Letters to the Editor: UC Regent: A Disgrace To His Race

In his letter to The Daily Californian, Ward Connerly is speaking of the exact same preferences that got him in the position that he, Clarence Thomas, Condoleeza Rice, and others are in ("UC Regents to Resurrect Race Debate," Jan. 16).

It astounds me that this man, this black man, has forgotten where he has come from. He has completely neglected the idea that we have in our community to "lift as we climb." Instead, he is kicking as he climbs, kicking those hot on his heels. He is a disgrace to beneficiaries of affirmative action, and as a member of the black community.

To forget where you come from and deny opportunities to those that are like you, from the same underprivileged background, is to forget yourself. Wake up, Mr. Connerly. You, Sir, are an utter disgrace.

Bari al-Hakim

UC Berkeley alumnus

Editor Apologizes For Squelchly Heuristics

On behalf of The Heuristic Squelch, I would like to formally apologize for our past suggestion that there was something humorous about Arian White's name ("Arian Nation," Jan. 17). After reading his first column, I now realize that his name is, in fact, the only thing in America that ain't bullshit. Sorry for the confusion.

Sean Keane

editor, The Heuristic Squelch

Shock-Value Undermines Columnist

I hope columnist Arian White doesn't really believe that "the American flag is to blacks what the swastika is to Jews," and I think he would agree that not all blacks feel that way ("Arian Nation," Jan. 17).

You show a swastika to a Jew, their likely reaction is a sense of horror and disgust. You show the American flag to a black, do you think they'll have the same reaction? Are no blacks proud to be American? Have none died for their country? Have none waved the American flag?

I understand the point White is trying to make, and his intent to shock the reader, but these kind of incorrect generalizations do more harm than his column did good. In the very least White should say that this is his belief, not that of all blacks.

Also, all the profanity doesn't serve his rhetorical purpose very well; instead, it discredits his thesis in the mind of the reader.

I look forward to reading White's column next week, but I sincerely hope he won't write so as to become stereotyped as the "angry black man" columnist.

David Haskel

UC Berkeley student

Poking at Power

Although I have not heard an official editorial from The Daily Californian about California's current "energy crisis," I can use my imagination and I will submit an opposing view to what you will probably propose.

First off, let's get it straight. The state's electricity market is not deregulated. There has been a partial attempt, in that prices of independent, wholesale power producers (which the electric companies were forced to sell off) can reasonably reflect the market price, with some caps. On the retail level, there is essentially a price ceiling set below the market price.

Additionally, it is very difficult for a company to create a new power plant with the current regulatory and environmental concerns. In the past ten years or so, only natural gas-powered plants have been allowed to be constructed, which are relatively more expensive to operate in comparison to other forms of power. A sharp rise in the natural gas prices (which may be due in part to America's growing dependence on natural gas for electricity production), along with the regulatory and environmental limitations, were some of the causes of this "crisis."

Shortages of electricity are inevitable when the government does not let supply grow with demand or to have prices rise to the market price. Even if the supply is restricted, with no price controls the market price would adjust to allocate the constrained power supply efficiently. But with prices set artificially below the market price, there is no real reason for individuals or businesses to conserve; it simply is not in their interest as long as the price is cheap.

Electricity retailers, meanwhile, faced with this hike in costs and government-set prices, have no other option but to eat the losses. They have collectively lost billions of dollars (to the power wholesalers) and some are near bankruptcy.

The best long-term solution, therefore, is to have a true deregulation of the power market; give businesses more power to create new plants, and let the retail electric companies charge what the electricity really is worth. If there are concerns about the poor not being able to afford a minimum amount of electricity, perhaps a subsidy or voucher program should be considered.

It is true, if retail prices were deregulated today, the prices would go up - this is not necessarily a bad thing. This brings about energy conservation at its finest, because now you will question whether it is worth leaving your computer on all day now that electricity is paid for at its market price. Until that time happens, consumers will be paying too little for energy, making consumption artificially high, and causing electricity shortages in the forms of Stage 3 emergencies and rolling blackouts.

Jason Bayer

UC Berkeley student

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