Friday’s Letters to the Editor

Common goals

EDITOR: Thank you for publishing the story of Jack Grandcolas and the devastating 9/11 loss of his wife, Lauren, on Flight 93 (“A long path to peace after wife’s fateful flight,” Saturday). We would all do well to remember his words about sharing “common ground” and “the power of unity under a common purpose.” Regardless of what we individually believe, we face challenges that will call on our best common effort — pandemics, natural disasters, climate change. We have differences of opinion, beliefs and ideologies, but we are not one another’s enemies. Lauren Grandcolas and the others on Flight 93 showed the way.

JOHN WISE

Guerneville

Taking note of good news

EDITOR: Thank you for sharing good news as well as the hard stuff. I appreciate the Sept. 6 story about the Petaluma Middle School student’s science project being chosen to go into space (“Middle schoolers experiment heading into space on rocket”). I appreciate that there is a “Making Space for Girls” program. I enjoy reading the life stories of your staff members, and I liked the Sept. 7 story about the wildlife resiliency program offered at Santa Rosa Junior College (“Learning to prevent devastating wildfires”). In the midst of the pandemic, climate change, remembering 9/11 and the wars ongoing and ending, it is good to remember that we humans are doing good things too.

SANDY ROSEN

Sebastopol

Dystopian nightmare

EDITOR: Reading the paper these days is like reading a dystopian nightmare book. The Republicans didn’t mind deficits under Donald Trump, but rail against Joe Biden’s spending plan. In Texas, they don’t like “big government,” but don’t want most people to vote, women to have abortions or Uber drivers to take them to the clinics. However, vaginal/rectal searches on the side of the road apparently aren’t “overreach.” Neither is requiring those seeking FEMA aid to first sign a pledge not to boycott Israel. But requiring masks, well, that’s like Nazi Germany.

And then we have the ineffectual/indifferent Democrats. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the party had to welcome anti-abortion politicians and seems to hate the Squad more than anything. Democrats tie their own hands seeking bipartisanship, knowing that the GOP doesn’t pretend it matters, because it doesn’t get them what they want. Steamrolling does. And then Democrats wonder why they’re failing.

Even the bluest state in the (so-called) union had a candidate for governor who thinks it “could be argued that slave owners should have received reparations after the Civil War” and that women aren’t smart.

Democrats and Republicans — working in tandem to make life better for the 1%.

LAURA GONZALEZ

Santa Rosa

Windsor’s ‘shining star’

EDITOR: All through the drama-laden turbulence in Windsor of late, there has been a shining star among us in Town Manager Ken MacNab (“MacNab resigns as Windsor’s town manager,” Sept. 10). He has been a steady hand and calming voice of reason throughout — including during the evacuation and defense of Windsor during the Kincade fire of 2019. I thank him for his service and wish the best of luck to him and his family. He will be sorely missed.

MARK MILLAN

Windsor

It’s easy to blame

EDITOR: Robert D. Shoptaw’s letter serves one purpose that is possibly useful: It is a good example of the thoughtless mudslinging at the opposition that characterizes the critical state of political discourse in America (“Biden’s failure,” Sept. 4).

Critics of the chaotic scene at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan are plentiful. Where are those willing to say exactly how it might have been done better? There is much wrong with the Afghanistan experience under several presidents after the one who took us in there. Each of his successors sought to get us out gracefully. None could. So, this president got us out ungracefully. With the benefit of hindsight perhaps it could have been done better, but no one can know that. It would be easy to describe in generalities the conditions that, if achieved beforehand, would have contributed to a better exit — at a price that might have included more lost lives.

I didn’t know that Speaker Nancy Pelosi thinks the president is in control of the debacle in Afghanistan. No one is in control there. Can Shoptaw name someone who should be? How about a few thoughtful words on where we go from here?

RAYMOND ALDEN

Santa Rosa

Infringing on rights

EDITOR: Let’s talk about rights. Non-vaxers say they have the right to choose not to get vaccinated. Well, what about my rights? Non-vaxers took away my right to see my last living aunt prior to her death. They took away my right to attend her funeral. They have taken away my right to see my father’s side of the family.

How come, you might ask. My aunt, the funeral and my many cousins are in Sweden. At the present time I am not allowed to land at Arlanda because U.S. COVID numbers are so high. Selfish behavior of those who refuse vaccinations interfered with my rights on a very personal level. I hope that they do not have to live with the consequences of their rights.

CAROL SMITH

Santa Rosa

You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.