Letters for September 10, 2015

‘Start a conversation’

Re “Ten issues that the presidential candidates absolutely need to discuss (but probably will ignore)” (Cover story, by N&R staff, Sept. 3):

In the article on the 10 issues the candidates are not speaking about, there is the quote, “There is no hope … The American experiment is over.” Nonsense! I am old enough to remember when Americans talked and listened respectfully to each other about political issues. When we were a nation of neighbors who knew and cared about each other. This was before television, when we sat out on front porches and talked.

We no longer have truthful face-to-face conversations, which are the most ancient way to cultivate the conditions for change. Instead we Facebook and use Twitter or make “small talk.” Before our candidates are going to have the courage to talk about the real issues, we are going to have to talk about them among ourselves.

And we will. When things get bad enough, we will turn to each other again for mutual support as we did during the last Great Depression and as we do after every major disaster. We will share ideas and visions and we will find ways to keep this great experiment going. The American spirit, based on the fundamental truths of the Declaration of Independence, is indomitable.

In the meantime, don’t spread or believe in negative, nonsense news. Start a conversation about what’s important to you and what matters to all of us.

Renee Renaud

Chico

Aligned with The Donald

Re “Sanders vs. Trump” (Editorial, Sept. 3):

I think Donald Trump is only dangerous to a certain type of lefty. Right now hundreds of thousands of people are flooding Europe from Iraq, Syria, Jordan and other poverty-stricken countries. Our flood of illegals from South America is nothing compared to this. With shaky economies and limited funds, these countries face tripling welfare rolls, overtaxed health care to thousands never having it before and a drain on schools and law enforcement. If a thousand or even a few hundred illegals walked over the border check points, we could not stop them. At stake is our way of life. Should millions from poor countries simply invade richer ones and leave theirs to the sand? I think Trump reflects the mood of a lot of us, and rightfully so.

Allan Clark

Paradise

Sounding off on rape

Re “Safety in the spotlight” (Newslines, by Meredith J. Cooper, Sept. 3):

It is a tragic story and I hope the criminals are punished to the full extent of the law. Trigger warning: The following might evoke strong emotions! The thing that prompts me to write is the comment from Joe Wills (assuming it is accurate) about “not blaming the victim.”

Well, there is reason to question her actions and point out several things to the young lady and her friends. She broke at least two laws and was most likely aided and abetted by others. Additionally, she was foolish, imprudent and who knows what else. Actions have consequences and given the nature of some of the folks prowling the streets of Chico late at night looking for inebriated prey, these imprudent actions have exaggerated consequences.

I am not saying this so that the young lady will feel worse, but with the hope that others learn from her actions and misfortune. I hope this never happens again, but I hope it is because we don’t have young ladies (or men) getting drunk and wandering around looking for their cohorts.

Tim Edwards

Chico

Once a skeptic

Re “Give me a break!” (Letters, by Chuck Samuels, Aug. 27):

Chuck, you and I were on the same side of this issue. But I’m now happy to tell you that I was wrong, and so are you; at least as it relates to acupuncture. What changed my skepticism? Years ago, our beloved basset hound, Maggie, suddenly and for no apparent reason, lost all control of her hind legs. It was so bad that I had to carry her outside and hold up her hind end with a towel draped under her belly so she could do her business. We carried her everywhere.

It was painfully obvious that Maggie was suffering. We were desperate so, despite my better judgment and out of love for our dog, we took her to our veterinarian who happened to have trained in performing acupuncture on animals. I figured, “money wasted.” But guess what? The evening following her second treatment, Maggie popped up and walked as though nothing was ever wrong; tail-wagging, face-licking Maggie was once again a happy member of our family.

Since dogs have no capacity to respond to the powers of suggestion or placebo medications, I have no doubt that acupuncture actually was the cure. There is no other logical explanation.

Bob Evans

Chico

Bernie, not Hillary

Did you see the pictures of the little 3-year-old boy in blue trousers with a red shirt lying on the sand, his hands at his side, dead? Drowned. He’s one of the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing the death and destruction of the Syrian civil war that our Ambassador Robert Ford encouraged.

Hillary Clinton’s State Department was oriented toward regime change—Libya, Ukraine, Syria. In 2012, Clinton deliberately sabotaged the United Nations in its efforts to resolve the conflict, by insisting that Bashar al-Assad go before there could be talks. She preferred that Syria endure a massively destructive civil war than to work with Assad in resolving the conflict.

To Clinton, the war was necessary to weaken Iran and appease Saudi Arabia. Clinton regrets that Obama prevented her from sending lots of weapons to the Syrian rebels, not enough gasoline to put out the fire. As the self-proclaimed world leader, exceptional and indispensable, the U.S. has much responsibility for the conflict and the refugees. I can’t imagine how the U.S. can repair the lives and destruction. Why “they” hate us is not because of our freedoms, but our actions. Thankfully, Bernie Sanders believes in resolving conflicts.

Lucy Cooke

Butte Valley

It’s gonna shake

You think you have earthquakes now; wait until they start lubricating (fracking) those fault lines like they have in Texas. We had one earthquake in Dallas in a hundred years and now we have a dozen or more in a month.

Sharon Fritsch

Chico

Beware the hawks

If you’re sick of warring this century, you’d better not vote for Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. Bush signed the 1997 Project for a New American Century (PNAC), which set up the U.S. doctrine of “you’re either with us or you’ve got some chaos coming your way.”

Clinton’s fingerprints are all over 2009 military overthrow of Honduras’ duly elected president, Manuel Zelaya. A thuggish right-wing government that was much friendlier to U.S. corporate interests took his place. In 2011, Ms. Clinton played too big a part in NATO’s “final solution” for Muammar Gaddafi and Libya’s infrastructure. The U.S. Pentagon and the African Union were saying “no” to the final solution because extremists were sure to fill the vacuum. People of Honduras and Libya still suffer from Clinton’s foreign policies.

Joe Biden has shaken hands and made promises of IMF financial rewards to Ukrainian oligarchs if Ukraine privatizes its natural resources (coal, oil and natural gas). Unfortunately, those fossil fuels lie mainly in east Ukraine’s Donbass region, which wants nothing to do with the privatization of its natural resources and the neo-Nazi elements desiring it. Privatizing fossil fuels is what Ukraine’s current, bloody civil war is all about.

Linda Furr

Chico

Cleanup event approaches

The 25th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Even though Chico doesn’t have any coasts, we do have a number of waterways traversing our city. Chico’s contribution to the Coastal Cleanup effort is the annual Butte Environmental Council and city of Chico Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup. During last year’s event, we pulled between 20 and 30 tons of trash and debris from Chico waterways.

This year’s Chico Creeks cleanup got a jump start on Aug. 30, when 62 volunteers pulled 100 cubic yards of debris out of a heavily impacted 2-mile stretch of Lindo Channel. There are two volunteer check-in sites for this year’s Chico Creeks cleanup: Annie K. Bidwell Parlor (10th and Salem) for the Chico Creeks portion of the cleanup and Hooker Oak Recreation Area for the Bidwell Park/Lindo Channel portion of the cleanup. We are encouraging individuals, families, community organizations, business partnership groups, fraternities/sororities and youth groups to participate. (Please contact becnet.org for registration and sponsor information.) There will be a free barbecue lunch after the cleanup. Please bring or wear these items: sturdy shoes, hat, gloves, sunscreen and a refillable water container.

Mark Gailey

Chico

A note of thanks

On behalf of Do-It Leisure, I would like to thank Chris Hostettler, owner of Chico Grocery Outlet, and Brian Corbit, advertising consultant with Chico News & Review, for selecting us as the recipient of the August Wine Tasting event held at Bidwell Park Golf Course.

The wonderful event was a huge success and it is truly an honor to be recognized by them! With community support, we raised over $850 for our community program and made many new friends. Without support from our community, adults with developmental disabilities would not be able to participate in the multitude of recreation and leisure activities that we provide yearlong and throughout Butte County.

Fundraising is crucial to Do-It Leisure’s existence and it’s what keeps our doors open—as they’ve been for the past 40 years. Hostettler, Corbit, Courtney Foster and Dan Jenkins all are class acts! If any of you ever have the opportunity to attend one of their monthly wine tasting benefits, you’ll be in for a real treat! Wonderful variety of wines, delicious appetizers, beautiful venue, and a great way to bring the community together—all in the name of charity!

Andrea Moriarty

Director of Community Services, Do-It Leisure, Chico