Fresno Bee readers write about councilmember’s case, voting, solar power and more

Tough case for DA Smittcamp to prove

District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp is prosecuting Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza for, in effect, telling the city attorney, “Do your job the way the council majority wants you to do it, or you won’t have a job to do.” The Fresno City Charter states that the city attorney is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the council majority, and may be removed by a majority vote of the council.

So, unless it is felony extortion in Fresno County for an employer (I am an employer) to insist that employees work as instructed, then Mr. Esparza was well within his rights.

Does Ms. Smittcamp intend to prosecute every employer in the county who tells his or her employees to do their jobs? Or just the Democrats?

One vote does make a difference

What difference can my vote make? Let’s see. Roe vs Wade overturned after almost 50 years. New York’s concealed weapons law overturned after over 100 years. EPA’s environmental power to regulate emissions restricted. A gun control bill passed that doesn’t address the high-power weapons killing American citizens. No major climate legislation passed addressing the existential threat of climate change.

Voting rights under attack. Supreme Court justices are nominated and approved by Congress. Bills to address the needs of the citizens of this country are passed or not by members of Congress. Biden won Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin by a total of less than 45,000 popular votes, putting him over the top in electoral votes. Of registered voters indicating party affiliation in 2021, Democrats were the largest percentage.

Members of Congress are supposed to work for us. We have the ability to hire or fire them — if we vote. People have the privilege, power and responsibility in this country to vote. Only if we use this power can we expect things to change. We must vote. Our democracy depends on it.

Try running a car on solar power

Matthew Armstrong’s letter “get off oil” is interesting. The only true fact in his letter is, “Biden is the president of only one country.” It is obvious that Biden is the sole source of the cost of gasoline rising more than double after he became the “president of only one country/”

Biden’s first impact was cancelling all oil drilling on publicly owned land. This decision reduced US oil production, eliminating 25% of our “one country” consumption needs. This means the US must go on the “world market” to provide the “one country” the oil now not produced within the “one country.” This doesn’t include the extra oil the “one country” was selling on the open world market. Now we are going to “other countries” (world market) to beg them to provide our “one country” the oil needed. Our “one country” BB (Before Biden) was oil independent and was actually selling excess production in to the “world market”.

Mr. Armstrong points out that there are “plenty of ways to generate power -including power to run vehicles- aside from fossil fuel”. Have you ever seen a car with a solar panel on the top? Or maybe, a windmill on the top of the car? Or maybe a nuclear generator in the trunk of the car? Probably not.

Forget McCarthy, vote for a new face

Central Valley conservatives have justifiable reservations about Rep. Kevin McCarthy, as reported in The Bee (“As McCarthy’s district gets redder…”, July 27). Republican consultant Cathy Abernathy says that the basic issues are the economy, education and transportation. How about integrity? McCarthy’s duplicity regarding his opportunistic off/on support of Trump is out there for all to see. As emphasized by more than one of the interviewees in the article, he simply cannot be trusted.

So, Central Valley conservatives, why not throw in with his opponent, Marisa Wood? Her priorities include the economy (wages, health care, the cost of housing), education (she’s taught our kids for 25+ years), and reproductive rights (the essential keep-the-government-off-my-back issue). And integrity; no politician, she is not beholden to any Washington-embedded entrenched interest.

Yes, she’s running as a Democrat, but wouldn’t it be nice to be represented in Congress by someone who cares more about the constituents of our district than their personal ambitions?

Dems tactic is just slimy politics

I am shocked at the shenanigans of my own Democratic party. It funded ultra-conservatives like Chris Mathys against moderate Republicans like David Valadao, who bravely voted to impeach former President Trump (I even sent Valadao a check and a thank-you letter for his vote).

The Dems’ election tactic is morally suspect, and demonstrates politics at its slimiest. More importantly, it moves our political parties farther to the extremes, and decreases the chances of general elections between two reasonable moderate candidates.

In this hyper-polarized political environment, we should support candidates of either party that believe in representative democracy, science, and bipartisanship.

Time for Republican governor in CA

It’s time to elect a Republican governor in California. For the past several years we’ve had Democrat governors. We need a change in California.

Kamela Harris has not made California proud. Nancy Pelosi has not been much help in getting what is needed in California. California needs to get things done. The bullet train to nowhere is an embarrassment. The construction of the Delta tunnels in Sacramento have been stuck for years with no results. The forest fires have no end in sight. Homelessness has proven to be an impossible task.

The train would help control the dirty air in California because there would be less cars on the road and thus help the global warming. The tunnels would divert water to places where the water is drastically needed. Planning the engineering of the control of forest fires is possible with the will to do it, and thus help the global warming.

Our Democratic governors have done nothing to get things done. Democratic leaders have not been able to do what is needed by the examples mentioned. Let’s bring back another Reagan to California — a Republican.

Don’t taunt sharks with food

You know, I find it interesting how every summer the news reports shark attacks. Yet nobody ever examines the real reason sharks do come near people.

Stop chumming the waters with bait to attract sharks for tourists on boat tours. The sharks are now associating humans with food. Hence, the increase in shark sightings and attacks.

The same thing happened with the bears in the Sierra. Open garbage dumps back in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, then careless food storage and dirty dishes left out by campers taught the bears that humans equal food.

This isn’t rocket science, folks, and it ain’t Disneyland. These are wild animals. Respect them, don’t taunt them with food.

Little good shown at Goodwill

Response to Warszawski’s column about the pastor’s donation mix-up at Goodwill resulting in the loss of a valuable backpack:

No compassion.

No kindness.

No flexibility.

No good will at Goodwill.

This story was originally published August 21, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Fresno Bee readers write about councilmember’s case, voting, solar power and more."