Fresno Bee letters: On Supreme Court nominee, replacing Nunes, Jan. 6 rioting

Biden right to seek Black jurist

Conservatives are saying that they will vote down President Biden’s nomination of a Black female to serve on the Supreme Court before even knowing who she is or what her qualifications are.

It’s interesting to note that when Trump announced that he was going to nominate a female to the Supreme Court, conservatives didn’t say a word. Now that the demographic of “Black” has been added to the job description, they have whipped themselves into a frenzy to deny Biden’s nomination.

They claim that it is a case of affirmative action. It appears that they believe that a Black female couldn’t possibly be qualified for the Supreme Court. However, when you look at the education, credentials and experience of the candidates that are being considered for nomination, you will find that they are all highly qualified for the position of Supreme Court justice.

Biden’s nomination is an attempt to place qualified people of color into positions of power so that our institutions will more accurately reflect the racial composition of our society. That’s what fairness and equality are all about. A Black female Supreme Court justice would be a first in American history, and is long overdue, in my opinion.

Spare the lecture with Olympics

I turned on NBC to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and instead got a political commentary on China. They brought in special political commentators just for that reason. I watch the Olympics to observe the finest athletes from around the world, and not be lectured on China’s inhumane treatment of many of their citizens.

I’m fully aware, and everybody else in the world is aware, of the many problems with China. This is sports, and the athletes competing put years of their life to training to get to the Olympics. Use your news shows all you want to lecture us on China, but keep it out of sports programming.

NBC also paid the IOC millions of dollars to broadcast the Olympics. The IOC is the organization that awarded China the Games, even knowing the atrocities going on in that country. Why isn’t NBC bringing up that fact and looking at how that happened. Could it be they are afraid the IOC will not grant them broadcast rights to upcoming Olympics?

This event generates millions of dollars to NBC in ad revenues. Maybe they can donate that money to several international human rights organizations.

A simple question about Jan. 6

One simple yes-or-no question for those Republicans who describe what happened on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol as “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse”: Would that be your same description if the participants had been Black?

Sorry slate of GOP candidates

The Republican bench to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Trump water carrier, Devin Nunes, has all of the depth and charisma of a pie plate.

Of course they are going to blow the dog whistle about everything from antifa to stolen elections flying out of the GOP Pandora’s box of ethereal threats from both the “radical left” and a “progressive agenda.”

It wasn’t any of those myths that brought a con man with the morals of an alleycat into politics and who sought to seize control of the United States under a pretense.

This group has bought into the lies still being promulgated by the guy who “fell in love” with Kim Jong Un.

Elizabeth Heng claims, “I am tired of seeing the Valley being used as a kind of flyover state…they continue to neglect us.” She didn’t mention any names of who “they” are but a quick examination might reveal Devin Nunes. In that crowd would also be found Kevin McCarthy, David Valadao and a host of municipalities and county boards all staffed from the top down with ... Valley Republicans. Mr Maher states, “I’m not here to replace Devin Nunes; I’m here to finish up what he started and continue to stay here and represent the exact same constituents.” Obviously he thinks nobody can read.

No Republican “Hypocrofest” would be complete without stirring up fears about undocumented immigrants getting drivers licenses and voting, but Connie Conway picked that baton up right away. “You have to say who you are and that you belong in this country.” Not long ago, when she rode in on the coattails of the Tea Party, the chant was much different. There was no end of people complaining about “having the freedom to go where I want and not have to show my papers.” How things change.

Then there is the old saw about Marxist agendas in schools. Mr. Stoll must have been thinking about “Critical Race Theory,” which apparently unbeknownst to him is actually called “Stuff That Really Happened.”

Not one of them are qualified to hold public office. They “view the world darkly, as through a glass eye.” In keeping with the current national crop of failed intellects in the Republican party, they do not disappoint.

Julian Assange deserves freedom

Journalist Julian Assange may gain his freedom before his health fails entirely, or he may spend the rest of his life in prison for doing the right thing in exposing egregious wrongs committed by the United States military.

Those wrongs included the torture and murder of innocent citizens in Iraq and Afghanistan, sometimes framed as “collateral damage,” but shown through audio and film to be anything but accidental.

The president and many members of Congress want Julian Assange dead or alive, preferably alive so that the torture of isolation can continue to be inflicted upon him for the rest of his life. This for doing what journalists are supposed to do, which is to keep the public informed, most especially when their government is acting outside the bounds of human decency.

Assange’s purported misdeeds are not an issue of espionage, either, but of journalism performed on behalf of the public. When those who want Julian Assange’s blood cite the Espionage Act, they must hope their audience will not know that the Espionage Act of 1917 was written to address spying.

The lie that Julian Assange did something wrong must not be allowed to stand, and he must be freed.

Freedom works for immigrants

It is disappointing to see Joaquin Arambula and The Bee immediately endorse more government as a solution to a problem that too much government created to begin with. What they should do is ask themselves why this labor “trafficking” exists in the first place.

There are millions of people who want to come to this country to work and provide for their families. There are millions of American businesses that need hard-working employees. But the government makes it illegal for all but a fraction of them to do so legally. That is bad for business, bad for labor. Hence, they do it illegally.

Just like the war on drugs results in drug “trafficking,” and laws against prostitution result in sex “trafficking,” laws against letting people work are going to result in labor “trafficking.”

Rather than pass more laws, create more crimes, empower more police, prosecute more people, fine more people and jail more people, maybe the government should consider legalizing things which lots of people want and government forbids.

Freedom works. Prohibition never has. Ever. For anything.

We need to increase legal immigration, end the drug war, and legitimize the world’s oldest profession.

So says this Libertarian.

Roundabout may not be solution

I read the articles by Bee columnists Marek Warszawki and Tad Weber regarding the dangerous roadways for cyclists, especially around Woodward Park. As an avid cyclist and someone who knew Paul Moore, I have an active interest in these issues.

Mr. Weber mentioned that the city of Fresno has proposed a roundabout on Audubon at the Woodward Park entrance as a solution to improving access for cyclists and pedestrians. The city of Clovis recently installed a roundabout at the intersection of Temperance and Alluvial Avenues. Despite the city’s good intentions, trying to navigate this roundabout by foot or bicycle is a death-defying experience for any situation other than making an immediate right turn. Even though there are marked crosswalks and warning signs, drivers are not going to stop and wait for a pedestrian or cyclist to cross through this intersection.

I would invite planners for the city of Fresno to come out to Clovis to experience this bizarre roundabout themselves before considering anything similar on Audubon Drive.

This story was originally published February 27, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Fresno Bee letters: On Supreme Court nominee, replacing Nunes, Jan. 6 rioting."