Letters for January 17, 2019
Hear, hear
Re “Insult to injury in Oroville” (Guest comment, by Jenny Miller, Jan. 10):
I totally agree with this article. There was a meeting slammed together on Dec. 27 to have people come together to discuss using the Koppers site for “sorting debris.” I would like to see another meeting that is well-advertised, so I can attend and air my feelings. It is not realistic to have a meeting with little notification to the general public and expect to have people attend, especially during the holidays.
Four hundred trucks a day is a bit much, and I don’t like the idea of Oroville being used as a dump. We have a proud community of people who work hard every day to [make sure Oroville is not viewed as a dump]. Now you want to turn it into one with all this debris-sorting, and on top of it, using a known hazardous waste site that could potentially stir up contaminants.
Dump it in Paradise and clean and sort it there. It would save millions of dollars in transportation costs and handling of the material. They would get it done a lot faster than hauling it 28 miles to another town for a year and a half and 400 trucks a day rolling down the highway tearing up the roads.
Zane Libert
Palermo
LaMalfa’s weak retort
Re “Whom to watch” (Cover story, by CN&R staff, Jan. 3):
I enjoyed your article on people to watch in 2019. However, the most important person to watch (keep track of) is Rep. Doug LaMalfa to see if he continues as a sycophant to a constituency of one (President Sexual Predator) or will begin to represent the thousands in his district who voted for him (or didn’t).
Already his response to Trump’s threat to cut federal fire funds for California was a weak “not helpful.” As a self-described climate crisis denier (akin to a flat-earth proponent), unless he changes his position, LaMalfa’s name will surely be attached to the predicted fire disasters of 2019. The first one will be LaMalfa Fire #4. Something to watch for!
Beau Grosscup
Cohasset
Medicare for All, please
Re “Coverage denied” (Healthlines, by Chad Terhune, Jan. 10):
It is utterly outrageous that the state of California uses private insurance and managed-care corporations to determine what care low-income people on Medi-Cal need, and going against what doctors order for their patients. Medi-Cal must get rid of this managed care. There must be no middle man when it comes to people’s health care, as this is a matter of life and death for many people!
Regarding saving money, one thing that Medi-Cal could do is strongly encourage doctors to talk with their patients about proper diet and exercise. Medi-Cal could also have qualified people to encourage doctors not to prescribe so many drugs that do harm to people and often result in more sickness and even death. I know something about that, because a good friend of mine is no longer with us due to this problem. Doctors need to be encouraged to educate themselves about good alternative supplements to recommend to their patients whenever possible, instead of medicines.
We need improved Medicare for all, anyway, that encourages alternative care while discouraging so many drugs. Medi-Cal is an excellent way to start on this.
Walter Ballin
Chico
‘Liberal cesspool’
California has become a liberal cesspool, to the 10th degree. Gavin Newsom is already putting common sense aside, and offering health care to all, even illegal aliens. I’d ask Gavin why he thinks that is a sustainable situation for businesses and taxpayers in this state?
Do you think your definition of morality should shoulder all Californians and U.S. citizens with more taxes and less for our families? Clowns like Newsom are the reason why Democrats won’t see the White House in 2020. Turning the once Golden State into the “Gimme” state is unconscionable, and shouldn’t be tolerated. Democrats and their socialist, Marxist open-border view of the world is dangerous and is robbing the hard-working citizens of this country. Trump is doing what common sense demands. Democrats are in opposition, not because they have a better plan, but because they resist a leader who puts power and security back in the hands of the people.
Socialism and welfare never in history has succeeded; eventually you run out of everyone else’s money. Democrats need to pull their collective heads out of the sand and watch how a real president leads. Just ask Macron in France how his liberal agenda is working. You keep this up, Newsom, and the yellow vests will be visiting your neighborhood.
Brad Pankratz
Orland
Weekly Trump talk
This morning, many of us awoke in our homes, RVs or shelters to a tweet from our tiny-handed, poor-spelling, vulgarian-in-chief—again, blaming California for its forest fires. Or, as he put it, “forrest” fires. “Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest fires that, with proper Forrest Management, would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!”
This tweet came only hours after he duped the networks into airing his abhorrent Oval Office “address,” which was in effect his first campaign speech of the 2020 campaign.
As the walls close in on this steaming pile of excrement, and the crime syndicate around him, he is becoming increasingly unhinged. His rhetoric, ignorance, corruption and incompetence place our country in jeopardy.
While the rest of our allies worldwide are wondering, WTF is going on in the once proud USA?, we as citizens need to support any efforts to remove this guy before it is too late. Attention legislators, Google “congressional oversight re: U.S. Constitution” and do your jobs!
Dave Schwartz
Chico
The U.S. pullout of Syria is not about the troops, it’s about President Trump building political capital with Russia. Through its alliance with Syria, Russia has maintained its influence in the Middle East. This furthers Russia’s goal of re-establishing itself as a global player when it had been concluded that the glory days of the Soviet Union were over.
Additionally, the departure of American troops further tightens President Bashar al-Assad’s once-tenuous grip on his ravaged country. Iran has sent thousands of Shiites to Syria to help keep Assad in power. It also has a land bridge through Syria to send weapons to Hezbollah, a steadfast enemy of Israel.
The Kurds, a U.S. ally in our war against the Islamic State, are at great risk. Turkey has vowed to launch a new offensive against the YPG, a Kurdish militia that the U.S. equips to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls the YPG a terrorist group, and has vowed to crush them.
He got the green light back in December, during his call with Trump prior to the announced pullout.
Once again, autocrat-wannabe Fat Donnie’s reckless behavior exposes his oblivious disregard for human life. Status quo.
Roger S. Beadle
Chico
I have always tried to think of our country as free—freedom of speech, press and peaceful assembly. To me, this is what makes America great. Shutting down the government and its services, denying federal employees pay for a day’s work, and disenfranchising the House/Senate are not part of what I see as a great America.
In fact, it makes me think the opposite. I want to leave this country in fear. If our own citizens are to be put in peril due to irresponsible bullying by our own president, it is a sad day, indeed.
President Trump seems to care more about illegal immigration and a wall than his own people. When he says, “You’ll see,” I say, “I do see” a president who is making grave judgment errors that are hurting innocent Americans.
Can you not put your vote forward toward stopping this travesty? If a wall is truly what we need, can it not be considered outside of a shutdown? It sounds like Mr. Trump is so scared that he won’t be able to get his wall any other way; that he is disregarding reason and imperiling his own “American citizens,” those he was sworn to support.
Rebecca Cook
Chico
This march matters
Why do we need the third annual Women’s March on Chico? Wasn’t this the year of women candidates for political office? Despite the buzz, women are only 19 percent of our Congress and 24 percent of the California Legislature, although comprising over half the population. Please spread the word about the third annual Women’s March on Chico, January 19, at the City Plaza. Pre-events at 10 a.m., march at 10:30, rally and music at noon. Make your voice heard.
Gayle Kimball
Chico
More on Trump
With a dainty tap of her gavel, Nancy Pelosi declared victory in the House for Democrats and a chance for the American people to take back America from the despotic Trump, a devil in the disguise of a successful business man, who tells lies to the American people “20 to 37 times a day.”
He has used and abused 37 Republicans, who attempted to blindly support him, destroying their careers, lives and reputations. Under Republican Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s essential and factual investigation, there have been 36 indictments, which show Trump conspired and colluded with Russia and Putin to steal the presidency from Hillary Clinton.
Any American who cannot see how this is outright treason, and remains loyal to Trump, is indeed ignorant of the facts, too brainwashed by hate or blindly racist to see the truth, right before their eyes.
A perfect example is a man who wrote in a letter to the Red Bluff Daily News about Fox News spinning the truth when they showed a video of Trump saying to Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, “I am proud to shut down the government.” Now, he wants to blame the Democrats for the shutdown.
Pat Johnston
Red Bluff