A Mumbai mansion; the lack of intellectual diversity in academia; troubles in Vernon

Riding high in Mumbai

Re “There’s no place like this home,” Column One, Oct. 25

Mukesh Ambani may be a billionaire, but he sure showed an amazing lack of taste in the design of his “home.”

The ostentatious show of wealth does nothing for either him or India. He could have used the money to create an outstanding piece of architecture. Instead, he has created a monstrosity.

Everyone has a right to spend their hard-earned money the way they want to, and this applies to Ambani as well. I just hope that he will move beyond his midlife crisis and work for the good of the poor people of India. Perhaps he could help distressed farmers, many of whom are committing suicide, by paying off their loans.

Monali Khandagle

Van Nuys

How high can the human ego reach? I doubt if Ambani and his sons ever look out their penthouse windows toward those slums with the slightest inclination to put any of his money there.

I hope that this kind of obscenity doesn’t become common here in America as the middle class disappears, leaving only the unregulated, untaxed wealthy and the hopeless poor who serve them.

Ed Coonce

Encinitas

Rival schools of thought

Re “It’s diverse if you’re liberal,” Opinion, Oct. 25

Richard E. Redding makes the excellent point that diverse perspectives should be a cornerstone of a university education. He is also likely to be correct that the viewpoint in the social sciences, humanities and the arts is overwhelmingly politically liberal, and yet he makes no attempt to understand the basis for this bias.

To begin, consider the natural sciences, which are, as far as I can discern, completely apolitical. In

27 years on the faculty of a science department, I’ve never heard politics mentioned in the context of hiring, promotion or any other aspect of professional academic life. But in a division with close to 100 faculty members, I’ve yet to encounter one who is politically conservative.

Could it be that understanding the natural world through observation and experimentation is the domain of liberals?

S. M. Hedrick

Solana Beach

Redding doesn’t go nearly far enough.

What about diversity in the sciences to advance the cause of the Flat Earth Society in the geophysics department, and astrology in the astronomy department? Surely students should be able to assess the claims of these scientific groups, and if the Ptolemaic view of the universe claiming that the sun revolves around the Earth appeals to them, then by all means let’s establish a degree program in it.

Thomas Nosek

Torrance

Perhaps Redding could tell readers how the liberal professors came to dominate higher education, and how conservatives might use the same tactics.

He is well situated to do so, for unless I am mistaken, Chapman University has been known to be a conservative-leaning school since its founding. As an associate dean, a psychologist and a lawyer, he should be able to identify the ways in which his school has avoided becoming one of those liberally biased institutions of higher learning.

I would be particularly interested because, in my 47 years in higher education, I was not aware that I was being politically tested in my job interviews.

Tom Robischon

Los Angeles

Using only vague student comments about “the lack of intellectual diversity at our colleges and universities,” Redding leaps to the assertion that politically conservative students and professors are being discriminated against while preference is given to a “demographically diverse” academic population, even at “elite” schools.

Right. So affirmative action is now needed to accommodate that historically under-represented minority: the upper-class white conservative.

Michael Duffy

Simi Valley

Our Constitution says it all

Re “Curing a sick system,” Editorial, Oct. 24

Your statement that the limits on congressional power “are set mainly in the voting booth, not in the courthouse,” forgets that ours is a government of laws, not men. The Constitution grants the federal government a finite list of enumerated powers; there are many things that Congress cannot do regardless of voters’ wishes.

In the case of the individual mandate, of course, a sustained majority of Americans oppose the idea. Indeed, if Congress can regulate the inactivity at issue here — because the decision not to buy insurance is an “economic” one that “affects” interstate commerce — then the Constitution really does give Congress unlimited authority.

In short, the legal challenges to the individual mandate, and to other provisions of the new healthcare law, are serious and go to the heart of our political first principles.

Contrary to your conclusion, the founders would blanch at the idea that the main limits on federal power, as opposed to how Congress uses that power, comes from the ballot box.

Ilya Shapiro

Washington

The writer is editor in chief of the Cato Institute’s Supreme Court Review.

Your editorial says critics of the individual mandate claim it is an example of regulatory overreach.

But that kind of mandate should be familiar to Californians, who are required to buy automobile insurance or post a $35,000 bond if they drive their cars on our roads.

The rationale is the same: a requirement that people take personal responsibility for situations that would otherwise have to be paid for by others in one way or another.

Donald Schwartz

Los Angeles

Leave Vernon’s fate to Vernon

Re “Plan to disband Vernon gains steam,” Oct. 26

In a city with a large tax base and small population, there is a problem of corruption and unwarranted compensation. The solution proposed is to dissolve the city.

The city’s supporters point out that Vernon is a place that welcomes businesses no other city in Los Angeles County wants to shelter. Examples include a slaughterhouse and chemical factories.

Rather than dissolve the city and add its tax base to a county hungry for revenue, why not enfranchise the property owners? Doing so would give Vernon the voters who have an interest in seeing the city being run correctly.

W. Michael Johnson

San Marino

I fail to see why the former Vernon city administrator is facing criminal charges. Vernon is not Bell, and Donal O’Callaghan is not Robert Rizzo. Vernon’s City Council members have virtually no constituents to answer to, as the city’s handful of residents are mostly city employees who reside in city-owned housing, apparently to the mutual satisfaction of everyone.

If Vernon chooses to pay O’Callaghan handsomely, how is that my business or the business of the district attorney? Who has been harmed?

Vernon is an industrial city, providing tens of thousands of jobs in a region experiencing high unemployment.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley should not be wasting resources prosecuting a victimless crime.

Matthew Mackenzie

Arcadia

A take on a hike

Re “Mt. Whitney can offer storm of trouble,” Oct. 23

Having hiked Mt. Whitney several times, including once in late September, I am aware of the dangers. It sounds as if these rescued hikers knew of the approaching storms and decided to hike anyway.

Articles such as this will often mention that the search-and-rescue personnel did their work knowing they were placing themselves in harm’s way. What is rarely mentioned is that many of these rescuers are volunteers who put in countless hours of their own time.

Another issue is whether those rescued should pay the bill. If, as is the case here, they apparently knew of the approaching danger, then maybe they should pay the tab. But if it was something that happened that was not foreseeable, then maybe they shouldn’t have to pay.

Gary Marshall

Santa Paula

The bias meter

Re “This just in — duck!” Editorial, Oct. 23

In a completely biased editorial implying that only Republican politicians sometimes act without restraint, The Times writes, “Even ‘mainstream’ newspapers and networks sometimes fail to live up to their own standards of fairness. But at least they make an effort to be fair, unlike the nakedly partisan news outlets on cable.”

This self-serving pabulum would have bothered me if your hubris hadn’t given me such a good laugh.

And for that, I thank you.

P.J. Gendell

Beverly Hills