Why ranked-choice voting is flawed
Regarding your June 14 editorial (“The city has spoken”) on what you called the “impressive breadth” of London Breed’s support: Let’s look a bit deeper into the numbers: Breed, the moderate, got 36.6 percent of first-place votes. Is this “impressive breadth”? What percent of first-place votes did the two progressives, Mark Leno and Jane Kim, get? Together they got 46.8 percent of all first-place votes. Hardly an impressive “mandate” for Breed. More voters wanted a progressive mayor.
This shows the flaws in rankedchoice voting, especially in races for citywide offices, such as the mayor. To elect a true representative of the majority for citywide offices, we should return to a top-two-runoff system in races when the leading candidate in the first round gets less than 50 plus one of all votes.
Peter Yedidia, San Francisco
Family values? Not
Regarding “Slow-walking immigration” (Editorial, June 15): House Speaker Paul Ryan should, indeed, let Congress vote on a “give with one hand, take away with the other” immigration bill that would help “Dreamers” while ending family-sponsored legal immigration.
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has no bipartisan support. If it passes, let the GOP own it — along with this administration’s cruel separation of children from their parents being seized at our border with Mexico — in this November’s election. The Republican Party, which once claimed it represented “family values,” no longer understands the meaning of this phrase.
Hortensia Delarosa, San Francisco
Three-state craziness
Tim Draper’s dream of dividing California into three states is a phenomenal waste of both time and money.
The three Californias he’s proposed make no natural geographic or economic sense. If this Silicon Valley venture capitalist really wants things his way, I suggest that all the money for this inane exercise come out of his deep pockets. He’d be bankrupt in no time.
Ian Davidson, Oakland
Do the math
Are we really meant to believe President Trump when he said that thousands and thousands of parents of those who died in the Korean War asked him to request that Kim Jong Un return their remains to the United States?
Those thousands and thousands of parents would be over 100 years old! How much longer do we have to listen to his thousands and thousands of pathological lies?
Diana DiPietro, Pleasant Hill
Sessions’ scripture
Attorney General Jeff Sessions quoted Romans 13 as justification for separating undocumented children from their parents. While it is true that in this chapter Paul is directing Christians to obey the law, his argument is based on the conception that, as my New English Bible has it, there is no authority but by act of God. But we know from experience, both in this country and throughout the world, that established authority can often be malicious and brutal.
As a true Christian, Sessions would do better to quote Matthew 25, where Jesus tells his followers that they will be judged according to how they have treated the least of my brethren. For good measure, he gives concrete examples of loving behavior: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and taking in the stranger. What would Jesus think of Sessions using Scripture to justify official cruelty?
Kristina Marcy, Woodland
Rise of Antichrist
No, Mr. Sessions and the rest of Christian hypocrites, the Bible does not support tearing children from their mothers. That’s the devil misquoting Scriptures.
Lo, the Antichrist is risen, and his name is Trump.
Dick Bagwell, Berkeley
Putin’s hospitality
In his remarks on behalf of host nation Russia to begin the 2018 World Cup competition, President Vladimir Putin absurdly described his country as “hospitable.”
In fact, Russia is not welcoming if you are LGBTQ or wish to criticize its actions, like the illegal annexation of Crimea. Putin only welcomes those who share or admire his repressive, authoritarian values — like the man currently occupying the Oval Office in our own country.
Finn MacLaughlin, Daly City
Dearth of trust
Regarding “Help me get appropriate tools to our officers” (Open Forum, June 15): Although city voters rejected Proposition H, which would have allowed police officers to use Tasers on unarmed or mentally ill suspects who pose no direct threat to them, new San Francisco Police Officers Association President Tony Montoya is still advocating for this policy.
Frankly, if the police union wants to build more trust with the residents in our city, it should stop taking aggressive stances that give officers even more power and decision making. Montoya should instead advocate for more police training in understanding mental illness and the issues facing our diverse communities. Trust is a two-way street that both the police and the public must navigate together.
Elliot Branca, San Francisco
All together now ...
I think Democrats ought to borrow from Donald Trump’s playbook against Hillary Clinton and start chanting: “Lock him up! Lock him up!”
Michael Biehl, San Francisco
Sad state of U.S.
It’s been another great week for morality and humanity in the White House. Our president, attorney general and press secretary have combined to attack one of our strongest allies, bootlick a murderous dictator, endorse a white supremacist, tear children from their mothers’ breasts, and then use the Bible to justify it.
America was once the moral authority for the world and a refuge for those seeking freedom and opportunity. No more.
Gary Cavalli, Danville