Latest news with #SteveLopez
Los Angeles Times
24-06-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: Increasingly expensive elder care ‘almost sounds like a conspiracy'
To the editor: Thank you, columnist Steve Lopez, for putting the elder cards on the table ('The monthly tab for her in-home elder care: $18,000. She can cover it, but how many others can?,' June 21). It almost sounds like a conspiracy: Elder care becoming unaffordable for all but the 1% as Medicaid (which pays for more than half of the money spent on long-term care for the disabled and elderly each year) faces drastic cuts. Not to mention that cases of Alzheimer's disease in the United States currently number about 7.2 million. Simultaneously, people must work longer and longer for full Social Security benefits. But conspiracies are typically shrouded in secrecy. This situation is no secret. It's been building for decades. The billionaires and their lackeys are betting that no one cares, that old and disabled lives are expendable. What wonderful things they will do with the tax money saved from cutting Medicaid! Susan Calhoun, Lynwood .. To the editor: Most people can't afford to have someone care for themselves alone 24 hours a day. In their final years, my parents lived in an assisted living facility for about half of what Reiko Kobata pays per person for in-home care. Sure, there are adjustments for an older person to move to assisted living. But I think the benefits of assisted living, including social opportunities and arranged medical appointments, make the move worthwhile. And if Kobata were to move, she could make economic use of her house, such as by renting it. Michael Pollak, Los Angeles
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Letters to the Editor: It's not just L.A. The world isn't ready for a U.S.-hosted Olympics
To the editor: Columnist Steve Lopez asks if L.A. will be ready for its close-up ('Three years away from the Olympics, L.A. is tripping over hurdles and trying to play catchup,' June 7). With the World Cup in one year and the Olympics in 2028, I don't think so. A more pressing question: Is the world ready for the United States to host anything? Does anyone think the countries that participate in the World Cup will show up? Will fans? We've already banned people from one participating country, Iran, from traveling here and are in the process of denying visas and arresting thousands. Fans of the World Cup will not show up just to be herded through turnstiles into the arms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fast forward to the Olympics. Today's protests will not stop. How does this city get ready for the Olympics? For tourists? I am deeply ashamed of what is going on in this country and fully expect the rest of the world to boycott us the way 65 nations boycotted the Russian Summer Olympics in 1980 after Russia invaded Afghanistan. Susan Polifronio, Los Angeles This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: It's not just L.A. The world isn't ready for a U.S.-hosted Olympics
To the editor: Columnist Steve Lopez asks if L.A. will be ready for its close-up ('Three years away from the Olympics, L.A. is tripping over hurdles and trying to play catchup,' June 7). With the World Cup in one year and the Olympics in 2028, I don't think so. A more pressing question: Is the world ready for the United States to host anything? Does anyone think the countries that participate in the World Cup will show up? Will fans? We've already banned people from one participating country, Iran, from traveling here and are in the process of denying visas and arresting thousands. Fans of the World Cup will not show up just to be herded through turnstiles into the arms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fast forward to the Olympics. Today's protests will not stop. How does this city get ready for the Olympics? For tourists? I am deeply ashamed of what is going on in this country and fully expect the rest of the world to boycott us the way 65 nations boycotted the Russian Summer Olympics in 1980 after Russia invaded Afghanistan. Susan Polifronio, Los Angeles
Forbes
17-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
Living With And ON Purpose
Team purpose 'Virtuous purpose is worth more than any other person's conditional and unreliable respect. It is rooted in service and sacrifice, not entitlement.' So writes David French, the New York Times columnist and political commentator. This statement is from a recent op-ed that noted his service as a military reservist who has served overseas. Many veterans express such thoughts about purpose because the intensity of their experience was never sharper than when they were a cohesive unit going through an extreme situation such as combat. The virtue emerges from working for a greater goal beyond what an individual can achieve. The challenge becomes, what do we do next? Not long ago, I interviewed sociologist Erin Cech, author of The Trouble with Passion. She argues that purpose is often overemphasized, and as a result, it leaves people disillusioned at work. Cech and many others believe that work itself need not provide purpose. Instead, what you do with the output of work – income, for example – enables purpose, living your life, and taking care of others. Purpose can evolve. Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times, the author of Independence Day, a book about retirement, argues that when it comes to fulfillment, particularly later in life after work, simple things like walking your dog can offer purpose. It focuses on the day and gets one out of the house and into the fresh air. David French's coupling of the word purpose with 'virtuous' harkens back to our Founding Fathers. As historian Tom Ricks writes in First Principles, 'public virtue' was paramount. Living a life of virtue was a mark of integrity. So much so that some Founders said that if virtue prevailed, there would be no need for a constitutional government because people would do the right thing. Fortunately, more reasoned minds, notably George Washington realized that such aspirations were not feasible. The Constitution therefore created a system of governance rooted in principles of equality and justice. [Shamefully, Black enslaved people were ignored for the next century and more.] Virtuous purpose, as French writes, is rooted in sacrifice. It ennobles the individual because it serves the common good. Servicemen and women put their time, energy, and often personal safety into keeping the nation safe. Community volunteers at home devote their service to keeping disadvantaged populations, collectively and individually, from despair and disaster. The purpose is how you define it. For leaders, it becomes the why from which vision and mission spring. So it must be communicated relentlessly. For individuals, it shapes our values. So harkening to the notion of virtue is a good start. Virtue may be as simple as the Golden Rule – 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' A higher purpose is often used about faith, but that does not mean that serving fellow men is of 'lower purpose' or value—a higher purpose – whether based on religion or community — is living for the greater good. Reflecting on the nature of purpose is more than just an exercise in philosophy. Delving into the meaning of life for self and others is an exercise in shaping how you want to live. The challenge for each of us is to act purposefully. Now and in the future.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Letters to the Editor: Alzheimer's affects too many Americans for research to be cast aside
To the editor: I really appreciate that Steve Lopez wrote a powerful column calling attention to the insanity of cutting off the funding for an ambitious study of Alzheimer's ( '7 million people have Alzheimer's. Why is the Trump administration derailing research?' May 2). This disease has blighted — and will continue to blight — millions of lives, affecting people from Ronald Reagan to Gene Hackman to one's own family members. That the principal investigator of the study believes that the problem is the use of the word "diverse" in its title shows the utter mindlessness of the DOGE proceedings. Glenna Matthews, Laguna Beach .. To the editor: Like many families, ours lost a loved one to Alzheimer's many years ago. As with any illness, Alzheimer's knows no political party — it can affect any and all human beings. The interruption of the study will halt so much important medical research that would only serve to benefit all people, from the poor to billionaires. At the same time, the administration is willing to spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for a military parade for President Trump's birthday. Why does that seem to take priority over fighting deadly diseases? Frances Terrell Lippman, Sherman Oaks This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
