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Doing nothing about
guns is not an option
Re: “2 children killed in school shooting” (Page A1, Aug. 28).
On Wednesday, we heard about another killing and wounding of children and adults as their Minneapolis school, Annunciation, began its school year at mass. More dead children, dead because they were shot by what we now know is the classic American mass shooter — our uniquely native-born young person whose craziness, whose need to destroy, won’t be contained because Republican legislators make sure he has access to assault weapons.
Going to school has become one of the riskiest things a child can do. Why? Unbelievably, someone in America is today planning an assault on a school district that we won’t identify until more children are dead. Isn’t that the most insane statement you’ve ever read?
The shooting is at least the fifth at K-12 schools in the U.S. since the school year began on Aug. 1, according to the anti-gun violence advocacy organization Everytown for Gun Safety. Stop the madness.
Katha Hartley
Walnut Creek
Redistricting state is
desperate but needed
Yes, gerrymandering is wrong. We need a national ban on it, but until after the 2028 election, we must make this desperate effort to stop Donald Trump from stealing our chance to put an end to his fascist takeover.
The five congressional seats he has had engineered to win with gerrymandering in Texas, combined with the aggressive voter suppression the Republicans are pursuing, could tip the election in his favor. Passing Proposition 50 in November simply gives California the chance to neutralize the Texas steal and is crucial to the survival of democracy in this country.
Please vote yes on Proposition 50.
Jacqueline Black
Castro Valley
Don’t be fooled by
anti-Prop. 50 flyers
A mailer from the “Protect Voters First” coalition announces that mid-cycle redistricting in California would be “weakening our democratic process.”
It does not say that the recent Texas gerrymander, intended to ensure a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, triggered the California redistricting effort and weakens democracy. The mailer uses a quote from California League of Women Voters President Gloria Chun Hoo, implying that her organization endorses the coalition effort; it does not.
And the coalition’s top funder is social conservative and anti-abortion activist Charles T. Munger Jr. Buyer beware.
Karen Lee Cohen
Walnut Creek
To make US healthy,
get rid of RFK Jr.
It is possible to impeach a cabinet secretary. Let’s start with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
He is clearly demonstrating that he lied during his confirmation hearings. The actions he has taken as secretary show that. A long-time vaccine skeptic with no medical background, he claimed he would follow the science, but his actions indicate otherwise. He replaced all members of the vaccine advisory committee with vaccine skeptics, he canceled funding for MRNA projects, and now he is firing the director of the CDC who says he is “weaponizing public health.”
Let’s start making America healthy again by putting someone in charge who knows something about public health. Let’s get rid of him.
Darcy Johnson
Brentwood
Trump crying fraud
doesn’t hold water
Re: “Trump fires Fed governor, opening new front in fight for central bank” (Page A4, Aug. 26).
Isn’t it ironic?
I read some of the excerpts from President Trump’s termination letter to Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve Board Governor, whom he is firing for being accused of committing lender fraud on her mortgage applications.
In a holier-than-thou stance, the president explains that he must protect the American people from the questionable integrity of high-level officials.
What? The president himself has already been convicted of business fraud. He is not eligible to take that stance.
James Morphy
Martinez
‘Donor states’ must
have federal relief
Prior to the Trump administration, California contributed nearly $88 billion more to the federal government in taxes than it received in federal contributions. Nineteen other states also have this “donor state” distinction.
Cuts in education, research, wind and solar development, consumer protection, Medicaid, arts endowment, public broadcasting, Planned Parenthood, Head Start and disaster relief, to name a few, will expand the gap between giving and receiving.
The president, while telling us how well he is taking care of the federal government through tariffs, payoffs from tariff negotiations and lawsuits against his enemies, collecting “tens of billions per month,” expects states to be self-sufficient.
The lawsuits to get our federal funding reinstated can take years to resolve. Federal legislation is needed that closes the gap. There are both blue and red states that are considered donor states. A bipartisan bill could help donor states reclaim what they are due.
Frank Jones
Concord