Monday’s Letters to the Editor

Trump’s delaying tactics

EDITOR: If I were Donald Trump and I felt I was falsely accused of over 90 felonies, I would demand an immediate opportunity to prove my innocence. An innocent person would complain about delays, not cause them. An innocent person would present “perfect” evidence at a “beautiful” press conference with charts, graphs, photos and Sharpies.

Then, when acquitted, an innocent person could use the exoneration as a cudgel against the Democratic Party. Not that Trump is vindictive, but such a stunning reversal would humiliate the haters and guarantee his reelection. With the limelight so attractive, Trump might even boast and crow a bit while surrounded by only the best people. It would be huge! It would be epic! It would be historically huge and epic — a spectacle worthy of The Donald.

A guilty person, on the other hand, will do everything he can to delay his day of reckoning. A guilty person will blame the court, the officers, the witnesses, the families and the political party of all involved. Everyone except himself.

Sad. Pathetic. Trump.

PATRICK CORCORAN

Occidental

The magic number?

EDITOR: I would like Judge Dana Simonds to write an open letter to the citizens of Sonoma County to explain the reasoning behind sentencing a man with four prior drunken driving convictions to probation after his fifth conviction (“Man gets probation after his fifth DUI conviction,” Feb. 28). The man was driving on a suspended license, driving without the court-ordered interlocking device and intoxicated when he crashed his car.

Many who have lived in Sonoma County since 2005 will remember when a man with six prior DUIs (Joseph Lynchard) hit and killed a bicyclist (Kathryn Black) while intoxicated.

Is six the magic number of DUIs, or is death what it takes to permanently take a repeat offender off the streets?

CAROLE GALEAZZI

Santa Rosa

Goodbye, secular America

EDITOR: Religious fanaticism is upon us. Reversing Roe v. Wade wasn’t good enough for the Christian nationalists. Now they are coming after contraception, same-sex marriage, LGBTQ+ rights and more. The latest controversy is about when personhood begins.

According to a small minorities, life starts at the moment of conception. This is contrary to current scientific knowledge that life starts at about the 22nd week of pregnancy. Now with many Republican-appointed judges from the Federalist Society (including the three most recent on the Supreme Court), we see that they are imposing their religious beliefs over scientific facts in deciding cases.

To them, a fetus no longer exists, it is a child at conception. This standard has no legitimacy in secular courtrooms. However, these people are not content with the freedom to practice their own religion. They want to force their beliefs on the whole country.

What stands out is the abject cruelty, such as forcing a raped woman to carry a fetus to full term, even a 10-year-old child. Does the word empathy exist in the Republican psyche?

TOM LANZONE

Sebastopol

Changing behavior

EDITOR: The fact that a majority of the behaviors leading to the sense that schools are unsafe are perpetrated by juvenile males suggests that one solution would be to exclude boys from schools. This would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We don’t want to do this.

What about changing the bathwater? It is another fact that from the get-go human cultures have relied on aggression and creating chaos to dominate others and achieve their ends. As much as we might like to change hard-wired human social behavior, we can’t do this quickly, if ever.

That leaves us with the bathhouse supervisor, or the school resource officer. I understand and share the well-founded concern Santa School Board President Omar Medina and board member Alegria De La Cruz have with the inequities in the way students of color have been treated by police.

Therefore, I think we should focus on making sure the individuals hired to serve as school resource officers are adept in assisting students and administration in maintaining a safe campus without bias or prejudice. We can do this.

SHEILA DICKSON

Santa Rosa

Democracy on the brink

EDITOR: In my opinion, the world is in a tenuous position. Across the globe warfare is rampant, with atrocities, starvation and displacement in every region. Here at home, we find hard-core MAGA election-deniers spreading misinformation and discord to continue their misplaced political ambitions.

What has happened to American democracy and the rule of law? This polarization is tearing apart the very fiber that once shone a light of freedom and righteousness.

We are on the precipice of civil breakdowns, pitting neighbors against one another, which may well descend into chaos and ruin. If you believe otherwise, explain the support given to a man who is unfit to lead a parade, let alone the American people.

Some will abide by the extremism touted by naysayers on the far right, others may see the light before it is too late (if only it were so earlier), but too few actually learn from history and are doomed to repeat the mistakes of fascism and idolatry.

Open your eyes if you want future generations to live free and know the true meaning of democracy.

M.J. GIRARD

Santa Rosa

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