Letters to the editor | Sunday, March 27, 2022: How to rid the world of Putin
How to rid world of Putin
The war in Ukraine is on a course to end the reign of Putin the Terrible.
If he comes to his senses and admits he made a mistake, he’ll be politically marginalized if not overthrown. If he continues his hamfisted stab at subjugating Ukraine, the death and destruction of the Russian military will bring new leadership. Or his war crimes and escalations will draw NATO into the conflict. In that case, NATO will easily sweep Russia out of Ukraine, or World War III will end in a nuclear winter. Either way, the conflict will be short-lived.
A better outcome would be a Russian military coup. I picture a group of disgruntled generals calling someone in the West – the CIA? – and suing for peace terms if they neutralize Putin. I know it’s official State Department policy to not interfere with the selection of any sovereign foreign leaders, but if any Russian generals are reading this, give me a call. I’ll do anything I can to help you out, even if it means paying more for gas and stuff.
J. Jason Gale, Riverbank
Sizing up presidents
The Ukrainians did something unheard of in a national election — they voted for a comedian in their presidential election and he won. He has become the most respected and admired spokesperson in man’s quest for freedom and peace.
The Americans did something unheard of in a national election — they voted for a self-proclaimed billionaire, a genius on any and all subjects, in their presidential election and he won. He then became a comedian, leaving most of the world laughing at him.
Charles Wilkinson, Modesto
Column missed the mark
Re “Government showed us how not to handle a pandemic” (Page 1C, Mar. 20): Joyce Parker’s opinion piece reeked of political stench, snobbism and lack of compassion. How many friends did she lose and grieve for to COVID? Did she work on factory lines too close to others during the pandemic’s height? Does she know that persons of color had disproportionate numbers of death because they were on the front lines? Is she a nurse or doctor who faced lonely death after death with kindness?
In hindsight, it’s easy to complain while the government, medical professionals and many others were trying to do the best they could with what information they had. The entire tone of her article is, “Too bad if you’re old; you had health issues, you croaked. But I don’t care — you intruded on my lifestyle with your death. It’s all about me.’ The smugness, self-righteousness, and selective presentation of data reflects a common and lamentable mindset among people today. It’s easy to point fingers and blame others under the guise of being smarter. I seriously doubt she could have done any better in the eye of the hurricane.
Claudia Walsh, Modesto
Cells hurt community
Re “U.S. must champion public service, common good” (Page 3C, Mar. 20): The author is correct, but like many, failed to address the elephant in the room. At some point we need to direct our energy on the true enemy of community and common good, which is mass addiction to hyper-individualistic, socially isolating personal electronic devices.
The addiction is happening at every age level. I suspect this is at the heart of our collective anxiety that found a focal point in a virus. Although individual liberty is sacred, human beings were designed to create and live in thriving communities with strong social connections. If this is sufficiently impeded and drops below a certain threshold, an ideological vacuum begins to develop, leading to anxiety, even developing into paranoia. When a critical breaking point is reached, the subconscious takes over and madness ensues. This is quite dangerous.
There’s a battle raging — addiction v. ideology, social isolation vs community. It seems God made community compulsory, not optional. As it stands, addiction is winning as it remains well-hidden. This needs to change.
Michael Sweeten, Turlock
Eliminate gas tax
The rebate makes no sense. Those checks will cost taxpayers millions to write and send out. To those who have no choice but to drive to work, that would probably be good for one or two weeks. One of the biggest issues is the plain fact that there is so much corruption in this state, and it is a good guess that not everyone will get the checks.
The state has a $72 million plus surplus. Just drop the gas tax.
Alton Uplinger, Oakdale