Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.
Mask mandates must
stay; no exceptions
Re. “3 counties get limited mask exemptions,” Page A1, Dec. 16:
Even if fully vaccinated, mask requirements should still be in place for everyone. They should have never been lifted.
The vaccines have lowered the number of COVID-19 cases, but easing mask requirements throughout the country counteracts everything we have been working toward. Even in small public spaces like gyms and workplaces, masks should still be a requirement. Not everybody is vaccinated and there is no way of telling. Even if vaccinated, people forget that they can still contract COVID-19 and pass it along to someone who is not eligible or able to get the vaccine.
The country is in a continuous loop of placing mask mandates, lifting them once things get a little better, having another outbreak, and repeating the steps all over again. It is a never-ending cycle and many are not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
Ivy Nguyen
Fremont
Bad associations
hurt Fauci image
Dr. Fauci has been abused. This esteemed doctor of medicine has been repeatedly shown on every TV news station every evening for two years. And every time after he speaks you see people getting jabbed with a needle. Over and over and over, TV news shows arms being jabbed.
This is undoubtedly traumatic for some people. No wonder everyone shudders when Dr. Fauci speaks. They know the next image will be painful. Ouch.
David Thompson
Orinda
Community programs
can lower violent crime
With gratitude to Aylin Navarrete of Berkeley for the letter about reducing gun violence in Oakland (“To reduce gun violence address root causes,” Page A6, Dec. 15), she has a short memory. Oakland has had 131 homicides this year. That is far too many. However, in 1992, there were 175 homicides, and in 1995, there were 153 in my city. In 2006, there were 148 homicides.
In the last decade, programs such as Oakland Ceasefire that combined the services of the police, social services and local churches were very successful in reducing youth and young adult crime.
I believe we need more police in Oakland. We need to continue to strengthen positive police-neighborhood relationships. We need to address our shameless homeless issue with more affordable housing. We need more programs that increase compassion and empathy.
Elizabeth Preston
Oakland
Thiessen columns are
divisive and deceptive
I am writing to express my support for Stacie Thomas’ Letter to the Editor (“Columnist’s cause seems to be to divide nation,” Page A6, Dec. 14).
Not only do Marc Thiessen’s columns stoke division, he often misrepresents the position of “the left” or uses inaccurate “facts.” The news media has a responsibility to present accurate facts because, without an agreement on facts, the nation cannot have reasoned debate.
Replacing Mr. Thiessen’s column with a pundit who can make forceful arguments for conservative positions based on the truth would be excellent.
Russell Hansen
Moraga
‘Big Lie’ lives on without
a shred of evidence
Call it gullibility, willful ignorance or whatever, it’s tearing us apart. It seems that even verifiable truth doesn’t matter if it’s inconvenient.
Before the election, Donald Trump declared that if he lost, it was rigged. He mercilessly ridiculed anyone who lost (or whose wife lost) an election as a “loser.” Then he lost … bigly. His ego wouldn’t allow him to concede the most closely scrutinized election in our history, so he invented the “Big Lie.” Accusations involving suitcases full of fraudulent ballots, tampering with voting machines, midnight vote dumps, etc., were all debunked. More than 60 lawsuits were summarily dismissed, and some of the lawyers are facing discipline for filing frivolous litigation.
Election tampering is a serious crime. The plot would have involved scores of people in a coordinated nationwide effort with all facing hellish prison sentences. But even with a $25,000 reward, only a single credible incident was found. It’s time to move on.
Jim Peterson
Walnut Creek
Few student-athletes
will ever cash in
Leigh Steinberg seemed quite pleased that college athletes can become professionals now (“College athletes cashing in going better than expected,” Page A7, Dec. 9). He cited the examples of MaximBets (a sports booking company) and a moving company called “College Hunks” paying or offering athletes contracts, and a top 11 basketball player going with Puma.
About 7% of high schoolers will play in college. One in 16,000 will play pro. The advertising dollars for college athletes will only benefit the top 1%. This is the same as saying if we give the wealthy more tax cuts, the more money there is to “trickle down.” We know how well that works. At least “College Hunks” is going to have one heck of a company calendar to release.
Michael Poe
San Leandro
Source: www.mercurynews.com