For our national security, we must stand by Israel against Iran-backed terrorists. History shows this conflict is part of a much broader conflict between Iran, who funds and equips Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi terrorist armies, all determined to eliminate Israel. The U.S. must act as a deterrent to Iran and Hezbollah to prevent this war from escalating throughout the Middle East. Israel has a right to defend itself after the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7 – 50 years after Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. There’s no question that Israeli and Palestinian casualties are a tragedy. For a two-state solution to work, Hamas must be replaced with a democratic government in Gaza willing to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Dear Editor: I agree with your January 8 Opinion “Bringing home the bacon” that our next Congressional representative needs to obtain money for rail crossings for high-speed rail, known as grade separations. The San Mateo County Transportation Authority’s lobbying priorities include “Grade Separations are an important safety and quality of life feature for the cities in San Mateo County. With the average grade separation cost over $200 million, there continue to be limited federal, state and local resources available to help finance these projects.”

Our state representatives missed the opportunity when our state government was running annual budget surpluses. Instead, the state has a $68 billion projected deficit, and yet still spends $8 billion each year of Cap and Trade taxes on high-speed rail to nowhere.

Our Congressional representatives missed a once-in-a-decade opportunity to fund needed grade separations in the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill signed in 2021.

I’d argue Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties contribute an outsized proportion of tax revenues, especially capital gains taxes, to our Federal government. It’s time we got a piece of it back.

Peter Ohtaki
Candidate for U.S. Congress, District 16