Letters to the editor | Sunday, March 1, 2020: Fishy problem needs science-based flexibility

One fish, two fish solution

Re “Trump’s bombast threatens to destroy Calif. water negotiations” (Page 1B, Feb. 23): I wonder where John McManus, president of the Golden State Salmon Association, comes up with his figures that tens of thousands of people will lose their jobs due to President Trump signing an agreement in Bakersfield that will continue to give water to our farmers? Trump said the federal government is going to spend money on upgrading fish hatcheries.

If McManus would check his records of salmon commercially harvested last year, 45% came from the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery. Why play the “water grab” game saying that we need more flow down our rivers to increase the salmon population, which is just a theory and hasn’t been scientifically proven? Why not build a salmon-steelhead fish hatchery on the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers similar to the Mokelumne hatchery? The problem would be solved.

Water deals need new science

Re “Trump’s bombast threatens to destroy Calif. water negotiations” (Page 1B, Feb. 23): Your editorial on Trump’s California water plan missed the most significant point in negotiations over the voluntary agreements: the new federal biological opinions are a critical component for both water supply and environmental protection.

It is widely agreed in the scientific community, and in your editorial, that the future for water users and endangered fish is adaptive management. The new biological opinions give water managers the flexibility needed to capture more water in times of abundance and reduce diversions when fish are actually in danger. That’s the reason that some sort of voluntary agreements could work. More water for people when it’s safe for fish, and more water for fish when they need it most. The old, calendar-based management system didn’t do that.

We hope that both administrations will come to realize that despite their political differences, the solutions on the table, including the new federal biological opinions, are the best chance in a generation to reach a workable solution for water users and the environment.

Local GOP losing strength

For many years the Stanislaus County area had been a Republican stronghold, but no more. The Republicans have been losing people on a continuous basis. Democrats are winning over people. The numbers are simply irrefutable. On a statewide basis, Republicans have lost so many folks that they have dropped to third place, below Democrats and Independents. Stanislaus Democrats have won so many people that we now easily have far more registered voters.

People are simply rejecting the sad backwardness the Republican Party has come to represent in the past few years. In 2016 I recall a day of volunteer action for the Dem congressional candidate that had a strong turnout of over 30 walkers. It was good to see so many. Then in 2018, we had the same volunteer action day and over 900 people came out for a canvass in Turlock alone. 2020 is the most important election of our lifetime and I thank the people of our area for moving away from the losing values of Trump Republicanism.

A coronavirus genesis theory

We have turned our backs on God and allowed our world to become Sodom and Gomorrah. So we now face coronavirus. Could these be connected?

NFL season waaay too long

Re “Owners discuss labor deal proposal to players” (Page 10B, Feb. 21-22): They are proposing a 17-game regular season and expanding the playoffs. Let me propose an alternative.

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and the legendary Paul Brown was a family friend. Every Christmas Day he would gather the players at his home, give gifts, share stories and celebrate. Why? because the season, playoffs and all, was over. One evening I had the privilege to sit with my parents and enjoy his stories.

My suggestion: Fewer games, not more. Two bye-weeks per team instead of one. Maybe fewer injuries? Return to the sanity of yesteryear. Less can be more.

PG&E needs safety focus

Rate increase? PG&E wants a rate increase! We should be talking about clawing back dividend payments and executive bonuses that were given when the money should have been used to make the system safer.

DMC treated me right

I was given most exceptional care at Doctors Medical Center of Modesto. I had a wonderful surgeon, Dr. Rohini Bogineni, who performed almost pain-free hernia surgery. Modesto is very fortunate to have this outstanding medical facility.

Climate change can be slowed

Re “Climate change science is baloney” (Letters, Feb. 21): The science is not, as you state, baloney. It’s medicine for the survival of our species.

Observations of ice cores, temperature gauge readings and more suggest that global average temperatures and atmospheric concentrations of CO2 go hand in hand. That is, in those times when Chicago was under a mile of ice, the CO2 concentration was at a low ebb. During warm times, the CO2 was high. These natural CO2-global temperatures have been dancing up then down about once every 100,000 years. But today, because of gargantuan human CO2 emissions, the cycle is disrupted. CO2 concentrations are racing to heights never before experienced by humanity, and as in the past, we can expect temperature to follow.

The sane response is not denial but to call on great courage and reduce over the next 20 to 40 years most greenhouse agents. The proposed House of Representatives HR 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019, does just that. In addition, several independent studies suggest doing so would improve the economy. Visit citizensclimatelobby.org for more information.

Reduce bass, boost salmon

Re “Newsom backs talks over Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers” (Page 8A, Feb. 6): I question your eagerness to continue to spend more taxpayer money to single-handedly cure the world of “drought, flooding, wild fires, heat waves and sea level rise.” I realize that global warming is an issue we all need to address but, where is the $4.75 billion coming from, and where and to whom is it going? This amount for one state to spend to cure the world’s problem is not only ridiculous but a waste of taxpayer money.

I realize that some of this money is to bring back the salmon population. Let me offer a KISS solution: The main issue is the ever-growing striped bass population. This is the king predator, from Delta smelt to black bass and everything in between. My proposal is simple: increase the (taking) limit of striped bass from two to five. By decreasing the striped bass population, the salmon fingerlings would have a greater chance to reach the ocean, and it would cost the taxpayers $0.

It won’t work if we do nothing

A representative democracy requires effort by the citizens for it to work for the people. Many of my family and friends are tuning out news, not able to take anymore of the show we are getting from the administration and Congress.

If this is the kind of country you want, where white-collar criminals are pardoned because of a family member’s appearance on Fox, or because of a large campaign donation, you’ve gotten your wish. Is owning “the libs” preferable to keeping our children safe from gun violence? White supremacists feel emboldened at a level not seen since Reconstruction. Those who don’t remember their history are doomed to repeat it. Is a bump in your 401k worth your the soul of your country? Remember, the market does go down. Remember 2008?

If this is not the country you want, walk a precinct. Write a check. Do what you can. Most of all, educate yourself, and get out and vote. Nothing less than our way of life is at stake. If you think, “It can’t happen here,” it’s here now!

Chafing at presidential pardons

Donald Trump has been totally unleashed by the cowardly non-action of his Republican cohorts in the Senate. His latest outrage, advocated by Fox News, is this newest round of presidential pardons to corrupt politicians, inside traders, and white-collar criminals. This, supposedly, because their sentences were “too harsh.”

In the meantime, millions of Americans rot in prison with much longer sentences for low-level drug offenses, even where those substances are now legal. Many of the accused – mostly people of color – languish in jail because they can’t afford cash bail.

Why are Trump and his newly-freed celebrity criminals above the law?

Senate really dropped the ball

With the exception of Mitt Romney, the Republican Senators mollified Trump’s abuse of power with a sham trial. Whether this was done out of fear, tribal loyalty, or because their principles aligned with his, none of their reasons were moral or just.

Romney’s speech gutted the notion that impeachment was a partisan endeavor. If they were fearful of retribution, they sacrificed their character for short-term political gain. And if they voted based on tribal loyalty, then reaching logical conclusions guided by reason and truth was not a concern.

Finally, if they voted because they agree with Trump’s policies, let’s name them. While the Republicans were obsessed with the national debt during President Obama’s tenure, they’ve been silent while Trump has increased the debt by $3 trillion. They have abandoned free trade in favor of protectionism and trade wars. They’ve stood passively while Trump has denigrated our NATO allies and fawned over brutal dictators. And this administration has set a new standard for the hiring of ex-lobbyists, thereby making DC a whole lot swampier.

History will treat these GOP senators with the contempt they deserve.

This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 5:40 AM.