Proud of women in politics
Strong women in the political arena are being labeled by male politicians as being “feisty,” “nasty” and “too ambitious.” This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “Wellbehaved women seldom make history.” Especially now, as our Democracy teeters on its axis with no moral compass to guide us, I’m so proud of these and all women who voice and act on their principles — with confidence, passion, clarity and conviction.
This is no time to be wellbehaved! As fellow “nasty women” and during this fragile time, we should follow their lead and make our own history!
Sharon Brown, Walnut Creek
Remove Trump from office
It is now out in the open. The postmaster general (who has invested millions in the competition to the U.S. Postal Service) removes mailboxes and sorting machines as the election approaches. President Trump admits that he won’t provide emergency funding to the USPS so it can’t process mailin ballots. Trump knows he can’t win a fair and honest election, so he is willing to sabotage the USPS, removing the only safe way to vote in the middle of a pandemic.
Trump and his minions are an existential threat to smalld democracy. They have no interest in majority rule with Constitutional protections for minorities. He shreds the Constitution daily, and does everything he can think of to suppress the votes of those who oppose him. He envies his authoritarian buddies in Russia, China and North Korea.
The postmaster general must be removed from office before he can do any more harm. He belongs in jail, and he should be fined triple the cost of repairing the damage he has done. Come January, Trump should be flooded with indictments, lose all his money, and spend the rest of his miserable life in jail!
Brad Trusso, Santa Cruz
Tragic statistics of COVID19
Aside from wellheeled investors, who cares if “Gains for tech stocks nudge the S&P 500 even closer to record” (Business, Aug. 18)? For millions of Americans who have lost jobs and/ or loved ones during the past half year, the most important numbers are the ones that have appeared on the front page of this newspaper since the coronavirus pandemic began, including total number of cases (over 5.4 million) and total number of COVID19related deaths (over 170,000).
Claire Rosenthal, San Francisco
Damages of climate change
This pandemic would have been far less severe and shorter if our defaulting legislators had not allowed this unfit president to use it for political gains. In his familiar disinformation rhetoric, he discredits the medical and scientific communities while inventing dangerous and noneffective curing techniques, which sadly impress so many.
The damages from these abuses cannot even be measured. Despite the severe consequences of this pandemic, climate change still poses the greatest threats to our planet’s habitability. Unlike pandemics or wars, which eventually end, warming will only worsen as populations and consumption increase, and food and water supplies diminish from losses of acreage and rising seas. As warming selfperpetuates, methane and carbon dioxide will be released from the melting Arctic regions at increasing rates and eventually reach nonreversing tipping points.
Despite the consequences, energy industries continue to perpetuate the use of fossil fuels and forestall clean energy development with disinformation and their stranglehold on our politicians. Ironically, measures for mitigating climate change, such as energy conservation, parallel those for mitigating pandemics. It would be criminally remiss to ignore this incentive.
Robert Settgast, San Rafael
Outrageous plot
One thing not mentioned in “Postal plot delivers alarm, outrage” (Editorial, Aug. 18) is that President Trump, despite insinuating that massive fraud will occur if mailin ballots are used in November’s election, continues to cast absentee ballots by mail when voting in Florida, his new home state.
Due to Postmaster General (and wealthy Trump campaign contributor) Louis DeJoy’s attempts to slow mail delivery and Trump’s actions, a more complete title for this editorial would be, “Postal plot delivers alarm, outrage, plutocracy and hypocrisy.”
Marisol Echevarria, Daly City
Mail ballots early as possible
The letter “Restore postal service” (Letters, Aug. 15) reminds us the effect of President Trump’s effort to sabotage the election by crippling the U.S. Postal Service is not abstract, it’s real.
Based on the assumption the USPS will be diminished but still exist, the most effective way to thwart this threat to the vote is to fill out and return your mail ballot as soon as possible. Taking your time risks having your ballot, even if postmarked before Nov. 3, arrive after that date. Whereas in past elections such ballots have not been challenged, Trump’s calculated effort to cripple the Postal Service ensures they will be.
Frank Hochfeld, Albany
A recipe for disaster
Regarding “Thoughtful scenario” (Letters, Aug. 16) and “Ditch school to fight COVID19” (Insight, Aug. 9): I read both of these with interest. As a mother of two teenagers, I’d rather have my kids at home learning online with the teachers they know from school than out trying to convince people to wear masks. As one can read every day, essential workers get yelled at, spit at, shoved and otherwise verbally and physically abused when trying to enforce mask mandates.
If there is such disrespect shown to adults doing their job, I cannot imagine it working out better for teenagers. The author of the original oped mentions students should be given the right to accost people not wearing their masks. I say that’s a recipe for disaster. People have been shot for less.
Astrid Broberg, El Cerrito