Sympathy for stressed salmon
Concerning “King salmon scarce; price is steep” (Aug. 24): In assessing the lack of king salmon in the Bay Area, a co-owner of the Monterey Fish Market in San Francisco and Berkeley states that “our sympathies are really with the fishermen.” Well, given the warming and decreasing water levels during our drought in places like the Sacramento River, which caused lack of sufficient spawning grounds and die-offs of baby salmon, my sympathies are with the fish.
Barbara Sandstrom, San Francisco
Identity politics
One of the saddest things to have to watch these days is well-meaning progressives being channeled back into the Democratic Party via the crusade against Confederate monuments. It’s disturbing to see how quickly some people have forgotten the way that organizations’ jackboot came crashing down on the New Dealstyle campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders. The Democratic Party, like all political parties, is a master of illusion.
The identity politics strategy upon which its campaign against Confederate monuments is based is all about creating a vision of a just and humane society while at the same time doing absolutely nothing to make real improvements in people’s lives, especially in the lives of black people and those of other historically disadvantaged groups. Progressives would do well to remember that knocking down monuments is a dirt-cheap alternative to providing better schools, decent health care, job-training programs, etc.
Patrick Breen, Birmingham, Ala.
Signs of the time
Strangers are coming to Crissy Field on Saturday, and if you want to be there, why not let them really know they are in San Francisco? Carry signs that read: “Make love, not war!” “If you come to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair,” “Flower Power!” and for the religious: “God forgives you, and I’m trying to!”
Sarah Taber, San Francisco
‘Trump’s Twitter’
Regarding “Ex-CIA agent’s plan to get Trump off Twitter” (Daily Briefing, Business, Aug. 24): I was both heartened and amused to read that ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson is using crowdfunding in an attempt to buy Twitter and ban President Trump from using it. Many believe that our tweeting-obsessed POTUS has long been violating Twitter’s terms of service by using his account, @realdonaldtrump, to launch vicious personal attacks on judges, Gold Star families and his perceived political enemies. More and more users are abandoning this social media platform, which should probably be rechristened “Trump’s Twitter,” for lacking the courage to close the president’s account.
Raneesh Patel, San Francisco