Letters for March 2, 2017

Spit splatter

Re “Enemy of the people” by Robert Speer (SN&R Editor’s Note, February 23):

So Sen. John McCain is a man you “respect greatly as a man of integrity”? Is this the same John McCain you and your fellow liberals spit on when he returned from Vietnam? I remember you, as do all the other GIs passing through this state of fruits and nuts.

Lou Meyer

Rancho Cordova

All ages and more

Re “All-ages, all-rages,” by Anthony Siino (SN&R Feature, February 23):

I remember driving up from Stockton in the late ’80s and early ’90s just to find a dance club where we could go as teens. The [lack of such clubs] generally left kids wandering around Midtown at all hours of the night and making trouble at friends’ houses while parents were away.

Today, a lot of teens are in the same bind, with the added entertainment outlet of sitting home alone playing video games or glued to social-media sites.

I wish the author had checked out a place that just popped up in East Sac called The Silver Orange. They call themselves “a new chill space for teens,” but they’ve been hosting all-ages concerts by local bands, art shows and open-mic nights.

I’ve gone there with my 13-year-old to shoot pool, and my 22-year-old daughter and her friends got to sell their digital fan art there. In March they’ll be opening Monday nights up for 18+ to play music on their stage, play D&D, air hockey or whatever.

Gypsy Andrews

Sacramento

Points of light

Re “A sleeping giant,” by Robert Speer (SN&R Editor’s Note, February 23):

During the evacuation I was worrying about my nonfunctioning sump pump, but when I looked at my paltry issues when placed against those uprooted by a mandatory evacuation, I, too, was humbled and ashamed. But my own neglect at replacing my sump pump due to “non-need” and “expense” is the same rationale that DWR used in not following the 2005 reports.

However, it is one thing for a homeowner to defer maintenance and another when it’s done by a government agency. In the aftermath of the near-collapse of the emergency spillway, I heard a local official say, “Pay now or pay more later"—precisely what is happening now. I appreciate your article for bringing these two points to light: my own shame at worrying about the small inconveniences, and state government missteps in their decision-making.

Mitchell Lane

Sacramento

Nazi-splaining

Re “On socialism and Nazi punching,” by Dave Kempa (SN&R 15 Minutes, February 23):

So Ms. Mattox is a communist-socialist. She’s so proud of herself. Clearly this must be because whatever she knows of history was learned in the California education system.

She hates Nazis ’cause they are sooooo bad. Obviously she has never been exposed to real history. If she had, she would know that the real world communists killed millions more people than her hated Nazis ever dreamed of. I suggest she visit a local Ukrainian church and ask the legal immigrants there what communism did for them and their families.

Kenneth Lauszus

North Sacramento

Correction

Re “Dirty drinking” by Alastair Bland (SN&R News, February 23):

The story incorrectly made it appear as if all public water systems in Davis and Woodland were out of compliance with state safety standards. Of the 292 public water systems out of compliance, two are in Davis and Woodland, with these two systems serving a total of several hundred people. SN&R regrets any confusion.