9/11 and COVID-19: Letters to the editor, Sept. 11, 2020

Contrasting 9/11 and COVID-19

On Sept.11, 2001 nearly 3,000 people perished due to terrorist attacks. Currently, over 170,000 lives have been needlessly lost due to the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic by Washington Republicans and many Republican governors.

In 2001, Americans came together and blindly trusted politicians and let the Patriot Act pass, which arguably infringed on American’s rights like no other piece of legislation. However, today as people become infected and die, the simple suggestion to wear a mask seems to boil the blood of some who may become victims of this deadly virus.

Please search the internet to find ways to familiarize yourself with Mr. Phil Arballo. Phil is running for the U.S. Congressional seat here in District 22. Phil is running because he cares about people. Phil’s roots are in the Valley and he is actually interested in people’s lives, including their health and livelihoods.

Phil won’t manipulate a dire public health crisis into a divisive political engine to raise money. Phil will work for the people. In this time of virtual campaigns, search out ways to discover what Phil believes in. We have a real opportunity to make the Vvalley sing once again.

Broader view of Trump behavior

Trump claims that mail-in-voting will result in mass voter fraud and undermine the election.

There is a reason that Trump is doing whatever he can to stay in office. Casting doubt on the voting method of mail-in ballots, and defunding the U.S. Postal Service are his attempts to undermine the election.

Trump is trying to avoid facing criminal charges in Manhattan, New York. Cy Vance, the Manhattan U.S. attorney, recently filed papers in court that revealed Trump is under investigation for bank and insurance fraud. However, while he is president of the United States, he can’t be indicted because of a Justice Department policy of not indicting a sitting president. If he were to win another four-year term, he likely could avoid indictments altogether due to statute of limitations.

So to understand Trump’s recent behavior, one must see this broader picture and realize he is desperately trying to keep from going to prison. He’s trying to do it by undermining the election himself. Meanwhile, there is a pandemic going on and he’s not doing anything about it.

It is wrong to help a feral cat

An article on Aug. 13 entitled “2 dead cats, kittens found outside church in Fresno” drew my attention. In the article, a citizen chose to harbor a feral animal, feeding it through a hole in a fence on another’s property. This action is a violation of the state and city ordinance with regard to harboring feral animals.This action also compromises the church’s ability to maintain their property.

Further it upsets the natural order of things. As soon as any food was offered to the cat, the cat, the kittens and any colony that formed around the food source became the problem of the citizen who fed it, not the problem of the church as an entity, nor the pastor as a person. Ms. George’s point of view in her report is less than objective in this regard.

I submit that everything that happened to the animals after the first food offering is the sole responsibility of the person who fed the cats.She has reaped the consequence of selfishness in the deaths of animals that otherwise would likely have survived if left alone. That a heavy tax in lives for a missing cat’s leg.

Glad for Bee’s Fresno Voices

The Bee recently gave me two good reasons why I’m glad I’m still a subscriber: Fresno Voices, The Bee’s project to hear the stories of members of the community in their own words, and the news that ethnic studies are to be a Fresno Unified school requirement starting next year. Long overdue, I welcome these positive steps toward understanding.

I feel that a subtle part of inequality and racism has been because of what is not written, what is not common knowledge in our culture, and what is accepted as the norm.

We need some bright spots in our lives during this time of isolation and uncertainty, so I say thanks Fresno for these strategies, for doing the right thing.

This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "9/11 and COVID-19: Letters to the editor, Sept. 11, 2020."