Monday’s Letters to the Editor

Vaccinate teachers

EDITOR: Let’s put classroom teachers high on the priority list for coronavirus inoculations so we can get those children back in school. Here is one old retired teacher who is willing to wait a while for my vaccination.

CAROLINE RAMBERG

Santa Rosa

Reckless pardons

EDITOR: The recent pardons granted by our soon-to-be but not-soon-enough ex-president have done profound and lasting damage to our country.

Donald Trump pardoned military contractors who had been convicted of killing civilians (including women and children) in Iraq in 2007. These pardons signal to terrorists that America doesn’t care about Islamic lives. Trump has given terrorist groups a powerful recruiting message saying that, even if they are convicted, Americans who kill innocent Muslims can go scot-free.

How can we convince potential terrorists that America doesn’t hate Muslims now? We are likely to face future anti-American terrorist attacks due to the reckless actions of this president. When we are confronted with anti-terrorist military conflicts in Islamic countries, I hope that the Trump voters and the Republican Party will take responsibility for the result of supporting this reckless president.

MATT METZLER

Sonoma

Comparing Cabinets

EDITOR: If the Obama administration officials E.A. Wheale mockingly suggests for Joe Biden’s Cabinet are so bad, why were none of them charged with any offenses during the Trump administration (“Cabinet suggestions,” Letters, Dec. 24)? It was his Justice Department. Yet the only people convicted of any crimes were a boatload of Trump’s own people.

Wheale’s knocks on the Obama officials are laughable. Compare his dubious assertion that Susan Rice repeated a lie five times on live TV to Trump’s daily lie fest. Or compare Eric Holder’s refusal to bow to every Republican whim regarding the phony Fast and Furious hearings to Trump’s regular refusal to allow congressional testimony or access to documents.

Worst of all, compare Wheale’s assertion that John Brennan is a commie sympathizer with Trump. He almost immediately gave away top secrets in a meeting with the Russians. Then, for the next four years, he gave Vladimir Putin anything he wanted.

Brennan’s only “crime” was that in his youth he voted for a communist candidate. How do we know? He disclosed it decades ago, before he was allowed to join the CIA, where he had a distinguished career protecting America.

Enough of this nonsense.

MAXENE SPELLMAN

Petaluma

Identity politics

EDITOR: Now that the despicable con-man-in-chief appears to be leaving, I can go back to writing letters in my usual mode as a political centrist. I hope my progressive friends don’t take offense.

I abhor identity politics, including racial. It seems most of the country is being subdivided into (often) more than one “identity,” each of which sees the advancement of another as a disadvantage to themselves.

Kamala Harris is considered by race to be Black and East Indian. Her ancestry includes at least one white person, and, as with the rest of us, perhaps others. Alex Padilla is Latino (whatever that means). He appears to be eminently qualified to be a senator and will represent a state with a large Latino population. Many Blacks are outraged at his nomination, as if Harris’ seat has become a Black seat (see Mayor London Breed of San Francisco, etc.).

This is divisive and makes no sense. Biologically, there are no such things as human races. We all have nearly exactly the same DNA. Moreover, why is Harris considered Black when she is also East Indian and white?

All Senate seats should be reserved for mutts.

JEFFREY A. RAPP

Healdsburg

Vaccination plans

EDITOR: I would think that by now we as the general public would have been given a clear plan for the local distribution of the COVID vaccines. Who can get it? When? Where do we go? I thought that swift distribution was the purpose of Operation Warp Speed. If I go to the Sonoma County public health website and search for vaccine distribution. I get the 17-page pandemic response document, which is written in the strange language of government and doesn’t mention vaccine distribution until Appendix F, and that is not specific. Total bafflegab. Please, as a member of a high-risk group I would like some clear answers from our local government now.

STEVE KADAR

Santa Rosa

A case of bullying

EDITOR: Bullying by wealthy landowners isn’t new in the history of our country, just as profitability for investors and economic development have always been a motivation to slow progressive change. Bill Gallaher is our own local bully, holding the cards of wealth and power, and even if it is business as usual, it needs to be called out and scrutinized.

Gallaher’s lawsuit against Windsor’s all-electric ordinance is his move using his wealth to control Windsor. He doesn’t understand what Brian Barnacle pointed out in his Dec. 27 Close to home column — that electrification is an important infrastructure change taking place now (“Banning natural gas pays climate dividends”). I say yes, we need this now for a zero carbon future and a livable climate.

We really don’t have time for business as usual, and we don’t have time to waste on self-serving lawsuits. If the town of Windsor needs to repeal the all-electric ordinance because it doesn’t have the money to fight the lawsuit, I still applaud them for passing it in the first place.

I hope they acknowledge for the public record why they are forced to repeal it.

CHRISTINE HOEX

Santa Rosa

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