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VTA threat not just
scary; it’s a crime
Your article about the VTA employee who will be charged with a misdemeanor for having made a verbal threat (“VTA bus driver threatened shooting, sheriff’s report says,” Page A1, July 12) did not mention that he had violated Section 422 PC of the California Penal Code. A felony violation of that section can result in a prison sentence of up to three years.
Many violent acts over the decades had been preceded by threats delivered in person, in writing, or via a computer. Far too many schoolmates, teachers, family members and work associates do not understand that such a verbal threat is grounds for immediate arrest of the offender before he has physically harmed anyone. Many lives could have been saved by an immediate response by law enforcement to that first threat.
Steven Raymond
San Leandro
Oil industry’s windfall
must be investigated
Clearly, the primary cause of our current inflation was excessive increases in the costs of gasoline and other oil-based products over the past two years. These increases were tracked by the Department of Labor, but the department did nothing to intervene.
Greed was the driver of the increased costs, which led to excessive profits for the oil industry. Price increases snowballed to other industries, both directly and indirectly affected by fuel costs. The oil industry did what it did because it could. Its actions were not done for the common good, but for greed. The American consumer was the victim.
The oil industry shamelessly reported excessive profits over the past two years. Congress should look into all of this, with the possible recommendation that excessive profits that can lead to general inflation be controlled by our federal government before they unfairly affect the common good.
George A. Fulmore
Emeryville
Mitch McConnell is
reason behind hearing
With one remaining, have you caught any of the Jan. 6 hearings?
The House wanted an independent commission. Thirty-five House Republicans voted for it, but the bill never advanced due to filibusters by Republicans in the Senate. So far, 10 of those 35 will not return to the House next year.
These hearings are happening because the vast majority of Republican senators toed the party line at Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. I blame Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. On Feb. 13, 2021, as I watched the Senate conviction vote failing, my thought was united we stand, divided we fall.
Question: Benjamin Franklin belonged to which political party? Answer: None, no political parties existed in his lifetime (1706-1791).
Jim Ahlquist
Rio Vista
Talking face to face
is only way forward
Re. “Talking with those who hold differing political views has little effect, study says,” Page B8, July 10:
This article cites a recent study: pairs of Republicans and Democrats first discussed noncontroversial topics, and then, in a separate video call, more contentious political views.
The conclusion was that it is not helpful for people who hold opposing political opinions to talk to each other. Nonsense.
The authors miss the obvious point – the meetings were all held on video.
From July 2020 through February 2022, I was one of 30 participants in a series of Zoom meetings convened by a public open space agency among “stakeholder” advocates – hikers, equestrians, mountain bikers, etc. After much investment of time and staff salary money, no consensus was reached on trail policy.
Frustrated, some of the participants began meeting in person. The chemistry of being physically together made it possible to reach an agreement.
No conclusions should be drawn from the flawed study cited. It appears to be junk science.
Amelia Marshall
Volunteer, East Bay Regional Park District
Oakland
Fox News keeps its
viewers in the dark
On July 12, the Jan. 6 Committee held another session regarding the Jan. 6 insurrection. The primary topics were the involvement of militia groups in planning the attack, as well as the ongoing discussions in the White House regarding options to overturn the results and keep Donald Trump in power.
No matter what side of the aisle, the information presented today should be of interest. Do we want the White House dabbling in “conspiracy theories” and militias planning attacks on the Capitol. I think not in both cases.
But the most interesting point was made clear on the Fox News website. Not one word of the hearings was mentioned. Fox News has an enormous reader base, most of whom support Trump. To them, the Jan. 6 insurrection never happened. They never heard of it.
That may explain the ever-growing divide in the country. It’s not Republicans versus Democrats; it’s the informed versus the uninformed.
Wayne Lambert
Brentwood
Source: www.mercurynews.com