Election results could cause gridlock
In the aftermath of the 2018 midterm election results, in which the Democrats regained control of the House while the Republicans maintained control of the Senate, here’s my political traffic report for the next two years in Washington, D.C.: gridlock.
Donna Delvecchio, Santa Clara
Reduce the racism
Thank you for “Denounce divisive race-baiting” (Open Forum, Nov. 7). It’s disgraceful that our president is demonizing migrants, pursuing antiimmigrant policies, and emboldening white nationalists in this country. Those who don’t believe that his hateful rhetoric can promote violence need only look at the individual who recently sent pipe bombs to prominent Democrats. His van was plastered with pro-President Trump stickers and messages attacking Trump’s perceived enemies. Not only do our nation’s leaders need to regularly denounce this president’s race-baiting and fearmongering, they also need to organize a bipartisan conference to discuss racism — and how to reduce incidences of it — in America. Francine Tompkins-Oliviera,
Berkeley
Deter bike thefts
I had a bike stolen on Caltrain around Sunnyvale on June 16, 2017, simply because I was not able to sit in the bike car to see it. Overcrowded bike cars demand regulations to allow bikers’ sitting priority over passengers with no bikes. It’s a simple and easy-to-implement rule to first, reduce train delays; second, deter bike thefts; and third, promote eco-friendly commutes for generations to come.
Wei Liu, Stanford
Kids’ well-being
Regarding “Doctors’ group finds no benefit in spanking” (Page One, Nov. 6): The newest policy statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics is that corporal punishment of children is harmful for their happiness, their physical development and their lifelong emotional well being. As a former public school teacher and a person who loves and believes in the basic goodness of all children, I am immensely happy to see this basic truth being upheld by so many professional pediatricians. Furthermore, as a longtime student of history and human society, I am convinced that if the abuse and disrespect of children can be ended on a worldwide basis, that all the horrible problems confronting the world today will gradually wither away. The physical and emotional punishment of young boys is unquestionably a major factor in the many centuries of oppression against women. It is impossible to expect that men who have been physically and verbally mistreated as young people can become successful in their adult love relationships with women — even if they abstain from direct physical violence against women. And likewise, women who had been spanked or treated unfairly in childhood will find it difficult, when adults, to trust men. Rama Kumar, Fairfax
Prop. C approval
Kudos to the people of San Francisco for approving Proposition C. The tax on the techno capitalists is hardly a scratch on their gilded wallets. As so often in the past, you have once again remembered for whom your beautiful haven was named. Surely, all of Heaven is smiling!
Thomas O’Donnell, Baltimore, Md.
Keep bikes in view
Caltrain is planning to remove seats from the cars for bike riders, and achieve security through cameras. I ride with my bike on Caltrain every day from Palo Alto to San Francisco, and have been commuting by bike on Caltrain for 20 years. I’ve seen bike thefts, and attempts that were blocked by people who could see the perpetrator. There’s also theft of gear which can be hard to see with a camera. Security cameras are not sufficient as people can hide their faces from fixed cams, but not from a crowd of watchful passengers, and by the time the theft is detected, the perp is gone. We need seats within view of bikes on electrified Caltrain so riders can keep an eye on their bikes and gear. Cedric de La Beaujardiere, Palo Alto
Bible similarities
As a follow-up to “A cruel charade” (Letters, Nov. 4), I would like to add that in addition to the biblical references of acceptance and kindness toward aliens noted in Leviticus, all Christians (and humanists) and especially the Evangelical followers of President Trump, need to recognize that Jesus Christ himself was both a refugee, fleeing Herod’s attempted genocide of newborn Jewish males, and an immigrant during his early years surviving under essentially sanctuary status in Egypt. Not all that different from the refugees in the current caravan.
James Prchlik, Oakland