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Vote for Democrats
for needed changes
How are the Republicans in Congress holding up progress? They are the minority. True, but just barely, and too many things require a super majority to get passed. Plus, they are working for the top 2%.
Though the super-rich are a minority, they have the financial power to make changes … or not. Doing things to stall or reverse global climate change is not in their favor. Nor are social issues like living wages, affordable health care or equal rights.
The Democrats want to force them to be more fiscally, socially and environmentally responsible. That costs money.
The alarm sounded decades ago. We can no longer hit the snooze button. Wake up, America. Our democracy, society, health, financial well-being and the planet all depend upon us voting for Democrats.
Belinda Neuman
Pleasant Hill
Military weapons are
wrong for sheriff
Say no to more military weapons for the sheriff. Sheriff Ahern lost his primary race, yet he wants the OK from the Board of Supervisors in his final months to get many more military weapons, which he will use against Alameda County residents, as he did during the protests of summer 2020 and against Moms 4 Housing to evict Black women and their children.
These weapons include armored vehicles, assault weapons, flashbang grenades, tear gas and drones. They include “pepperball launchers,” which launch projectiles that can cause serious bodily injury or death; the sheriff wants to use these at Santa Rita Jail, even though the jail is the deadliest in Northern California (nearly 60 deaths in 10 years, with the latest death in June 2022) and the sheriff is supposed to be implementing the Babu settlement to improve conditions at the jail.
More weapons are the wrong direction for the county.
Natasha Baker
Oakland
In November, vote for
democracy defenders
The Jan. 6 hearings have wound down for the moment but I won’t forget what I learned — that what happened that day wasn’t an isolated attack on our Capitol. It’s part of an ongoing criminal conspiracy to undermine our freedom to vote and to choose our elected leaders.
Never before have we seen so many candidates running for office on a platform that promises to destroy our democracy from the inside out. Many of these right-wing extremists are looking to take over election administration, running for offices like secretary of state and county clerk.
The only way to protect our elections is to fight back and make our voices heard. If our vote wasn’t powerful, insurrectionists wouldn’t be working so hard to take our freedom to vote away. It’s up to us to hold election deniers accountable at the polls and elect democracy defenders on Nov. 8.
Alexandra Crisafulli
Berkeley
Tax gun owners,
makers and sellers
Many gun rights proponents say that security in schools and other public places should be enhanced. They also say that there should be enhanced oversight for those prone to use guns violently.
Modest proposal: Manufacturers, purveyors and owners of guns should be taxed to provide whatever is needed to prevent gun violence. They also should be taxed to alleviate the tragic aftereffects.
Thomas Tucker
Pittsburg
You either support
Trump or the U.S.A.
One thing is perfectly clear at this point: People either support Donald Trump or they support the United States of America. There’s no overlap.
Even the formerly Trump-loving New York Post is telling us that the ex-President’s behavior on Jan. 6 cannot be defended.
Stuart Shicoff
Martinez
Global health care
key to halting variants
BA.5 has led to a surge in COVID cases within the Bay Area similar to what we’ve seen with previous COVID variants.
It seems every few weeks a new COVID variant emerges leading to a spike in cases, and to prevent the emergence of new variants it is essential to ensure primary health care globally. If nothing is done to strengthen health systems abroad, new variants will keep arising.
Evidence of the effectiveness of a comprehensive primary health care system is seen in countries such as South Korea, where aggressive contact tracing and testing have minimized the spread of COVID within the nation. Comprehensive primary health care systems would not only help to minimize the prevalence of COVID, but it would also allow nearly 90% of individuals’ health issues to be addressed.
Resultantly, it is imperative that Rep. Barbara Lee continues advocating for the funding to deliver comprehensive primary health care globally.
Kevin Peter
Berkeley
