- Pete Peter Principle
- Who's Next?
- The Great Slide
- Hobby Lobby’s Discriminatory Hobby
- A Flashback To A U.S. Invasion In Another Part Of The World
- Parking Lot Hazard
- Adjust Prop 13
- Venezuelan Tanker And America’s Addiction To Oil
PETE PETER PRINCIPLE
Editor:
Judging from the recent exodus of frustrated top-tier talent from our nation’s Defense Department, it is becoming apparent that Defense Secretary and former weekend television anchor Pete Hegseth epitomizes the “Peter” in Peter Principle.
Dave Delgardo
Cloverdale
WHO'S NEXT?
Editor:
This business of killing people in small boats that Donald Trump thinks came from Venezuela makes me more than a little uneasy. Until the order and designating Venezuelan drug smugglers as “narco-terrorists,” the U.S. Coast Guard stopped and boarded vessels if there was reason to believe the vessels were used to run drugs. Often, no trace was found. If the crew had jettisoned the drugs and no trace was found that could lead to a conviction, at least the drugs were lost to the depths of the ocean. Nobody was murdered. Not a bad outcome.
I was a platoon leader in the Army from 1970-1972. It was made very clear to every person in the Army that killing non-combatants, or people who had no means to resist, was a war crime and murder. In 1968, I remember Lt. William Calley and the slaying of civilians in My Lai, Vietnam. He was convicted of murder by court martial.
Trump labeled these people “narco-terrorists.” “The Don” could just as easily label anybody an enemy — undocumented immigrants, anybody who disagrees with him or anybody that he doesn’t like.
Bruce Oman
Petaluma
THE GREAT SLIDE
Editor,
Decades ago, I realized that any closed system featuring continuous growth as a core component was doomed to collapse, often catastrophically. Like fruit flies in a jar, reproducing until their food is exhausted, any closed system must have negative feedback mechanisms to limit growth or risk self-destruction.
In my lifetime, 75 years so far, the global human population has approximately tripled while whole ecosystems have vanished and thousands of species have gone extinct. Our planet is a closed system. Whatever the “carrying capacity” of Earth is, eventually humanity will exceed it — unless we find ways to manage our growth. Resources are not infinite and can only be stretched so far.
One major feedback mechanism is our global economy, which is now fundamentally capitalist. This system incentivizes and rewards growth. Enterprises that do not grow their top and bottom lines are punished and cast aside, replaced by others that grow to service and exploit the growing global population. This creates a positive feedback loop accelerating growth and hastening eventual collapse.
I am not smart enough to offer any solutions. I agree with Hardy that we need to encourage sociological and behavioral economists to develop changes to our economy, making it sustainable and self-correcting. Perhaps then humanity can avoid the existential threats that Hardy described and that we all feel more acutely each day.
Ironically, I am optimistic and believe that humans are smart enough to find solutions that serve the best interests of all mankind. That is my Christmas wish, anyway.
Jack Dillon
San Anselmo
HOBBY LOBBY’S DISCRIMINATORY HOBBY
To the Editor:
I want to thank Janet Rosen for her letter to the editor in a recent Ukiah Daily Journal regarding Hobby Lobby. It’s always good to know who in the community is a white Christian nationalist. Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the dissenting position on Hobby Lobby Stores vs Burwell in 2014. Hobby Lobby didn’t want to include contraception in their health insurance for employees due to religious beliefs. Didn’t matter what the beliefs were of the employees. Michael’s is a very nice store.
Raleigh Page-Russell
Ukiah
A FLASHBACK TO A U.S. INVASION IN ANOTHER PART OF THE WORLD
Editor:
With the recent deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford and its escorts, plus over 15,000 soldiers and Marines, to the Caribbean, Donald Trump is implementing the largest non-disaster-related military buildup in the area since the U.S. intervened in Haiti in 1994. Trump has indicated that this activity, along with extra-judicial killings of alleged drug smugglers, seizing an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast and bombing threats are intended to pressure Nicolás Maduro into leaving office and force Venezuela to stop supporting “narco-terrorism.” Maduro is not a good guy, but is this really about drugs?
I was interested to see a social media post on this question from Fox News’ chief national security analyst, Jennifer Griffith. Griffith wrote, “When people suggest the looming war vs Venezuela is about drugs, remember that 99 percent of the world’s cocaine comes from Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, not Venezuela. No fentanyl is made in Venezuela. But it does have the world’s largest oil reserves.”
Fascinating. I’m having the strongest feeling of déjà vu. Something from 20 years ago, Middle East, lies about the existence of weapons of mass destruction, regime change, a country with huge oil reserves, name begins with an “I.” Give me a minute, it’ll come to me.
Mike Beavers
Santa Rosa
PARKING LOT HAZARD
Editor,
I recently had a silly accident while walking in a grocery store parking lot. I took my mind off where I was going for a second or two. A split-second later, I was on the concrete face down.
I was lucky. My face was bleeding, while my hand and face became swollen, but nothing was broken. I had tripped over one of those concrete blocks that are in most parking lots showing cars where to stop.
I am writing this two days after the accident. I haven’t exactly been out and about since (I’m not looking my best), but the few people I’ve told about this all have their own stories of themselves and/or friends with similar and much worse experiences from tripping over the same devices.
One friend who did the same thing in San Rafael was severely hurt, while another friend in Cincinnati needed dental and hand surgery (it took months to recover). I heard stories from women both younger and older than me.
I think these devices are dangerous. I don’t think we really need them in parking lots and elsewhere. If we do need some kind of device, can they be changed so they are not so dangerous?
I’ll bet there are hundreds of stories out there about all kinds of accidents with people tripping over them. Maybe we can start some kind of movement to make parking lots safer. Thank you all, and merry Christmas.
Marilyn Riede
Ross
ADJUST PROP 13
Editor,
While I welcome Proposition 13 protections, I’ve always felt there was a major defect.
The idea behind Prop 13 was to protect homeowners who couldn’t keep up with yearly real estate tax increases as property values rose. But then allowing them to accrue value on that asset while newer neighbors pay full freight is unacceptable and unnecessary.
The tax should be set on current appraisals of the property, with the added yearly increase instead posted as a lien on that property. When sold, the tax would then be applied to the proceeds of the sale.
This allows people to stay in their homes, contributes needed funding for governments and provides equity among all neighbors — old and new.
Sei Shin Peter Holden
Healdsburg
VENEZUELAN TANKER AND AMERICA’S ADDICTION TO OIL
Editor:
Given that our abject dependence on oil-burning vehicles is killing so many of us — from crashes, air pollution, extreme climate and weather events and oil wars — is Donald Trump’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker just an expansion of his war to protect Americans from their addictions?
Bruce Hagen
Petaluma
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