Monday’s Letters to the Editor

A kangaroo court

EDITOR: Your Wednesday editorial left out two significant facts regarding the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 uprising (“Judge Jan. 6 panel

on its work, not partisan squabbling”). Never in the 232-year history of House committees has the majority party had a veto on members nominated by the minority party. Further, your editorial made no mention of the selection of witnesses being subject to the sole approval of the committee chairman, who coincidentally led the effort in 2016 to deny the Electoral College vote count that elected President Donald Trump. Two words aptly describe the committee — kangaroo court. Any evaluation of the findings, which I assume have not been already written, should be made with these facts in mind.

JIM HABERKORN

Santa Rosa

Jail’s costly calls

EDITOR: The online comments regarding the Sonoma County grand jury’s report on jail telephone charges included the expected “throw them in jail and throw away the key” lack of inmate empathy and personal attacks against Sheriff Mark Essick, despite the fact the mark- up charges existed years before he was elected (“Cost of jail calls questioned,” July 24).

The unfortunate surprise in your July 24 article was the responses by Supervisors Lynda Hopkins and David Rabbitt (both of whom I admire) expressing shock, and the fact Sonoma County may not act like other counties and find funding for the more than 1,000 important inmate welfare programs presently funded by the exorbitant charges paid by inmates and their families.

The people of Sonoma County should tell the sheriff and the supervisors to put aside their personal differences and work together to achieve the sheriff’s goal that inmates leave the jail in a better position than when they arrived and work to reduce recidivism, which costs the county $195 per person per night.

TOM ROSE

Petaluma

For fun, show your card

EDITOR: Want to do something fun? Restaurant, concert, museum, beach? Show a vaccine card. Work in an occupation where the public has to interact with you? Police, fire, health care — show a vaccine card. The freedom to choose the vaccine should not risk lives beyond your own.

KATHLEEN LARSEN

Sonoma

Fulfill Medicare’s mission

EDITOR: On July 30, 1965, Congress enacted legislation that saves and improves millions of lives each year: the Medicare program for seniors. It was considered a first step toward a program that would cover all Americans. But due to a lack of political will in the face of intense lobbying from those who profit from the status quo, that promise hasn’t been fulfilled.

Proposed legislation — the federal Medicare for All Act of 2021 and the state CalCare bill — would create single-payer systems guaranteeing quality care without any out-of-pocket costs. No one would be denied care because they lack coverage or funds or be pushed into poverty by a health crisis.

Think we can’t afford it? By removing the administrative costs and profit motive insurance companies insert into the equation, single-payer would cost less than our current system.

Urge your representatives to fulfill Medicare’s promise by improving and expanding it into universal health care. Ask your representatives in D.C. to support H.R. 1976 and use the budget bill to expand benefits and lower the eligibility age. Press Gov. Gavin Newsom to make good on his campaign promise to create a single-payer system in California, and urge your Assembly representative to support AB 1400. For more information, email HeatlhcareForAllSonoma@gmail.com.

MARIA BEHAN

Healdsburg

Help in stressful times

EDITOR: For a variety of reasons, the past couple of years have been horrific for many people. When I wear a T-shirt that reads “2020, very bad year, would not recommend,” giving it one star out of five, observers commonly shake their heads wryly and let me know that it sums it up for them, too.

It’s been particularly hard on front-line professionals; so many fires, floods, shootings, COVID deaths and other events where things go horribly wrong despite best efforts and intentions. Suicide rates are up across the board, most notably among health care and public safety workers.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill has responded with nami.org/frontlinewellness, providing confidential, free emotional support and mental health help for front-line workers and their worried family members and friends. This is in addition to the ongoing mental health programs provided by NAMI in Sonoma County and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255.

Whether concerning yourself or someone you care about, the public safety adage “If you see something, say something” applies here, too. Pass the word.

SHEILA DICKSON

Santa Rosa

A pandemic story

EDITOR: The young woman moved in with her parents, with her sons, 3-year-old Roy and 5-year-old Jack. Their father had deployed with the Navy. Then her mother died at age 56. And then she herself, only 26, died six months later. The boys went to a facility until an uncle was able to retrieve Roy. The grandfather took Jack. By the time their dad returned from France, ill himself, he was unable to reclaim the boys. That’s how it was in Seattle during the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic.

Roy grew up to become my dad. I asked him once what he remembered. “Nothing really,” he said, “but a sense of a loss of warmth.” And whenever he cried, someone gave him a cookie and told him to stop crying. Now imagine if there had been a vaccine.

MICHELINE JUSTMAN

Santa Rosa

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