Rep. Jay C. Kim

* Regarding the Oct. 27 article about Rep. Jay C. Kim:

It is sad to see a new member of Congress, who campaigned to change things in Washington, fall into the same rut of blaming everyone but himself for his campaign misdeeds. What a mess our country would be in if everyone used the excuse, “I didn’t know the rules.”

I am amazed that a multimillionaire Republican politician would allow his mother to live in government-subsidized housing. But then his mother is quoted, “My son always thought of me.” EDMUND JONES

Lancaster

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* Kim is not the first Asian-born member of Congress. Judge D.S. Saund, born near Amritsar in the Punjab, India, was elected to the House of Representatives from the 29th District in 1956, defeating the aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran Odlum. He was reelected twice and would have won again in 1962 but for a crippling stroke that left him speechless.

He had a doctorate in mathematics from Berkeley but turned to farming since he was ineligible for citizenship (and even owning land). In fact, his wife, Marian Kosa Saund, had her citizenship taken away from her upon marrying him even though she was born in Brewster, Mass. He played a major role in getting the Luce-Cellars bill passed in Congress, which allowed East Indians to become citizens.

My mother-in-law, Marian Saund, is still alive and lives with me.

Saund was a real role model who cherished the words of Abraham Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson and did his best to make the American dream come true for others as well as for himself.

FREDERICK H. FISHER

San Diego