Letters for July 26, 2018

Leave ’em alone!

Re “Junkyard to move” (Newslines, by Robert Speer, July 19):

About Chico Scrap Metal recycling center: It must be pointed out, to those who’ve not watched this story closely: This is a privately owned business. There is no constitutional right for any government to “take private property without just compensation.” Chico does not have the millions it would take to pay CSM to move.

This sad story began in 2004 when a liberal City Council voted, unlawfully, to move this business. Then, when the council became a conservative majority, the business was allowed to stay. There’s been animus on the part of liberals to make sure, by dint of signatures on a petition labeled “Move the Junkyard” without disclosing to those citizens that it will cost millions to move this business.

After two years of costly legal maneuvers, the council was forced to rescind its ruling and CSM must now move. But not yet! Now there will be further costs: CSM will sue and Chico’s lawyers have filed an appeal. Lawyers are the only ones benefiting from this vendetta against a private business.

I have a solution for this craziness. Just drop all legal filings, both pro and against CSM. Let them be! It’ll cost Chico’s taxpayers nothing more!

Loretta Ann Torres

Chico

Editor’s note: The City Council’s ordinance ordering amortization does not mean the city will “take private property.” The order calls for the owners of the property to cease the industrial use currently taking place there to comply with the Chapman-Mulberry Neighborhood Plan. In other words, the property can be used for other purposes, including neighborhood and commercial operations.

Hold the condemnation

Re “Hypocritical CN&R” (Letters, by Taft Petersen, July 19):

Mr. Petersen stated “Millions of birds and raptors have been killed in recent years by wind farms across the U.S.—millions per year.” Mr. Petersen goes on to criticize the CN&R for not holding the Obama administration accountable for this.

Fact checking: A systematic review of 58 studies in the journal Biological Conservation concluded that yearly mortality ranges from a low of 140,000 to a high of 328,000. This is regrettable, but far from “millions per year.” Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not to their own facts.

Trump appointments for EPA chairman and secretary of the Interior speak for themselves. These appointees are universally antagonistic toward conservation. Previous administrations often got a pass from publications like the CN&R because they appointed qualified individuals to those posts; demonstrating recognition of environmental problems and good-faith dealing with them.

Presidents Obama, G.W. Bush (with exceptions) and Bill Clinton acknowledged the wisdom of appointing qualified people to conservation posts. This administration views our natural resources and treasures only in terms of dollars they can generate and makes its appointments within the framework of that shameless set of values.

Ed Bruno

Chico

The letter condemning CN&R for its feature on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was in no way surprising. Taft Petersen, an obvious anti-environmentalist, apparently only read the bold print and noted some criticism of the Trump administration, then reacted blindly even if he doesn’t understand it. True to Trump’s declining band of supporters, “Let’s not get bogged down with any facts!”

The MBTA requires that actions by humans consider the potential effects on bird life and develop processes to reduce it. Certainly, any large project—solar, wind, off-shore oil development, even the construction of a Trump Tower—poses a threat to birds, causing barriers to migration, collision deaths, oil spills and habitat removal. The MBTA requires such projects to minimize and mitigate. A positive example are the numerous processes PG&E has put into place to protect birds while providing electrical power.

Without the MBTA, oil companies could ignore the effects of spills on birds, loggers could cut down eagle nest trees, agriculturalists could resume using poisons such as DDT, etc. The MBTA does not and has not stopped commercial development, but it has required it to be responsible for its actions. Obviously, Petersen believes any restriction is unwarranted and a blight on his freedom.

W. Dean Carrier

Paradise

Hell done froze over

Re “The tragic triumph of childishness” (Guest comment, by Jaime O’Neill, July 12):

Someone please check the thermometer on the front porch of hell! It must be getting chilly since I actually agree with something Jaime O’Neill wrote. It’s true, many adult-age individuals have no idea what it means to be an adult.

When you have gummy bear adult vitamins, adult coloring books and vodka in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins, what do you expect? This is what happens when everyone gets a “participation trophy” and thinks they’re entitled to special treatment because they’re sooo “special.”

There is one thing in Mr. O’Neill’s commentary that I disagree with, however. I would estimate President Trump’s vocabulary to be more on par with a third-grader. Wharton School of Business graduate? Please! You were too generous, Jaime!

While I still find your politics odious for the most part, you’re not wrong on this one.

Mike Pulliam

Paradise

Address this crisis

It’s time for the city of Chico and others in Butte County to wake up to the mounting problem of affordable housing. When I first came to Chico in 1975, we had housing that low-income persons could afford and not go over the limit of 33 percent of your income. Today that is near impossible with a vacancy rate of less than 2 percent; it is considered full.

We need to require builders to either set aside 10 percent to be low-income or pay an equivalent amount into a fund that can be used by, say, the Butte County Housing Authority, who can then used that pool to build housing that those who work and go to school here can afford.

What we don’t want to happen is those who can no longer afford to live here and work are forced into outlying communities and then drive into the city for work.

As far as housing for the homeless, a very viable option is converted shipping containers. These are a growing segment of the alternative housing crowd. They are cheap and plentiful, plus can be converted with the simple addition of doors and windows, electrical and A/C. Much cheaper than wood, and they last longer.

Joe Koons

Paradise

Country or party?

George Will, conservative syndicated columnist for over 40 years and former Fox News regular, has a message: Vote Democrat in November—if you care about your country. I’ve disagreed with George Will many times over the decades, from his views against abortion to his support for attacking Iraq. For once I agree. Vote Democrat!

George Will calls Paul Ryan one of “the President’s poodles.” Another Trump poodle is our own Congressman Doug LaMalfa. LaMalfa responds well to Trump dog whistles. He rails against Obamacare, for example, and forgets that, as president, Richard Nixon supported a much more generous version of Obamacare. LaMalfa has voted repeatedly to undermine the EPA’s authority to enforce important safeguards under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. Does he know the EPA began under Nixon, a Republican?

Today’s Trump dogs are a dangerous breed. “All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall,” says former FBI Director and Republican James Comey. If you’re a Republican, vote country over party. Vote Democrat in November.

Ed Schilling

Paradise

Another shameful decision

The inhumane, isolated refugee detention sites and Trump’s recent travel ban against visitors from seven countries into our country resembles much too closely what my elders endured while being incarcerated in American concentration camps during World War II.

Korematsu v. U.S. was upheld by the Supreme Court, 6-3, and he was sent to join others in camp. Korematsu’s conviction was over-turned in 1983, but Korematsu v. U.S. was not since World War II. It remained law because no case gave justices a good opportunity to overrule it.

Chief Justice John Roberts dismissed the comparison of the travel ban and the Korematsu case but seized the moment to finally overrule the Korematsu decision. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting vote on the travel ban case warning that “by upholding the president’s travel ban, Roberts and others in the majority are making the same mistake the Justices did three-quarters of a century ago.

“By blindly accepting the Government’s misguided invitation to sanction a discriminatory policy motivated by animosity toward a disfavored group, all in the name of a superficial claim of national security,” Sotomayor wrote, “the Court redeploys the same dangerous logic underlying Korematsu and merely replaces one ‘gravely wrong’ decision with another.”

Diane Suzuki

Chico

Either way, it’s bad

Useful idiot or complicit traitor? Whichever characterization is more accurate, whether or not Russia holds some incriminating evidence that keeps Trump in their thrall, his response to Russia’s meddling and his denigration of those pursuing the matter are indistinguishable from how he would respond if he had been subverted by Putin.

In Helsinki, Trump, the consummate bully, did what most bullies do when confronted with a bigger, badder bully: He groveled.

From weakening our military alliances, alienating our allies, fomenting trade wars and abrogating our moral leadership around the globe, Trump is pursuing an American foreign policy right out of Putin’s playbook. The EU is America’s “foe,” but Russia is a respected “competitor.”

Trump’s response to the U.S. intelligence communities’ unanimous conclusion regarding Russia’s meddling? He has no reason to doubt Putin’s “strong and powerful” denial, and there’s blame on both sides.

Denying Russia’s cyberattack and refusing to hold them accountable, just because he was the beneficiary of it, is literally aiding and abetting an adversary.

Think NFL players kneeling during the national anthem is unpatriotic? Then how can you countenance treason from your president?

Sad, indeed.

Scott Paulo

Chico

About our congressman

U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa likes to present himself as a big supporter of America’s veterans. Over the years, I’ve tracked his co-sponsorship record of key bills intended to support our military and personnel. His performance has been dismal to say the least.

The Military Officers’ Association of America (MOAA) is an independent, nonprofit and politically nonpartisan organization, with focus on legislation affecting the military. Over the years, the MOAA website at moaa.org has proven to be a reliable source of information for tracking how well individual politicians support military-related legislation.

Of the 10 bills tracked as of July 18, 2018, Rep. LaMalfa is co-sponsoring only two, H.R. 299 and H.R. 3897.

He has, however, chosen not to co-sponsor the remaining eight bills: H.R. 303, H.R. 333, H.R. 1384, H.R. 92, H.R. 93, H.R. 102, H.R. 846 and H.R. 5125. You can visit the MOAA website for details on each bill.

While I would not expect LaMalfa to support all 10 bills, I believe he owes voters an explanation for his decision not to support them. Past requests to his office for an explanation have not received the courtesy of a reply.

Dare I say, you be the judge.

Pete Stiglich

Cottonwood

A Republican majority in Congress is prepared to cut $5.4 trillion from programs like Medicare, Medicaid (Medi-Cal here) and Social Security over the next 10 years. That includes $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and $537 billion from Medicare. One in 3 Californians depend on Medi-Cal for their medical care.

Congressman Doug LaMalfa supports these cuts in the 2018-19 Republican budget. Your attention is called to the fact that these cuts are planned to start taking place after the November election. Since this is an election year, the Republican candidates, like LaMalfa, are lying low.

Audrey Denney is our Democrat challenger this year. If elected, she will vote against these Republican-planned cuts. Moreover, Denney believes in expanding Medicare for all of us.

We live in fear of constant assaults on our vital programs by the Republican swamp because more of us didn’t vote in 2016. We need to vote for Audrey Denney for Congress in November! Let’s each go the extra mile and get someone else to vote!

Ralph Slater

Chico

I was delighted to see how quickly and forcefully our representative, Doug LaMalfa, responded to President Trump selling the U.S. and its intelligence community down the Volga River. With a mountain of evidence of Vladimir Putin’s murderous excesses—the annexing of Crimea, poisoning opponents, interference in U.S. elections and so many other offenses—it was heartening to see our own representative, “One of Us,” challenge a president who denied the findings of his own government and intelligence community.

LaMalfa quickly agreed with those who called Trump’s actions “damaging, a betrayal of the country, one of the most disgraceful performances of an American presidential memory.” As you say, Rep. LaMalfa, Putin “made us look like a pushover.” That “Putin must have been eating caviar on the plane home.” And LaMalfa quickly supported Bret Baier, the chief political anchor on Fox News, who called the Trump-Putin news conference “quite something—almost surreal at points.”

Well done, Representative … What’s that? LaMalfa never said any of those things? He’s been utterly silent as a known adversary shamed our country? Sorry. My mistake. Never mind.

Lynn Elliott

Chico

I am a liberal Democrat with many conservative Republican friends. Shortly after the presidential election two years ago, my wife and I were driving home from a party with some conservative Republican friends of ours. The conversation drifted to the president as so many conversations seem to these days. Our friends were embarrassed and disgusted with the racist rhetoric and tyrannical actions of the president. One of them remarked: “Where are the checks and balances?”

In light of the recent remarks made by the president during his meeting with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, effective checks and balances are more important than ever. Locally, we here in the North State can have a meaningful impact by voting out Doug LaMalfa and replacing him with Audrey Denney. This can only happen if conservatives that love their country and care about the future of its ideals, principles and freedoms take action and vote for Denney. She will not win without the support of Republicans.

Dan Gordon

Chico

‘Crossed into arrogance’

When does being spoiled become arrogance? Washing dishes with nice hot water and becoming irritated because the water always splashes on the faucet. Angry when your fast food order isn’t right or the cashier makes a mistake. Believing you are being hurt somehow that there are desperate refugees fleeing violence poverty and famine are criminals because they are not you.

The U.S. has supported the Salvadorean government while it slaughtered millions of men women and children—today it is the “murder capital” of the world and where today most of the immigrants come from asking for our help.

There have been more than 10,000 coalition airstrikes in Syria and Iraq since Trump became president—civilian deaths have risen by 200 percent adding 3,000 to the total of over the half-millon killed since the start of war. Yet the U.S. took in only 11 refugees from Syria last year.

We are now demanding that other countries use 2 percent of their GDP toward defense and of course those weapons will be made and sold by U.S. weapon manufacturers.

I think we have crossed into arrogance from spoiled.

Lynn Holly Hansen

Paradise

‘Resist, organize, vote’

Trump’s forces are active in many areas, mostly unseen except for the diligence of our indispensable free press. Most recent is the presidential pardon of two who were involved in the takeover of the Malheur Refuge in eastern Oregon. They were convicted of illegally slaughtering deer, and an arson coverup.

Closer to home are the activities of Trump’s immigration police, called “ICE,” who probe all areas for Latinos who harvest our crops and perform other hard labor. These ICE agents descended upon the small hamlet of Gerber, causing parents to keep children home from school. This latter incident reminded me of a World War II vintage writing by Reverend Niemöller in Hitler’s Germany:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.

Three words to the wise: resist, organize, vote.

Robert Woods

Forest Ranch

Poison in the public space

Tehama County sprayed Roundup along Hazen Road in Manton this April, evident by the mile-long wall of dead brush that appeared at heights of up to 10 feet. They never came back to remove that dead brush, and a fire hazard still exists today. On July 12, the truck returned to spray the dead foliage again—without ever cleaning up the original danger they created.

The National Institute of Health published a study linking glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, to breast cancer. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota found strong evidence connecting Roundup to autism, cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and the loss of beneficial bugs. Roundup causes cancer.

They are spraying a carcinogen on land where our family and neighbors walk with their pets and children. Not to mention our wildlife friends. When the county held Cannabis Ad Hoc meetings—what a joke—the county supervisors were very concerned about backyard cannabis farmers polluting with pesticides and fertilizers. Hence a full ban on outdoor gardens. But they can spray a proven carcinogen on our property with wild abandon any time they want. Hypocrisy much? We are tired of our Little Big Government spying on us and poisoning us.

Liz Merry

Manton

Corrections

Last week’s Greenways article (see “Damage control,” by Evan Tuchinsky) gave the wrong first name of Lassen Volcanic National Park Ranger Amanda Sweeney.

Also, in last week’s Newsline about the Stoney Fire in Bidwell Park (see “Scorched earth,” by Ashiah Scharaga), the genesis of a fire that reached Horseshoe Lake in 1999 was mistakenly identified. It started in Cohasset.

We apologize for the errors, which have been corrected online. —ed.