Government must fight climate change

Regarding “Disgrace in deadliest disaster” (Editorial, June 2): The fact that the government failed to communicate the death toll from Puerto Rico is certainly bad, but it is only one layer of the moral failing here. The bigger moral failing is that national lawmakers continue to ignore the fact that climate change is increasing the severity of these major disasters and putting the lives of Americans at risk as a result. This current administration seems content to prop up coal plants instead of investing in climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Congress needs to put a stop to this by passing policies that help promote renewable energy and provide ways for us to adapt to our changing climate. Doing anything else means putting more American lives at risk every time hurricane season rolls around.

Jonathan Maltz, San Francisco

Writer’s twisted history

Regarding “Counter Barr’s intolerance with empathy, not hostility” (Insight, June 3): John McFadden twists history to suggest the left needs to temper its indignation and intolerance, to empathize instead with struggling racists, so we may all move past the profound divide we now find in our nation. He reasons that, during the 1960s, the left began to castigate the right, culminating in President Trump, as “the apex of a vicious cycle of hostility.” Funny, he only mentions the left in his appeal for greater empathy. No mention of other groups and forces.

May I remind him that during the 1960s, 100 years post-Civil War, the push against maltreatment of blacks, mainly in the south, created a vile reaction. Southern whites embarked on another level of suppression of people of color in the 1960s. The ideas nurtured in the breasts of those bigots are the fodder that Trump and his supporters feed on. Please, spare us more of this pious double-talk.

Eugenie Marek, San Francisco

Campaign finance limits

I’m sure there are many like me who puzzle over what it would take to have our politics return to a more rational and productive mode. As I see it, as long as we have the present free-for-all spending on elections, there is little chance of improvement, and we will continue to see too many with extreme views elected. I have no doubt that we would all be better served if we were represented by individuals with more open minds who didn’t owe their votes to special interest donors. What we need is real campaign finance reform that greatly lowers the amount that can be spent on an election. No one can argue honestly against something that would provide a level playing field for all, and there is also no way one can argue that unlimited spending is not damaging our Democratic process.

John Moore, Petaluma

Similarities to McCarthy

Regarding “Even paranoid McCarthy had more credibility than Trump” (Insight, June 3): Columnist Jonah Goldberg misses the true similarities between the words and deeds of former Sen. Joe McCarthy and current President Trump. McCarthy was and Trump is a loose cannon.

Both men let their emotions replace rational thinking. And McCarthy overreached when he investigated the U.S. Army for communism, as Trump is now overreaching by demanding an investigation of the FBI for allegedly spying on him. But while McCarthy was stopped from going any further when a lawyer named Joseph Welch asked him, “Have you no sense of decency?,” where is today’s Joseph Welch —particularly among the current Republican leadership — to ask the same thing of Trump?

Regina Regalbuto, Santa Clara

Kneeling in humility

Any narrative suggesting Colin Kaepernick and the players are doing anything to disrespect this country and those serving it is a lie. Colin Kaepernick sat to protest systemic oppression in hopes of saving lives, and, being sensitive to the sacrifices the military makes, he spoke with someone who took that oath and stood by it.

It was after that consult that Kaepernick chose to kneel in humility and to pay reverence for our flag and those who serve our country. Make no mistake, he sat to protest, he knelt to honor the flag and military. I am a huge football fan and got on my knees in prayer, and my response was for God to reveal the heart of Kaepernick and the protest against systemic oppression in hopes of saving lives. I am not suggesting judgment is coming with this, but God is not a liar and any other narrative is a lie when it comes to the heart and truth of purpose for this protest.

Lisa Edwards, Vacaville

Ralph Russo / Associated Press Supporters of Colin Kaepernick, who protested systemic racism before his football games, speak at a rally outside NFL headquarters in New York in May.