Saturday’s Letters to the Editor

Support climate resolution

EDITOR: I am a child trauma therapist here, and I am writing to ask everyone to support state Sen. Mike McGuire's Climate Emergency Resolution, SCR 53, which was drafted by the students of Schools for Climate Action. Over the past five years I have witnessed trauma and anxiety escalating in my community, in children as young as preschool age, as a consequence of near-annual wildfires.

Escalating fire and drought are impacting the mental health, physical health, housing and other determinants of well-being for our region, especially the most vulnerable, such as the young children I work with. This is only the beginning of a rapidly accelerating climate emergency that will soon impact every one of us.

The science is clear, and the pleas from the United Nations are deafening. We are running out of time to avert the worst of this disaster. For the sake of my child clients, the youth authors of this legislation, my own daughter and every other person too young to make the policy decisions that will grant them a livable future, we must start treating this like the outright emergency it is.

California can lead the way for the rest of the U.S. to follow. Please voice your support for the Climate Emergency Resolution.

JENNIFER SILVERSTEIN

Windsor

Guns, kids and death

EDITOR: I wonder if Sandy Metzger is speaking for herself or as head of the Republican Women Federated when she does her best impression of Tucker Carlson by asking in response to mass shootings, “Perhaps we have a social issue, not a gun issue?” (Letters, June 7).

My response is that every other country on the planet has social issues, but the 400-plus million guns in this country, including assault-style weapons requiring no universal background checks and age requirements, result in the U.S. systematically having mass shootings.

The leading cause of death right now for children is guns. If we do nothing to prevent this, then we are complicit.

Metzger bemoans that “the media invariably focuses on mass murders.” Republican women have children too, and I would hope that they would want the government to do everything in their power to keep their kids safe. I hope Metzger doesn’t speak for you.

JOHN METRAS

Cotati

Trump’s coup attempt

EDITOR: "Today," columnist George F. Will writes, "Republicans have almost entirely shunned the Jan. 6 committee" and its televised hearings, as has the entertainment network, Fox "News" (News being a misnomer). Still, most Americans appreciate how vitally important the hearings are to document the facts for the annals of history. Certainly, all of us witnessed the truth as it happened, and the fact that our homegrown tyrant attempted to overthrow our government is obvious to most of us.

Starting with, “Stand back and stand by,” followed by "Wait until January 6. It's going to be wild," Donald Trump’s rhetoric became uglier and more dangerous. On Jan. 1 and Jan. 5, I tweeted "Fox and Friends" and asked the hosts to discourage their viewers from going to D.C. and rioting in the name of Dear Leader.

Why is it too hard for Trumpublicans to believe that our dictator wannabe expected, planned and encouraged a coup? For someone who openly admires dictators past and present, quotes Mussolini, for one, is a cheerleader for dictatorial aggression/wars on peace-loving nations, writes "love letters" to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un and sings the praises of autocrats in Saudi Arabia, Hungary and the Philippines, it’s 100% clear Trump is an American traitor.

BOB CANNING

Petaluma

Rethinking ‘radical’

EDITOR: Think about the word “radical” and where it has been applied politically. The word gets tossed around a lot, the intent being, without expository support, to frighten voters. It’s repeated so often it’s become a cudgel for Republicans against Democrats. But has it been properly applied?

One party prefers to move on alternatives due to Climate Collapse, as 67% of Americans wish. The Democratic Party is resolutely against the events of Jan 6. and had no participation from its members or backers. Regarding women’s reproduction, 61% of Americans believe abortion should be legal. Over half of Americans think guns should be more strictly regulated. These are parts of the Democratic platform.

Now, hearken back to that day in Congress when a Republican senator held up a snowball in denial of climate collapse, as his party applauded in delight. Think about Jan 6., its intent and which party’s members provoked it, attended it and accepted that behavior. Think about the denial of women's reproductive freedoms. Think about gun violence, and who insists more weapons would solve it, with no restrictions.

Remind me again: Which party is radical?

BOB MARKETOS

Petaluma