Privacy is an illusion
Regarding “Arrest in attack on homeless man” ( June 19): The senseless beating of homeless people, and catching the person, makes a strong argument for more cameras in public. I am a strong privacy advocate and won’t do social media because of privacy concerns, but this is a safety issue.
In London, there are cameras everywhere and one feels safe. Time to rethink some of these issues. It is 2018 and we have to realize we live in a society that beats homeless people, rips children away from their parents, where we are monitored electronically by the Defense Department and security agencies. Why not a few hundred more cameras? Privacy is only an illusion.
Leonard Dorin, Lafayette
Unintended consequence
Isn’t it rich that an unintended consequence of the current policy of separating children from their parents may, in 10 to 15 years, result in the very gangs of angry young men that President Trump currently claims to fear will prey on these children, incarcerated as they are “for their own good.”
Valorie Olsen, Berkeley
Sea level rise affects everyone
Regarding “Coastal homes may be flooded out by 2045” (June 18): Thank you for reporting on the risk posed by climate change and rising sea levels. It is not just homes, however, that are at risk. Sea level rise also threatens Highway 1, closed landfills and crucial infrastructure and utilities, including wastewater pipes. People who read this article may believe it does not affect them if their home is not at risk but sea level rise will affect us all. It will cost billions, not millions, of dollars to ameliorate and it threatens our economic well-being. I urge everyone to write their congressperson and to specifically advocate for carbon pricing in order to reduce the effects of climate change.
Cynthia McLaughlin, Redwood City
Terrified parents
With regard to the separation of asylum seekers’ immigrant children from their parents, the foreseeable horror is that the end will justify the means. It will certainly be terrifying to parents fleeing persecution to consider the thought of losing or being separated from their children and as a consequence, there will be a significant decrease in asylum/immigration seekers at our southern border. Let’s all thank Stephen Miller, White House senior adviser to President Trump and grandson of a non-English speaking immigrant grandmother from Belarus, for his significant role in this horrendous policy.
Elli Cohen, San Francisco
Reach out to seniors
Thank you for the news story “The singular needs of LGBT seniors” (Business, June 19). As an almost 60-year-old gay man, I’m fortunate to have a loving husband and caring niece to support me as I age. However, many other LGBT seniors are facing issues of declining health and loneliness without the help of other family members.
So please remember, in this month of Gay Pride and throughout the year, to reach out to older members of our community by volunteering with Meals on Wheels or at a local senior community or assisted living center. You’ll be glad you did.
Gregory Smithson, San Carlos
Fear as a weapon
There’s no federal policy to separate immigrating parents from their children. Federal law allows immigrating families to be kept intact as the validity of claims for asylum are processed. If asylum isn’t deemed warranted, the intact family may be deported. The policy separating parents from children at the border was introduced in 2018 by the Trump administration. Attorney General Jeff Sessions justifies the policy by equating immigrant parents to felons, disregarding the fact that until recently, immigrants seeking asylum were not even considered criminals. In the past century, my maternal grandmother fled poverty in pre-Bolshevik Poland. My paternal grandparents immigrated from French Canada. Turning them away would have been unthinkably un-American. President Trump’s policy of separating children at the border is an unprecedented strategy to fund his wall, using fear as a weapon and children as the leverage.
Peter Albert, San Francisco
Trump’s dangerous path
Why are people surprised with the Trump administration policy of separating children from their mothers at the U.S. border? They shouldn’t be. This is the same man who called the murderous dictator Kim Jong Un, “a nice guy.” In contrast, his Republican predecessor, former President George W. Bush, sent the military into Iraq to capture their murderous dictator, whom they handed over to their country, which later hanged him. Even his democratic predecessor, former President Barack Obama, dealt with the Libyan murderous dictator in much the same way.
There is no such thing as a “nice guy” murderous dictator. And now he has referred to the immigrants seeking asylum in this country as an infestation; as bugs in need of extermination. Does anyone notice how much the early years of the Trump presidency resemble, more and more, the early years of Adolf Hitler’s reign? Like insisting the separation of the children from their parents is federal law when no such law exists. This is similar to the propaganda lies the Nazis would twist to influence the German people. Is history repeating itself ? Are the cages and warehouses the children are kept in the new concentration camps of the new millennium; only more humane?
Larry Mattox, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Hand in resignation
I agree with Sen. Kamala Harris that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen should resign immediately! I watched her White House news conference and was horrified. With all the clamor for an end to such a cruel and immoral policy, she was defiant and argumentive. She had no clue to the whereabouts of the toddlers under her care. Also, there is no plan to keep track of the kids or reunite them with their guardians. This is unacceptable and she should resign now!
Elvis’ favorite sandwich
After reading “Want to buy Elvis’ jet?” (Business, June 19), which notes that a private jet once owned by “King of Rock ’n’ Roll” Elvis Presley — a red 1962 Lockheed Jetstar that “has no engine and needs a restoration of its cockpit” — is up for sale, I have one question: Does Presley’s jet at least come with a decent supply of peanut butter and fried banana sandwiches?
Patricia Fadeeff, San Francisco
Ferdi Bagdalian, Daly City