Letters to the editor | Sunday, June 13, 2021: July 4 doesn’t come on the third
The Fourth of July isn’t the third
Once again Modesto shows how out of touch they are. In a little under a month, we will be celebrating our most important national holiday, Independence Day, also affectionately referred to the Fourth of July.
Why do leaders want to hold the Fourth of July parade on the third of July? This is one of the most ridiculous ideas that I’ve heard of in some time. So what if the fourth is on a Sunday? People will celebrate with fireworks and barbecues on the fourth, not the third. Wake up! Don’t mess with our holiday
Frank A. Ramczyk, Modesto
Good move, Modesto PD
Re “Why send a cop if one isn’t really needed? Modesto police embark on new approach” (Online, June 8): and “Send in mental health expertise, not police bullets” (May 23, Page 1C): When I read Garth Stapley’s May 23 column urging the Modesto Police Department to use unarmed specialists to deal with non-criminal matters like homelessness and mental illness, I was skeptical. Not of the idea, but that MPD would consider a concept imported from Eugene, Ore., one of the most liberal cities in the nation. I’m happy to read in Stapley’s latest column that MPD is going to try this approach.
Let’s hope the program is expanded, gets adequately funded and eventually means police officers won’t get involved in such matters at all. It’s the sensible, humane and cost-effective thing to do.
Bill Walker, Modesto
Pursuit criticism missed target
Re “Stanislaus Sheriff’s Department should have used better discretion in fatal chase” (Page 1C, June 6): The criticism by your staff of Sheriff Jeff Dirkse and his chase policy is clearly unwarranted and not valid. In the split seconds that officers have when making life-and-death decisions, your own letter stated the real and valid reason that Deputy Zazueta had to defend himself. It is also possible that the outcome could have been worse had the driver evaded and continued his driving. No one in Stanislaus County wants a fatal outcome, and none of us want the situation to become worse and endanger innocent people.
I value Sheriff Dirkse and his brave staff, as they protect all of us each day. We need all of our dedicated police, sheriff and firefighters to feel appreciated, as without them it will be anarchy. In my view they are among the finest people we have. I hope the staff at The Bee will consider an apology to Sheriff Dirkse.
Kenn Cunningham, Modesto
No compassion for homeless
Perhaps the National Law Center should ask the citizens of Turlock how we feel about the homeless sweeps. I myself want clean streets and safe parks along with being able to shop downtown without feeling nervous or being pan handled.
I’ve read how just a handful has accepted help for lodging or services; the remainder just want to do what they please. The majority of these individuals choose this lifestyle as opposed to accepting help and working toward independence. The ones I see are more or less vagrants, not homeless — there is a difference. They have no problem accepting free meals, free clothing, now they want free housing. What have they done to deserve any of this, or what are they willing to do?
For the bleeding hearts who feel this letter is cold and callous, I suggest you invite them to camp on your property or take them to your home for a meal. And yes, I’ve been in those hard-luck situations they all seem to have; I just didn’t use it as an excuse not get back into the workforce and cry “poor me” for years on end.
Marcial Garcia, Turlock
Why can’t they show ID?
Several states have recently passed, or are attempting to pass, bills that will help secure our elections. Each state has been met with cries of voter suppression and Jim Crow 2.0, the loudest voice being that of President Biden.
In each case, these bills will actually make it easier to vote, but will make it harder to cheat. The common issue in the bills is the requirement of an ID. According to the president and the rest of the left, requiring an ID to vote will suppress the black and brown vote, apparently because those communities don’t have an ID and are incapable of acquiring one without great difficulty. Today an ID is required in much of everyday life and I would venture that most, if not all, voting age citizens of those communities are already in possession of an ID.
Ray Walker, Turlock
Assault gun ban was wrong
A judge ruled that California’s assault weapons ban was unconstitutional and violated people’s Second Amendment rights. Governor Newsom stepped right up and said this was a tragedy. Newsom seems to forget that SB-249 was introduced by Senator Leland Yee who was convicted of felony racketeering charges for money laundering, corruption, gun trafficking, and bribery.
It never should have been a law in the first place. The only reason Yee pushed this bill was so he could get a better price for the guns he was smuggling in for his gang buddy, Raymond Chow, aka Shrimp Boy.
Joseph Wilson, Turlock
An assault rifle is not a knife
I am 90 years old and use a walker but I would like to challenge the judge to a duel. He gets the Swiss knife but I get the AR-15 rifle.
Loraine Haugen, Modesto
Blame Biden for gas prices
Since Jan. 20, gasoline has increased over $1 a gallon nationwide.
President Biden shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline, restricted fracking, and he has now shut down all oil exploration and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). The complaints about ANWR are that it would impact the caribou population, harm the tundra, construct ugly production platforms, and threaten an Exxon Valdez repeat. I have personally driven to Prudhoe Bay which is immediately adjacent to ANWR, and observed how caribou have actually increased in number since the original pipeline was constructed 40 years ago. There have been no significant spills along the pipeline or from ships since Exxon Valdez. Construction during the hard winter freeze minimizes tundra damage. A single small platform serves about 75 square miles of producing territory.
Frankly, I find the hundreds of thousands of acres of solar panels currently located all over California deserts, near many towns — and windmills at Altamont, Tehachapi and Palm Springs — uglier than a few widely spaced platforms in ANWR that 99% of Americans will never see. This is just another Democratic poke in the Republican eye without respect to the needs of the American public.
John Bohling, Modesto