Letters to the editor | Why a loyal letter writer contemplates leaving California

Longtime letter writer tires of CA

Time to move along. Started my new residence search, but not in California.

How do Nevada, Texas and Florida run successful governments without state personal income taxes? They have viable democracies where Democrats and Republicans compete for leadership. This is not the case in true blue California. All the elective and most of the appointed offices are held by Democrats. There is no need to campaign on a platform of reduced taxes and increased efficiency.

Failed DMV extended driver license renewal so a lot of people have expired licenses. Failed EDD does not care about much. Recently refused to take new applications for unemployment benefits so they could work off the backlog. The news window opened very briefly revealing a massive fraud by prison inmates to claim unemployment benefits. Estimates of cost run into multimillions of dollars. Where will the money come from to cover that loss?

Certainly our lightweight, frivolous governor is nowhere up to the job. His performance at the French Laundry dinner of shame is a prime example of a candidate for unemployment. Where are the recall signature gatherers when you need them?

Bill Wood, Oakdale

Trump has duped so many

We have been told by many Trumpers that we should assess Donald Trump on his policies, not his personality. However, they fail to see his character is dangerously intertwined with his actions. His deplorable conduct since the election is just the latest example, as his continuous act of defiance toward the will of the people threatens the very fabric of our republic. His character flaws have induced this entire sordid affair. His ego simply can’t accept defeat.

Through threats and intimidation, he has turned fairly normal people into gutless pawns who refuse to hold him accountable (Republicans in Congress). And through his constant lying he has duped a large portion of the nation into blindly accepting his absurd allegations, for which there is no evidence. These misguided fools will support him to the bitter end, while he tramples on our Constitution and all that’s sacred to us as a people.

Those who argue character doesn’t matter are guilty of enabling this wannabe tyrant. What Trump is doing now is far worse than anything Nixon ever did behind closed doors during Watergate. And amazingly, he’s doing all this entirely out in the open for all the world to see.

Jeff Anderson, Turlock

U.S. withstands internal assault

Our Democratic processes have been sorely tested these past months, not by destructive outside forces, but by those who are trusted to uphold them. In the face of this assault on American values, the system of checks and balances established by our Constitution has proven to be resistant to tampering and subterfuge. Efforts to undermine the vote of the people are nothing more than anti-American efforts Putin is certainly smiling about.

Our system has prevailed! I am proud to be an American and proud of our institutions dedicated to the rule of law over the rule of popularism. America is stronger than one person or some of his supporters who fail to recognize that our democracy can be overthrown from within as well as by outside forces. We are Americans and we will come out the other side ready to conquer the monumental issues facing us. It’s time to focus on those issues together.

Debra Whitmore, Modesto

Time for timely satire

This election was absolutely stolen from President Trump. The Democrats rigged the whole thing in numerous states with an undetectable system of fraud and corruption. There is no way Donald Trump could have lost.

I believe everything he tweets, even though none of it has been proven in court and it hasn’t led to arrests or charges; his lawyers have specifically stated in court that there was no fraud, and they are litigating on specious procedural complaints that have been consistently rejected by Trump-appointed judges. Obviously this election was rigged.

Donald Trump has never lied or stretched the truth. The virus miraculously disappeared this summer. That hurricane totally hit the Sharpie zone of Alabama. And Mexico paid for the wall; we aren’t diverting money from the Defense Department for it.

Donald Trump is a hero, and not a self-serving, lying narcissist who prioritizes ego over country.

Eric Mariani, Oakdale

Analyses not appreciated

Re “Looking forward to 2022, Stanislaus GOP can do a lot better than Howze” (Page 1B, Dec. 6): Your recent extended criticisms of Ted Howze seemed totally out of order and pointless. The election is over. He lost by a decisive amount. Game over. Why would you want to keep beating a dead horse? It is totally irrelevant. Be a classy winner.

You also published a lengthy and very sarcastic column about former Supervisor Jim DeMartini. He soon will be out of office and does not need hateful, personal comments.

If The Bee wants credibility during these difficult times they should grow up editorially and comment on current issues; forget personalities no longer involved.

Donald Smith, Turlock

Now this was good news

Re “Modesto apartment blaze displaces 4 adults, 4 children” (Page 3A, Dec. 15): How refreshing to read the article regarding Modesto firemen retrieving presents from a burning apartment.

All that is reported is bickering and fighting in Congress and who is right or wrong. Hats off to those firemen. They should’ve been on the cover of Time along with healthcare personnel. Made my Christmas season.

William Burns Jr., Modesto

Flea markets and COVID

Day after day I read about Stanislaus County being a hot spot for COVID-19 in the San Joaquin Valley. Day after day I read about the shortage of ICUs in this county. The county’s residents have been told to stay home and businesses to shut down or operate at a fraction of their normal capacity. Outdoor sporting events where large amounts of people gather have also been shut down.

Yet, I drive down Seventh Street and Crows Landing Road on the weekends and Mondays and I see the flea markets operating at full capacity. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people gathering in close proximity, and not all shoppers and vendors wearing masks. Where is the equality in this?

Political leaders, law enforcement, and county health officials need to address these facilities if we want to slow the virus spread.

Chris Brady, Modesto

Preserve our precious farmland

Re “How to boost Stanislaus housing, protect farms at the same time” (Page 6A, Dec. 8): The op-ed by Matt Beekman and Jeani Ferrari really made me think. There has long been a push-pull in the Valley about housing, and demands for housing can outstrip available stock. The pandemic has created a recession, and we are feeling the push intensify as unemployment in the Bay Area forces families here looking for affordable housing.

We all know that Stanislaus County depends on agriculture for economic stability. And that agriculture depends on good soil and water to grow the many foods we eat. We hear that the soil in our county is some of the best in the world, and that our drought-prone region needs open areas to recharge our aquifers. We can see what happens to once-thriving farmland that gets covered over with roads and highways and houses and what happens when aquifers become depleted and land subsides.

So, it doesn’t make sense to me to cover this land that feeds us with houses and stores and more roads. It makes me wonder if our Board of Supervisors and city councils are really paying attention when we ask them to preserve this precious land for our current and future needs.

Families need affordable housing. We need to work together with our local and Bay Area governments to create solutions that help us all, without sacrificing farmland and water resources. We shouldn’t have to choose between housing and food.

Anita Young, Modesto

Big government and hypocrisy

Given the recent and abrupt execution of Brandon Bernard that took place on Dec. 10, it is important to highlight the irony of conservative dogma. When one asks around it is not long before you hear conservatives babbling on about their hatred of big government, yet they will vociferously defend the death penalty.

As recently as 2018, a Pew Research Center poll revealed that 77% of conservatives claimed to support the death penalty. This begs the question: “What is more big government than granting said government the power over life and death over its own citizens?” Of course this contradiction is immediately self-evident, and once revealed illuminates one of two things: that either conservatives are too shortsighted to see this contradiction, or that they don’t really care about big government at all.

Michael Doll, Salida

Kiwanis came through again

For more than 30 years, the Kiwanis Club of North Modesto has provided Christmas baskets to local families. We are happy to report that we were able to continue this tradition in 2020, despite COVID restrictions on in-person events and the fact we had to cancel our biggest fund-raising event of the year, the American Graffiti Festival & Car Show usually held in June.

This week, our members — following all appropriate health protocols — delivered items to four schools that will go to 39 families with 116 children. Community liaisons at each school identified recipient families for us. Each child received several books, and each family received a basket of art supplies — crayons, sketch pads, etc. — plus a gift card for food. Club members had to forego toys and the toy-wrapping party we all enjoy, and we weren’t able to assemble food boxes and deliver them directly to families. But we still have the joy of serving our community.

We look forward to a more normal 2021, including a return of the popular American Graffiti car show and continuing our mission to help the children of our community.

Robert Husman, president, Kiwanis Club of North Modesto and Marty Villa, chair, NMK Christmas Project