McClintock is MIA: Modesto residents can’t get in touch with their representative | Opinion

McClintock is MIA

“Second round of protests in Modesto at House Rep. McClintock’s Modesto office,” (modbee.com, March 3)

I write to express my disappointment over the inaccessibility of Congressman Tom McClintock. I have seen and participated in some of the gatherings near his field office in Modesto and have visited his office to find no one there during posted office hours.

I have called and emailed several times seeking help with a problem with a federal agency, which has yielded little to no help. McClintock and his staff have a duty to interact with his constituents.

It seems pretty clear that McClintock and his staff are not working with our best interests in mind. I challenge him to prove me wrong.

Laura Scarborough

Modesto

Fight for democracy

“Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s in DC, and Trump says Putin will ‘keep his word.’ Sure he will | Opinion,” (modbee.com, Feb. 28)

We recently witnessed our president and vice president verbally assault the democratic president of Ukraine, the leader of a country still invaded by Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. It was a sickening display of two schoolyard bullies.

Their depravity stunned our nation. It is time for our country to rise up and say no to autocracy. We have the means and ability to raise millions — if not billions — of dollars to start a fund to free Ukraine. We can show the world that America will support and defend democratic countries all over the world.

This autocratic despot currently in the White House must be shown that we, the people, have the power to express our will and not sit on the side wringing our hands. We must fight everyday for our democratic ideals. They are worth the fight. If not, the oligarchs and autocrats win.

Dennis Thomas

Modesto

Bad deal

“Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s in DC, and Trump says Putin will ‘keep his word.’ Sure he will | Opinion,” (modbee.com, Feb. 28)

I, like everyone else that knows even a little bit of history, watched in disbelief as the elected president of the United States defended Russian President Vladimir Putin’s honor. Meanwhile, Russian soldiers have murdered unarmed citizens in Ukrainian towns and villages and kidnapped Ukrainian children.

Russia is undermining Ukrainian democracy. And it’s no wonder that any ethical president — like Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy — would make the security of its country their top priority.

Our president, Donald Trump, meanwhile, refuses to acknowledge that Putin is untrustworthy. Trump’s rush to make a haphazard deal ignores the needs of the people of Ukraine and its future safety.

Diane Kroeze

Modesto

An American tragedy

“‘A direct attack on science’: Trump’s return is rattling gun violence researchers,” (modbee.com, March 5)

How sad it must be to believe that scientists, scholars, historians, economists and journalists have devoted their entire lives to deceiving you, while a reality TV star with decades of fraud and exhaustively documented lying is your only beacon of truth and honesty.

Des Erasmus

Ripon