Letters for July 19, 2018

Hypocritical CN&R

Re “Hunting for survival” (Cover story, by Ken Smith, July 12):

The hypocrisy never ends for CN&R and the left. Millions of birds and raptors have been killed in recent years by wind farms across the U.S.—millions per year. I’ve never seen that mentioned in CN&R. When you’ve published articles attacking the use of fossil fuels and promoting solar and wind energy, I’ve never seen a single mention of all the birds and raptors killed by wind farms, yet now the decline of these birds is President Trump’s fault.

Your concern for raptors and birds is so phony and political. Why didn’t the killing of raptors bother you when it was being done by the previous administration? It’s like the photos of illegal immigrants and children being shown held in cages after attempting to cross our border. The photos were taken in 2014-15 (Obama administration) yet the media and the left have pinned this on President Trump. Why didn’t you complain about these things then? CN&R has lost any journalistic integrity it may have had. It’s sad that it’s so hard to find the truth on these pages.

Taft Petersen

Chico

Editor’s note: Suggested reading: the CN&R’s March 2, 2017, cover story (“Murder most fowl,” by Ken Smith), which underscores how avian species are threatened by loss of habitat, among other things, including wind farms.

‘Dumping ground’

It is very disappointing to see people reacting to pictures of migrants from 2014 and then collectively go after one person using these pages as a dumping ground for that hatred.

Also, as a woman, the histrionics about guns obfuscates the real hard facts that guns deter much more crime than they cause and their effectiveness should be noted by all our congressmen and women whose bodyguards are well-armed. (I have yet to meet a woman who’s regretted responsibly arming herself.)

As far as letters go, hate of one person gets toxically redundant and reduces the vibration of this otherwise fine paper.

Please add weight to your words by doing the following: have people of different backgrounds over to dinner, give time and money to a cause in this burdened county of ours, engage in civil discourse with someone and ask their opinion (be prepared to listen) and then pick up a book on the economy.

Your letters will be so enlightening and engaging and so will inspire rather than drain your fellow readers! Thank you.

Amy Kelly

Paradise

Editor’s note: There are indeed photos of migrant children in holding facilities from 2014, when President Obama was in office. They were unaccompanied minors—children who entered the U.S. without a guardian. The recent letters referenced above are in response to President Trump’s recent zero-tolerance immigration policy, which, unlike previous administrations, both Republican and Democratic, separated children from the parents who brought them to the U.S.

Mr. Rogers, life-changer

Re “Neighborly” (Second & Flume, by Melissa Daugherty) and “Our friend, Fred” (Reel World, by Juan-Carlos Selznick, July 12):

Viewing Won’t You Be My Neighbor? at the Pageant was an instant life-changer. The enactment of the king and his “wall” is beyond belief. Hard to accept I bypassed this man all along. Mr. Rogers should be required school curriculum at some point for all levels of education.

Last week’s CN&R was among the most crucial reading available anywhere during these uncertain times. People actually can be Republicans, or any party they choose, and be kind, loving neighbors.

Kenneth B. Keith

Tehama

Don’t imprison cats

Re “Toxoplasma gondii be gone!” (Weekly Dose, July 5):

I am disappointed in the CN&R for putting that ridiculous article in the Pet Issue.

Fact: Cats dig holes, poop and cover it up. California, because it’s hot, can have extremely hard ground in the summer, making it difficult for cats to dig holes. They resort to other areas like wood chips, dirt piles and, as last resort, grass. But cats pick safe, hidden areas to poop, unless the ground is too hard.

Owners often have litter boxes in the home with an indoor/outdoor cat because the cat prefers to poop in the box—it’s safe and private.

The advice to keep your cat indoors permanently is appalling. Cats deserve to be outdoors in nature. It’s cruel to deprive them of being outside. You would not live in a house and never go outside, would you?!

Toxoplasma gondii is very rare. There are plenty of diseases from racoons, snails, birds, squirrels, dog feces, human feces, etc., that are out there waiting to pounce. Are you going to lock them all up?!

Rhonda Whetstine

Chico

More on felines

Re “Toxoplasma gondii be gone!” and “Pet cause” (Greenways, by Evan Tuchinsky, July 5):

Great issue. I have a quandary. Here are three quotes from [the Pet Issue]:

“Cats are the definitive host of Toxoplasma gondii, the most common single-celled parasite in the developed world. The nasty little bugger affects our psychomotor performance, can cause all kinds of issues for pregnant women and even is killing off sea otters via untreated sewage. To help reduce the spread of the parasite, cat owners are advised to keep their animals indoors, feed their cats commercial food rather than raw or undercooked meat, and always bag cat feces—never flush it.”

“Pet feces can be composted, however, as long as it’s done separately from vegetable garden composting. The process requires special enzymes; for cats, biodegradable litter as well. This compost requires 18 months and shouldn’t be used on edible flora.”

“According to the American Bird Conservancy, domestic cats kill 2.4 billion birds a year—the top human-related threat to avian species in the U.S. and Canada. Cats also kill 12.3 billion small land animals such as lizards, frogs, snakes and chipmunks.”

I recently married a “cat lady” and we now have 15—together. Thoughts?

Chris Durniak

Chico

Women’s time

The 2018 midterm elections are seeing an unprecedented number of women candidates, and this is good news on many fronts. Women comprise 50.8 percent of the United States’ population, earn almost 60 percent of undergraduate degrees and 60 percent of all master’s degrees, and yet are an extreme minority when it comes to holding elected office: 19.6 percent of the seats in the U.S. Congress, 12 percent of U.S. governorships, and 25.4 percent of U.S. state legislators. While gender equality has improved over the past few decades, women are still woefully under-represented in business and elected offices.

An excellent candidate for Congress in California’s 1st District is Audrey Denney. Her background in nonprofit business leadership, education and agriculture has helped shape her compassionate character. Unlike her opponent, she will dedicate her efforts to help improve the lives of the people in her district, not the bottom line of big corporations.

For too many years our male-dominated Congress has failed to address the needs of women from all walks of life to self-determine their own lives. We can help change that. Vote for Audrey Denney. Men are not doing a good job running this country. It’s time for a woman’s touch.

Roger S. Beadle

Chico

Don’t buy it

The Democratic National Committee finally decided to lessen the power of superdelegates by not allowing them to vote in the first round of voting at the Democratic nominating convention. Local DNC superdelegate Bob Mulholland was against any change, even suggesting that superdelegate reform is part of a Russian plot, as reported in The Washington Post.

Such Democratic McCarthyism is pathetic and embarrassing.

For those who can think for themselves, that is those citizens who would not, again, buy into the government and media hype of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, there is no believable evidence that the Russians hacked the DNC emails. The DNC never even allowed the FBI to check its servers.

Certainly the Russians played around on social media, spending a pittance of what the Democrats and Republicans spent on social media. Democrats blaming Russia for Hillary’s loss have an agenda to create a new cold war.

When the Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit in April, alleging collusion between the Trump campaign, WikiLeaks and the Russian government to influence the 2016 election, I changed my party affiliation.

I value WikiLeaks. Anti-Russian propaganda is much like the hyped Iraqi WMD, and Russian-hating Democrats are an embarrassment.

Lucy Cooke

Butte Valley

Editor’s note: Special Counsel Robert Mueller last week indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking and stealing information not only from the DNC and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee but also from several people affiliated with Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president. The indictment describes how the hackers leaked the info in an effort to harm Clinton’s campaign and aid that of then-candidate Donald Trump.

On hacking and ballots

Re “Another ballot blunder” (Letters, by Stan Kane, July 12):

Stan Kane, and other letter writers, are missing their “mail-in ballots.” I suggest they write to the Kremlin at Red Square, Moscow, Russia. After witnessing the Russian hacking/meddling into the 2016 presidential election, I’m sure that good-old Guccifer 2.0 could locate the missing mail-in ballots, as they (the 12 indicted Russian hackers) bask in their luxury of taking the White House hostage, and with help from the Bernie Sanderses of the world, who have burdened us all with the diabolical Trump.

Ray Estes

Redding

‘Chico cares’

Last Friday I had a diabetic medical emergency. I was returning home going up Park Avenue. Three college-age men came to my rescue, quickly securing orange juice and providing physical assistance. Two older men of the street quickly joined them and stayed until the EMTs arrived. The medics took over and provided compassionate and efficient care.

Unfortunately, due to my circumstances, I was unable to share my appreciation for such kindness to a longtime Chico resident from such a diverse citizenry. Chico cares, and so do I. Thanks.

Dick Cory

Chico

Religion and politics

When growing up, I would ask Mom, “Why did this person die?” She always answered it was “God’s plan.” Or God wanted them more than us. “Why are we so poor?” “It is God’s will, son.” Which raises many questions. If it was God’s will for 9/11, why then thank him for saving lives? Surely the big wars, all the millions of dead were part of his big plan?

My favorite part is we have free will, but do bad and you go to hell. Arguing about religion is like arguing about politics. I never understood where the anger, hate and mean thinking comes from. It probably is a need to express one’s feelings. Most often one’s guilt or shame, even stupidity, locks them into a pattern; nothing we do or say changes anything; it is futile.

Allan Clark

Paradise

Request for peace

Why not ask everyone, including the U.S., to commit to decrease defense spending to 1 percent while in church singing your Christmas carols this year? Yes, that peace on earth one. You may think it’s a call to do something toward that call from God.

Less money for defense would change that business model and provide the world with things that will stop the need for wars; someday there will be no weapons and mankind can begin to live in the image of God.

Lynn Holly Hansen

Paradise