President’s blatant disregard of Hatch Act
Concerning “Contempt for law” (Aug. 27): Not only has the Trump administration violated laws like the Hatch Act for its political survival, it has also brazenly disregarded the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause for its personal enrichment. When Donald Trump became president, he bragged that he had received tens of millions of dollars in income from his golf courses and resorts by boosting their profile during his many taxpayersponsored visits. Trump’s eponymous hotel in Washington, D.C., often used by foreign diplomats, has also been a conduit for selfenrichment. A better title for what has occurred this week at the Republican National Convention and throughout the Trump presidency (by his appointees, his family and himself ) is “Contempt for morality.”
Julian Grant, Pacifica
Ignored by White House
One of the first things you learn as a federal employee is that, under the Hatch Act, while at work, you can’t even wear a political button on your lapel during a national election. Only the president and vicepresident are exempt from this.
Yet the response from the White House to its blatant use of civilian and military personnel during this election is: Who cares? Others have said the Hatch Act violates the right of free speech. The Supreme Court has never wasted its time on such an argument.
Alan Goldfarb, San Rafael
Reform laws won’t help
Regarding “Police reform clock ticking” (Editorial, Aug. 26): In it’s editorial on police reform, The Chronicle discusses an incident, in which a Kenosha, Wis., cop shot a Black suspect. On news TV programs from various sources, I saw no one protesting, but saw a scene of widespread looting and arson that was described to have begun within a couple hours of that police shooting. The Chronicle described the violence as “outrage and unrest.” It then went on to describe the Kenosha incident as further evidence of the need for police reforms laws. Having been a Wisconsin resident for 25 years, I can assure you that if this sort of thing can happen in Kenosha, it can happen in almost any city. Any number of police reform laws won’t stop these rioters, because they don’t really want a reformed country, they want a completely different one.
Daniel Mauthe, Livermore
What Trump fears
Regarding “Trump’s message: ‘Radical’ Dems will ruin U.S.” (Page 1, Aug. 23): I had to chuckle when I read “radical Dems will ruin U.S.” At last, President Trump spoke the truth, although unintentionally, I’m sure. Radical Democrats will indeed destroy America, Trump’s America, that is. The America he wants to make great again. The America of total white privilege, where ultrarich white men control everything and their spoiled children will inherit, buy or cheat their way into that control. Where women and Black and brown minorities have little control over their own destinies. That is the America that Trump fears radical Democrats will ruin. If they do, I don’t think the rest of us have anything to fear!
Joseph Chance, Emeryville
Responses to crisis
Regarding “The most overused word in 2020” (Aug. 26): “Unprecedented” is perhaps the most overused word, but other frequently used words and phrases in 2020 are worth a mention, too: Lockdown, social distancing, mask, evacuation, unconventional, virtue, zoom, distance learning, megafires, asymptomatic, blackout, inside, normalcy, smoky, testing, canceled, work from home, empty, 2020 and stay safe. These words demonstrate the extraordinary responses that we have to crisis. They also cause us to rethink our place in the world.
Sophia Horng, Saratoga
A world without police
The demand to defund the police continues to be dismissed by many government officials. They refuse to take action in the face of centuries of violence perpetrated by police and sheriff ’s departments against Black people and communities. The people who oppose defunding the police claim that our safety is at stake. The same people who cannot imagine defunding the police had no problem implementing the defunding of public institutions, including public schools and universities, health services, affordable housing, and government support for the public commons. Why? Such public institutions were both defunded and maligned by a conservative economic agenda just as Black and brown people were beginning to access these institutions after centuries of being denied equal access. So, for example, we witnessed the defunding of public schools right after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kan. The Ronald Reagan administration began an ongoing attack to privatize all public services.
Government support for families, which also benefit poor white families, was destroyed, using racist attacks. Instead of attacking demonstrators, media can play a role by helping people in the U.S. to imagine a world without police while highlighting the urgent role of communitybased services.
Carla Schick, Oakland
Offer oxygen masks
Regarding “Salons: Some outdoors work OK’d, but fires keep customers inside” (Aug. 27): Here’s some advice for owners of hair salons and barbershops, nail salons, waxing services, skin care and nonmedical massages, who have again been given permission to offer their services outdoors in many areas where there is smoky air from wildfires: Offer your customers oxygenmask therapy free of charge. They can temporarily swap their own coronavirus face masks for disinfected ones that offer a chance to breathe in clean air when they’re outside. During this cruel summer of 2020, who could have ever imagined that such masks would be necessary for our daily existence?
Hazel Underwood, Richmond
Bring in Amazon
The U.S. Postal Service has been losing many billions of dollars for years, and our government seems incapable of any remedy. The solution is obvious — contract this financial and operating disaster to Amazon, and it will be fixed in short order.
Richard Babb, Portola Valley