Turn momentum into action on Sites
Re: “Sights set on new reservoir” (Page A1, March 17).
The first major reservoir has been announced since 1979, has federal funding allocated, does not disrupt river flow and fisheries and has minimal impact on the surrounding area.
Amid a plethora of intractable problems facing Californians (homelessness, rising housing and energy costs, to name a few) could we have a success story brewing to improve our state? Please, build Sites Reservoir yesterday.
— Donald Waters, Pleasant Hill
Pretense of social media is hurting youth
It is upsetting that in a world of supposed acceptance and diversity, social media continues to be a place of discrimination.
Social media has forced people to fake reality, pushing them to share only certain pieces of themselves. Individuals in our society must look or act a certain way to be “accepted.” The content young individuals see scattered among various social media platforms inaccurately displays their reality and as a result, becomes destructive to their growth as humans.
This world must morph into one that accepts individuals for who they are — the real, raw depiction of who they are.
— Nikita Bankar, San Ramon
Op-ed poses question to the wrong side
Re: “Israel becoming much like the empires it historically reviled” (Page A6, March 7).
Steve Koppman lists what are clearly Israeli offenses against Palestinians, and asks: “Is there no point beyond which endless subjugation justifies violence?”
Martin Luther King Jr. knew the answer, as did Gandhi, Mandela, and Solidarity in Poland. They sought justice, as many Palestinians and many Israelis do. But Hamas seeks power, not justice. It does not seek the liberation of the Palestinian people; it seeks the destruction of Israel.
Oct. 7 was murder and rape and kidnapping. No, Mr. Koppman, there is no point beyond which subjugation justifies that kind of violence.
Perhaps a sustained campaign of civil disobedience would advance the cause of Palestinian liberation. Surely it has a better chance than Hamas' tactics because unlike the British in Palestine, the Israelis have no place to go home to.
— Merlin Dorfman, Livermore
Trump's candidacy is a threat to democracy
Re: “I want to support Trump, but he keeps making that harder for me” (Page A9, March 17).
I write in response to this opinion piece. Marc Theissen needs to learn more. He can start by checking out rankings of our presidents on Wiki.
For Theissen, former President Trump is “the best president in my lifetime.” Historians certainly don't agree Russian soldiers are pointing guns at Ukrainians under Russia's control to mark their ballots for Vladimir Putin. Is this what Trump is thinking?
And please don't think a third-party vote will eliminate the chance of a Trump presidency. It'll split the vote and possibly send the choice to Congress to choose a president.
Please vote for Biden.