Trump, Putin’s pal: Letters to the editor, Jan. 13, 2021

Dictator Trump is just Putin’s pal

Once in a great while I’ll put KMJ (Klan Made Justice), and I realize it hasn’t changed its racist, hateful rhetoric. Fresno/Clovis and to the south, the closed-minded Trump voters just don’t ever change their way of thinking.

Now, because Trump has made a point of doing nothing to be involved in the Trumpvirus crisis, he has created more of a crisis by not encouraging Americanos to wear masks and keep their distance from others who don’t want them breathing down their throat.

Trader Joe’s shouldn’t have to close their doors to the public just because ignorant Trumpsters refuse to abide by safety measures put in by concerned leaders. The only people that should be recalled live in the White House and your local congressman from Tulare.

The ugly division that has burst out in this country will only continue to get worse and it’s hard to ignore that Trump has been a Putin admirer who, in his own mind, envisions himself as a dictator, and amazingly has millions who would prefer to be ruled under a dictatorship than a free country!

America seen in shades of gray

Angela Sailor and Adam Kissel (Op-ed Oct. 19) call out “the false perspective of the 1619 Project — which pretends that the basic story of America is slavery and discrimination, instead of equality and freedom.” But slavery and discrimination are significant and indelible elements of America’s story. Moreover, so are dispossession, oppression, and genocide of indigenous peoples.

Then there’s the implacable persistence of economic inequality and gun violence, which are worse here than in other Western democracies. Yet the ideals of equality and freedom, lifted up by the authors, also figure prominently in our nation’s history. We are rightfully proud that, after long and arduous struggles, women, African Americans, laborers, immigrants, and LGBTQ folks have claimed many of the rights they deserve.

Don’t imagine, though, that any of these groups has attained full equality. We need to listen and learn from the 1619 Project, Black Lives Matter, the Poor People’s Campaign, and many other groups working for more social justice. The op-ed’s authors paint a black-and-white picture: slavery or freedom, discrimination or equality. But we know full well that an accurate image of our story only comes in multiple shades of gray.

Death panels and corporate profits

In 2009, first Sarah Palin, then the entire Republican political establishment began warning us that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare as they liked to call it) would result in “death panels.” That was because a for-profit insurance industry would have no choice but to let Americans die to protect their business profits under the cost restrictions of ‘Obamacare.

Skip ahead to this year: COVID hit and Trump labeled himself a “wartime president” fighting an “invisible enemy.” But, his plan for re-election was to point to the economy. Realizing business profits and his re-election were in danger, he made the wartime decision: he pushed America to unmask and stop distancing. In other words, the wartime president told America to disarm and surrender to the enemy: “Let [COVID] wash over” us.

In other, other words, Donald Trump and his lickspittle Republican political establishment turned out to be the real “death panel,” sacrificing American lives for business profits.

Fires, smoke with climate change

I love to garden, and I was very frustrated in recent months having to hide in the house day after day because of the smoky air. We were warned repeatedly that the air was unhealthy for everyone, so I stayed indoors. Therefore, I was not surprised recently to read in The Bee that “The Valley has worst air quality after year of fires” (12/28) and that “asthma events” due to smoke exposure will increase with ever more wildfires caused primarily by climate change.

The article explains that rising temperatures reduce the moisture in the soil, increase evaporation, cause snow and ice to melt faster, and will shorten the rainy season. Droughts are predicted to become more severe and frequent. Dry forests and other vegetation will be fuel for wildfires, and smoke from the fires will worsen air quality, resulting in millions of dollars of medical costs.

We need to free ourselves from the fossil fuels that are causing climate change. For example, we can require electric vehicles instead of gas-powered cars and trucks. It will not be easy or cheap, but we have no other choice if we want to improve our air quality, reduce health care costs, and stop climate change.

This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Trump, Putin’s pal: Letters to the editor, Jan. 13, 2021."