Letters (May 29, 2019)

• Back To Books
• Young People, Too
• Talking Books
• Homegrown Terrorists
• Come On, Costco, Do The Right Thing

BACK TO BOOKS

Editor,

Books and magazines are dead! It is online for all of us. We catch a snippet of science here and there — be it real or fake news. We can’t wade through a book or even a magazine. Our knowledge is regulated to fragments from Wikipedia and Facebook.

It is easy to pick sides with limited science. Fake or real news balance one another easily with limited facts or pseudo-facts. However, real science depends on extensive knowledge and the balancing of the scientific method. Fake news cannot stand that scrutiny.

Tom Cochrane

The Sea Ranch

YOUNG PEOPLE, TOO

Editor,

When I was 11, my father passed away after a long struggle with younger-onset dementia. Watching a parent slowly deteriorate is heartbreaking. My mother was faced with raising three children and being a caregiver to her ailing husband until his passing.

There are more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s, including approximately 200,000 with younger-onset dementia. My father, aunt and grandmother all had younger-onset dementia.

Alzheimer’s is not only the sixth-leading cause of death in the country, it ranks as America’s most expensive disease, with costs projected to surpass $290 billion in 2019. The out-of-pocket costs are estimated to be 80% more than for heart disease or cancer. There are programs in place to help with the costs and care associated with dementia, such as the Older Americans Act, which helps Americans 60 and older by providing services and support.

Unfortunately, this act does not apply to those with younger-onset dementia. Please join me in urging Rep. Mike Thompson to co-sponsor the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act to make individuals with younger-onset dementia eligible for assistance. Please help families like mine have access to these services as they care for their ailing loved ones.

Kate Devine

Santa Rosa

TALKING BOOKS

To Ralph Bostrom,

Though I am somewhat baffled by why I was addressed in your letter to the editor regarding talking books, I thank you for the kind thought anyway. Any reading problems I might have result from mental focus not eyesight - my mischieviously wandering mind. 

It has been over 10 years since I was editor of the AVA and over the years the current, and previous to my reign, editor has touted the benifits to me of the government talking book services - not so much for vision impairment but for the ability to partake in the joys of literacy while bombing down highways of Mendocino and beyond. 

Mind you, to be approved for the program one needs certification from a medical professional as to your lack of ability see. 

David Severn

Philo

HOMEGROWN TERRORISTS

Editor,

The filthiest cities in the world are Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and others under Democratic control. The president should have more control over the states, especially the liberal states. It's getting to be a joke what the liberals get away with. I don't understand. Other presidents didn't care, especially Clinton and Obama. Bush was kind of a wuss too, he didn't care. The Dem presidents and governors are the ones who screwed up the cities and plenty of towns. We might need to use the military, especially in California, because it will probably take the military to straighten things out and I'd like to see it. 

More rotten news for PG&E. They are getting sued because a judge told them that they owe $100 million. PG&E is not at fault! What the hell! They have 180,000 miles of lines around the country. Don't you think California should've stood up and said we need to get the power lines cleaned? And that's what PG&E tried to do. They passed legislation to do that. And Jerry Brown vetoed it! He said it was not necessary! That's why I think everybody damaged in those fires in Sonoma County should sue Jerry Brown. He is probably responsible for what happened up in Paradise, too. 

I wouldn't blame PG&E for nothin’. They have a lot of ground to cover. Some of their lines go right through the forest where trees were not allowed to be cut because environmentalists didn't like it. Oh my god! Environmentalists! They are something all right. The Democrats in my opinion are responsible for all the fires. 

The world is never going to come to an end. The only thing that's going to come to an end is California because of the Dems. and we need to start using our wounded warriors wounded fighting for our country to run things. What better people could we have running the country than those who fought for their country and gave up physical abilities. Veterans should be allowed to be in Congress, more of them. 

The environmental scam of the whole conglomeration of climate control, global warming and especially this CARB thing that that woman in Sacramento, Mary Nichols, is enforcing on the people of California. It's bad news. 

What makes a homegrown terrorist? Is it somebody who just grows up to hate people? Or is it somebody who's trying to retaliate for a state or a government that's doing horrible things and they just can't stand it anymore? The FBI is going to start hammering down on them. And they will find out that they hate the country so bad for what they are doing, that's what makes a homegrown terrorist and California is making a bunch of them. 

God bless Donald Trump

Jerry Philbrick 

Comptche 

PS. When you have a state like California with people voting for laws and the voters pass a law and then the governor of the state vetoes it and says he doesn't care about voters, he wants to do it his way, those are the kinds of things that make homegrown terrorists. People who defy what the people want makes a person do that. Maybe somebody ought to call up Gavin Newsom and ask him why he does things to hurt the people. It's not the people's fault because they want to get revenge, it's because he hurts people by doing such a thing and then on top of that he OKs life sentence prisoners to live a long time and the people who suffered losses of their loved ones just have to stick it out and forget about it. Nice going, Gavin baby. 

PPS. Mary Nichols, head of the CARB thing has injured thousands of truckers. You folks out there have no idea, how much hate she has stirred up by putting people out of business. It's those kinds of things that are making this country go in the wrong direction. You people better think it over. 

COME ON, COSTCO, DO THE RIGHT THING

Editor,

Canada’s boreal forests are being flushed down the toilet and Costco’s Kirkland brand is one of the worst offenders.

It’s time for Costco to clean up its act and switch to post-consumer recycled materials. Ask Costco to switch products!

Thanks--

In solidarity with Mother Earth and all her creatures-

Redwood Mary

Fort Bragg