Two days, two very different columns about the great state of California. On Tuesday (Nov. 5), we got Brian Baker’s screed on “Commie-
fornia.” Ah, Brian Baker. What he totally lacks in thoughtful discourse and constructive thought, he more than makes up for with a cornucopia of insults and name calling: Dem/socialist, ultra-radical, leftists, extreme fringe nuts. Brian Baker was the precursor to Donald Trump. And, much like his hero, Baker is notoriously thin-skinned. After publishing one of his silly columns, the inevitable rebuttals generated would in turn cause him to write a letter to the editor taking further umbrage, The cycle was as predictable as anything he wrote.
I was going to write my own rebuttal but nothing I could think of would match the brilliance of Gary Horton’s column (Nov. 6). His ode to California, spelling out many of the reasons why this is such a great state, the energy, the industry, the innovation, was in stark contrast to Baker’s rendition of an old man growling, “get off my grass.” California drives right-wingers nuts because they want so desperately to see us fail, and they keep getting proved wrong.
As Horton noted, we have problems. But we will solve them — that’s what California does. Let Texas take our losers. We’ll take the smart ones, the industrious ones, wherever they may come from.
So Brian Baker is out of here, and I say good riddance. Colorado is a beautiful state, with beautiful scenery, striking cities and a growing progressive citizenry. Yet his biggest thrill is he can now walk with a concealed weapon. Of all the many reasons to make Colorado his home, that is his biggest. Well, Mr. Baker, don’t let the screen door hit you in the rump on the way out.
Lynn Wright
Valencia
