16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 25-31, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com HAD TO BE THERE Locals who can’t afford it did enjoy the livestream (“The California Roots Music and Art Festival will not be live streamed this year,” posted May 16). Karen Lessard | via social media Lame! Capitalism overtakes Cali Roots, once a safe haven for good karma. Terrible decision, and the founders know this. Lots of artists who were far down from the headliners got really great exposure from the livestream and it helped them take off. Money before the music fans and artists…this is pretty darn ugly. Jake Fathy | via social media RIGHTS ON Thank you so much for writing about these so-called First Amendment auditors, aka frauditors (“A group who claims to care about free speech harasses the Weekly,” May 18-24). They love the term “We the people,” yet we the actual people understand that barging into a government building to film commercially for their monetized YouTube channels is not standing up for anyone’s rights. These frauditors are the new domestic terrorists, they continue to harass our government in a way that is for their financial benefit only. Your article is proof this group of people don’t know or understand the First Amendment. Edward Vincent | Half Moon Bay Very sorry to hear about harassment. You must have hit a nerve real hard to be worthy of such attacks. Kelita Smith | Carmel You questioning somebody’s journalistic ethics is a complete joke! Apparently, you have no idea what ethics are or why we have freedom of the press! “The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.” The freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment, is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. A free media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government wrongdoing. Shame on you! Tamra K. Louviere | via social media Many thanks for your article exposing this YouTube antagonizor/frauditor, Anthony X. He’s been doing this stuff for a long time and his main interest is triggering employees of public entities for content. It’s time for governmental agencies to start cracking down on this. Managers of public buildings should call the police and have these trespassers removed at once. Please keep exposing these people for what they are. They are no more interested in anyone’s rights than the man on the moon. Carl Goss | via email It is a great shame that mainstream media and newspapers don’t pay more attention [to First Amendment audits]. Your story has opened the gates—hopefully other outlets will pick up on the truth. You are so correct—the auditors ask their subscribers to call, flood, email and harass someone when they stand up to the auditors. I hope you continue to expose these auditors for what they are. David Richardson | Perth, Australia I wanted to take a moment to offer support. You have shown who the real journalist is and conducted yourself with integrity and professionalism. Keep doing what you are doing and know that you have many like myself who support you and will continue to fight these “frauditors.” William Holloway | Angleton, Texas STAR POWER Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Squid has gone from a creative cephalopod to a cranky one (“Squid Fry: Hard Party,” May 11-17). Many of us have had to mature and mellow into reasonable environmentalists. We’ve learned that saving 50 percent of something is better than 100 percent due to ideologist purity and rigidity. Compromise is the way forward. We are lucky to have Clint Eastwood leading the way on sustainable development. Some complicated deal allowed development in exchange for Carmel River restoration, artichoke fields preservation and water credits for local home remodeling. He also restored Mission Ranch and it is such an iconic part of our area. Wealthy landowners with consciences can do tremendous good. Pebble Beach represents the ultimate in American excellence and elegance. Ted Turner has bought up huge swaths of the heartland of America; he is working with farmers and ranchers. We appreciate our celebrities; Clint Eastwood’s contributions will stand the test of time. Squid needs to squirt noxious ink in another direction. Try some undersea gratitude meditation. Mary Quirit | Monterey PARK-N-PAY Parking is SUUUUPER plentiful at CSU Monterey Bay, don’t see why this can’t be free. It’s not exactly UC Davis or UC San Diego (“CSUMB students demand free parking, calling it an issue of educational equity,” posted May 12). David Slater | via social media $500 per year is a bit much for a student. How about $100? Christian Parley | via social media Entitled kids. Thirty years ago I had to pay for parking on campus for university. This is not new. Zero sympathy. Art Fernandez | via social media “I struggled 30 years ago so you should too” is a bizarre way of thinking. Adam J. Lincoln | via social media A JAZZ LEGEND A huge thank you for the article on brother Jackson [Stock]’s gathering; you’ve introduced him in depth, to the community at large, both known and unknown (“Local jazz musicians convene this weekend to pay musical homage to one of their own,” posted May 19). The Stock family appreciates your excellence. Peter Stock | Big Sur CIDER WORKS Yay—something not beer to cheer (“The first cider from a Carmel brewery is crisp and delicious—and there’s more to come,” May 11-17). Arno Featherstone | Seaside LETTERS • COMMENTSOPINION Submit letters to the editor to letters@mcweekly.com. Please keep your letter to 150 words or less; subject to editing for space. Please include your full name, contact information and city you live in.
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