Correct the injustice
Regarding “Punishment of those convicted should end after time served” (Open Forum, Nov. 15): Tamisha Walker wrote a wonderful article. It was clear and concise, citing her personal experience and the trials that people pay trying to re-enter the community and the work force.
Thank you, Walker, for your story and for your work to correct injustice and the stigma of those who incarcerated have paid their debt, and yet are blocked from being able to find housing and jobs.
John Hopper, Walnut Creek
Graphic description
Regarding “Killer’s wife’s body found under house” (Nov. 16): The latest mass shooting here in Northern California is a tragedy compounded by this newspaper’s lurid frontpage headline.
Is it really necessary to describe how this deranged shooter, after killing his wife, “stuffed her body under their house through a hole he cut in the floorboards”? This graphic description is more worthy of a tabloid like the National Enquirer than of a newspaper that calls itself “The Voice of the West.”
Bjorn Karlsson, Half Moon Bay
Religion and politics
Although I attend the Catholic Mass every morning, I want to applaud Congressman Jared Huffman’s recent announcement that he is a nonbeliever. The Founding Fathers of our country proclaimed the importance of separating church and state; Muslims, Jews, Hindus, atheists, etc., should feel free to serve in the Congress or any political office.
The fact that Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore has argued in a 2006 op-ed that Rep. Keith Ellison (Democrat from Minnesota) should not be permitted to serve in Congress because he is a Muslim is deeply offensive; that hostility and intolerance, based on religion, should disqualify Roy Moore from serving in the U.S. Senate not just the fact that he prowled the malls in search of teenage girls, and engaged in assaults on some of them when he was in his thirties.
Religion doesn’t belong in politics. Demagogues, like Roy Moore and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, exploit Jesus Christ as a weapon to amass power. President Trump, who probably hasn’t even read the Bible, also eagerly exploits people’s religious passions to further his own dubious political ends. If there is anything good about Christianity, it is ruined when it comes into close contact with politics. Nadia Silvershine, San Rafael
Trump deceived supporters
After reading the excellent article by E.J. Dionne, Jr. titled “Trump’s true constituency — the super rich” (Nov. 15), I realize how much Trump is deceiving his working-class supporters. If he were honest, his slogan would be: “Making America Take From the Poor and Give to the Rich Again.” The Republican tax and health care proposals will enhance income inequality, unaffordable housing, unattainable medical care, poverty and homelessness. How obscene can “rich fat cats” like President Trump and Harvey Weinstein be with their greed? Ralph Harris, San Francisco
Health care options
There is a lot of confusion and misinformation right now about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and open enrollment for purchasing health care through Covered California. Many solo entrepreneurs and small-business employees rely on the ACA marketplaces for their health insurance, so it’s crucial that small-business owners learn about their options and get covered early.
It’s important to stay informed about this year’s open-enrollment period, which for California, runs from Nov. 1 through Jan. 31. Recent cuts to advertising and enrollment assistance may also make it harder to find the information you need to enroll, but many organizations are stepping up to fill this gap. What’s more, contrary to some claims, most customers won’t see huge cost increases. The ACA is still the law of the land, and it’s important for small-business owners, employees and self-employed individuals to learn about their options now to make sure they are covered for 2018! Mark Herbert, California Director of Small Business
Majority, Sausalito
Hard-working journalists
Thanksgiving is around the corner and what better time to express gratitude to our hard-working reporters. Is it surprising that our founders identified freedom of the press as the very first amendment? It is America’s free and independent press that provides a sharp contrast to programmed state-news agencies in Russia, China and other autocratic regimes that program the messages and suppress information.
Our reporters deserve praise, not condemnation, for their efforts to bring us the news. It is our job as readers and viewers to discern bias or misinformation. The free press has never been more important to our nation. Jerry Brand, Rancho Santa Fe
Open season on elephants
Even the elephant, the venerable symbol of the Republican Party, has become a target of President Trump and his cronies. The ban has been lifted on allowing brave hunters with their high-powered, deadly weapons to bring their “trophies” into the U.S.
Remember those famous photos of a barechested Vladimir Putin on horseback, reinforcing his tough-guy image? Will we see a similar picture of our president on safari to take down an elephant? He’s certainly taking down the GOP. Piers Lahey, Daly City