok once and for all is what the current administration should do.

Tania Ortega
Redwood City