opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Being a scientist while placating a narcissist — Anthony Fauci's impossible job

Dr. Anthony Fauci deserves something like combat pay for guiding the nation with his scientific expertise while also doing enough not to get fired.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Restart the economy? We can't even stock enough toilet paper right now

It's insane to think life can return to normal soon when we haven't even figured out how to get enough milk and toilet paper into stores.




opinion and polls

Opinion: Atheist activists were once punching bags. Now, readers revere them

A writer criticized atheist activist Ron Reagan. In a sign of the times, that letter drew howls of protest from readers.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Churches don't have a 1st Amendment right to ruin public health

Some of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks have been linked to religious services, and the public's health trumps every other right.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Trump didn't prepare for the coronavirus, and neither did you

People who blame the president for failing to prepare the country ignore an important fact: We didn't want to believe America was vulnerable to COVID-19.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: A Yosemite with no people and only animals is a sight to behold

Bears, deer and other animals are roaming freely in areas once packed by Yosemite tourists. It appears the coronavirus is teaching us something about humans.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Unodocumented workers pay taxes. They deserve more than one-time coronavirus aid

A program for one-time assistance to undocumented workers affected by the pandemic is a start, but California must do much more.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: You can order TP on Amazon, but you might not actually receive it

A reader says it's nice to know she wasn't the only one who was apparently duped after she bought packages of toilet paper on the Amazon Marketplace.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Yeah, Trump is lazy, but underestimating him is dangerous

The president might not like to work, but the people who think and act for him are very effective at their jobs.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: The Postal Service helps define our nation. Losing it would be devastating

The Postal Service is as important to the United States as its language and its highways. Losing it would forever change the country for the worse.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: 'Liberate' protests show why Trump is such a dangerous president

Protesters violating every rule on fighting COVID-19, with the support of the president, show how badly we need competent leadership.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Hospitals needs to stop treating nurses like they're expendable

When doctors are given N95 masks but the nurses who frequently come into contact with sick patients do not, you know something's wrong.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Why the Stanford blood antibody study might not be very useful

Participants in the Stanford study self-selected, among other flaws. Its results do not reveal anything meaningful about the coronavirus.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Close some L.A. streets to cars — but reopen hiking trails too

Calls to close streets to automobiles show the demand for exercise. Too bad all local trails have been closed to hikers.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: The myth of Americans coming together after a catastrophe

We're still divided into red state and blue states. Of course we aren't coming together with a disaster like the COVID-19 pandemic raging on.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Democrats were impeaching Trump when action against coronavirus was needed

No Democratic candidates called for social distancing before Super Tuesday, and now the left is Monday-morning quarterbacking the president.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: The rich are going to have to pay more in taxes after the coronavirus pandemic

Governments across the U.S. have simply not saved enough to deal with coronavirus-induced budget shortfalls. They need to start taxing the rich more.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: A pandemic is the worst time for local newspapers to die

We need local reporting now more than ever, but things don't look good after the folding of three community newspapers in Southern California.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Dealing with coronavirus was Trump's job, even during impeachment

Even when he was being impeached, Trump still had a job to do. Nothing justifies his failure to take early action against the coronavirus.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Every American needs an N95 mask more than a stimulus check

Cloth masks are not nearly as effective as N95 respirators and they give wearers a false sense of security against the coronavirus.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Newsom's stopgap stimulus for immigrants perpetuates their abuse

The state isn't doing right by undocumented immigrants with a financial relief program that does nothing to address abusive labor practices.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: No, flawed coronavirus antibody studies don't mean we can reopen

The study authors are reckless to say we need to "recalibrate" public health approaches because the actual COVID-19 mortality rate might be lower.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: State governors, listen to your mayors who don't want to reopen

State preemption has been used against local governments on a number of issues; it would be a mistake for that to happen now amid coronavirus fears.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: One draconian law is killing the U.S. Postal Service. Rescind it

A 2006 law requiring the Postal Service to pre-fund future retirees' health benefits has accelerated the agency's financial decline.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Coronavirus stirs readers' patriotism — for California

A call to split the U.S. into separate republics based on our deep political divisions draws support from readers.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: It's time to trade mass lockdowns for more tailored protection measures

Our healthcare system has not been overwhelmed. It's time to return to normal for most people while taking measures to protect the vulnerable.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Enforcing Trump's anti-immigrant policies makes no sense in a pandemic

The spouses of immigrants need economic help too so they can stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Gavin Newsom's briefings are reassuring, even if they're filled with jargon

Gov. Gavin Newsom's daily coronavirus news conferences may drag on, but he's hitting all the right notes with the public.




opinion and polls

Opinion: These protestors crying oppression get almost no sympathy from readers

Rarely does any group of people draw so many howls of protest from readers as the anti-lockdown demonstrators.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Coronavirus isn't making cancer less deadly. Patients need treatment now

If you're a cancer patient, you should not avoid treatment because of the pandemic. Surgery and follow-up care cannot wait.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Stubborn enough to go see the poppy bloom? At least stay on the trails

Publishing photos of maskless tourists romping in poppy fields does not help the cause of social distancing.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: A high school student's plea — always remember the clean air of April 2020

A high school student who grew up knowing the threat posed by climate change asks for everyone to remember how the environment seemed to heal in April 2020.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Your N95 mask might be worthless without a proper fit test

Healthcare providers undergo a complicated process to make sure their N95 masks are doing their job. Members of the public may have a false sense of security.




opinion and polls

Feedback: What readers think about petition to name Dr. Anthony Fauci 'sexiest man'

Calendar Feedback: Is competence sexy? Readers on whether it trivializes Dr. Fauci to call him 'sexy.' Plus, differing opinions on the Peter Zumthor design of LACMA.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: What are O.C. cities thinking keeping their beaches open?

If most beaches in Southern California are closed, so should those in Orange County, which attracted thousands of people on a hot weekend.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Jackie Lacey: How L.A. County has curtailed crime and coronavirus in jails

The Los Angeles County district attorney says work was already underway on reducing L.A.'s jail population before a zero-bail order was issued.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: It's finally time to demand Trump's resignation over coronavirus

It's too dangerous to have Trump remain president for another eight months during a pandemic. Let Mike Pence take over.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Add teachers to the list of coronavirus outbreak heroes

An Inglewood teacher distributes food to families before doing hours of instruction work online. She deserves praise and help.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Make working from home permanent to keep traffic at pandemic levels

Not everything has to go back to normal after the pandemic, including L.A. traffic. More businesses need to make working from home permanent.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Rich people riding out the pandemic in country homes put locals at risk

A resident of Sedona, Ariz., did not appreciate an L.A. Times story on wealthy out-of-towners fleeing to their second homes.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Contact-tracing apps on our phones sound frighteningly Orwellian

Tech companies make money from our information. Why would their development of COVID tracking apps be any different?




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Packed flights, unmasked TSA agents: How is this still allowed?

If there are still crowded flights and TSA agents are not required to wear masks, how will we ever be able to return to normal?




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: She had a ruptured appendix, but fear of COVID-19 scared her from the ER

A patient who had server abdominal pain has a warning: If you think you need to do so, go to the ER, even with a pandemic raging.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Coronavirus might cause us to eat less meat? Good

The COVID-19 pandemic is a full-blown disaster, but if shortages mean Americans eat less meat as a result, then so be it.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Rationing COVID-19 treatment to the elderly and disabled is illegal and immoral

The author of the Americans With Disabilities Act warns that coronavirus treatment that takes disability and age into account is immoral and illegal.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Why you shouldn't shame the shopper wearing gloves and an N95 mask

Someone wearing gloves and an N95 mask likely had a stockpile at home before the pandemic hit.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Newsom's right. Crowding beaches in a pandemic is not your birthright as a Californian

Calls to open all beaches because Californians have a right to them are silly and dangerous. Gov. Newsom is making the right call.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Herd immunity, or culling the herd? Don't mess with COVID-19

We don't know enough about the coronavirus to experiment with deliberately infecting volunteers with COVID-19.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Sedona wasn't a secret hideaway before the L.A. Times wrote about it

Just like in Sedona, people have been fleeing to Palm Springs to ride out the pandemic. It happens in every small resort town favored by rich people.




opinion and polls

Letters to the Editor: Use plastic bags or catch coronavirus is a false choice

There's no evidence that the use of plastic bags prevents exposure to the coronavirus, so why use them instead of reusable bags?