Saturday’s Letters to the Editor

Build a supertanker fleet

EDITOR: The Boeing 747 supertanker has proven its value to be a permanent part of the state’s firefighting efforts and should be continued. One 747 can carry more fire retardant than six regular firefighting planes. Pay the owners of the current 747 what they need to remain flying as needed.

I think there should be a fleet of several of these firefighting behemoths stationed throughout the state. Or we could share the expense and benefits with Oregon and Washington.

Boeing announced that it will cease producing 747s in 2022, and numerous airlines have retired or parked their fleets. The surplus price of these still-serviceable planes is nothing compared to the on-going human and property losses we’ve been experiencing. But, please, don’t make this a government-run operation. Find a private contractor to maintain and fly these assets.

Don’t create another SMART train debacle where inexperienced management has burned through over half a billion dollars of our money.

STEVE EDWARDS

Santa Rosa

GOP gone astray

EDITOR: My belief: The Republican Party has gone astray. They should be ashamed of themselves for continuing to believe the “Big Lie” about the steal of the election. I was very angry after watching the news about Liz Cheney losing her leadership position in the House. Cheney has morals and a conscience as do a few other Republicans in the House and Senate. I admire them for standing up and saying something, not just going along with the party and Donald Trump.

I was even angrier and appalled hearing the comments from Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Georgia: “Let me be clear: there was no insurrection. And to call it an insurrection, in my opinion, is a boldfaced lie.” Clyde also said the insurrection looked like “a normal tourist visit.” He doesn’t know the truth when it slapped him in the face.

Wake up, Republicans, to the truth and stop supporting Trump’s lies. Get over it. No thanks to Trump, President Joe Biden and his administration are working on restoring the soul of America.

J.S. BENDER

Santa Rosa

Vaccines for all

EDITOR: I’m glad that clinics are now allowing anyone from anywhere to get vaccinated. It’s just a small step, but I believe it should be followed worldwide. We should ensure that anyone who wants a vaccine can get vaccinated, not only in the U.S. but worldwide, in order to return to our normal.

MAR RIVAS

Santa Rosa

Newsom’s spending spree

EDITOR: Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to increase spending on the homeless by over $1 billion. This on top of the extraordinary amounts already being spent by state and local governments. Motels are being bought or leased, security firms hired, the governing class will obviously have to be expanded to manage all this (and provide increased income to members of the Service Employees International Union).

No doubt word will be spread throughout Guatemala, El Salvador and other decrepit Latin American countries and nearby states about the new California Dream: come to California for free lodging, free food and free medical care.

How does this end?

GREGORY B. SMITH

Sonoma

A paradigm change

EDITOR: The 2020 California wildfire season more than doubled the previous record season. The previous record in 2018 was 1.8 million acres burned. In 2020, 4.2 million acres burned. More than doubling the previous record is not just a new record. It is a paradigm change.

Through May 5, nearly eight times as many acres have burned in California as were recorded at the same time last year. Note the use of past tense in the previous sentence. This is not prediction. This is historical fact. Last year more than doubled the previous record, and 2021 so far is eight times worse than 2020 was. And we have already had red flag fire weather in May.

Another change — we are used to our “classic” fire season of September-October when we get the bad east winds. Last year we had a lightning storm in August, and the winds were from the west. We had fire between Guerneville and Healdsburg, threatening Healdsburg.

Yes, we are paying attention now. Are we paying enough attention? Do we need to shift additional resources to preparedness, given the urgency of what we know now?

And, finally, eat down your freezer now. Assuredly, power outages are ahead.

MARIAN McDONALD

Sebastopol

Surging hate crimes

EDITOR: The surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans affects everyone regardless of religion, ethnicity or political belief. Every one of us vividly recalls that sickening day when former President Donald Trump called the pandemic “the China flu” and cruelly branded Asian Americans and especially Chinese Americans as spreaders of the deadly plague.

This kind of savage rhetoric led to a large rise in hate crimes against persons of Asian or Pacific Island descent. A recent BBC report noted an elderly Thai immigrant who died as a result of being shoved to the ground. A Filipino woman was slashed with a box-cutter. A Chinese woman was slapped and set on fire. Asian American children are being bullied at school and blamed unjustly by their peers for spreading the pandemic.

While I have never experienced such racially motivated hatred, I have a close friend who is a Filipino American and is afraid to leave his home. All these incidents are morally wrong and must be condemned by us all.

FRANK H. BAUMGARDNER

Santa Rosa

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