Letters: Lead on homelessness | Arlington stunt | Favorite daughter | Flipper over flopper | Body image | No justice
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Feds needed to lead
on homelessness
Is California’s homeless problem too massive to solve?
As California’s homeless numbers have grown, I’ve seen nothing more than a series of patchwork and temporary “solutions” that have had no impact. It seems the scale of the crisis has overwhelmed California’s ability to address it.
Our failure to house and care for the mentally or physically disabled is appalling. Equally bad is our inability to address the chronic homelessness of alcohol and drug addicts. And our lack of deterrence has only exacerbated the problem.
The time has come for federal authorities to assume control and coordinate all levels of government resources in a unified solution. Squalid encampments, be they in parks, along waterways or on our city’s sidewalks, must be permanently eliminated and replaced with humane shelters.
Other countries and states have effectively minimized homelessness. California is quickly running out of excuses.
Dave Salle
San Jose
Trump’s Arlington stunt
extends run of disrespect
Re: “Trump, Gold Star families clash with Harris over Arlington Cemetery visit” (Page A4, Sept. 2).
The group of Gold Star families who asked Donald Trump to attend services turned an event honoring their service into a political circus.
For those of us whose families have also lost loved ones in American wars defending our country, we remember Trump’s insults to Gold Star families while he was president and his disrespect for Sen. John McCain and other brave Americans taken prisoner in war.
Niccolo Caldararo
Fairfax
Wrong woman in state’s
‘favorite daughter’ role
A California woman of color may become our next president. Great. Too bad it is the wrong person.
This weekend former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was interviewed on TV by Bret Baier. She spoke articulately about international affairs: how Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s agendas are threatening the world and how Iran must be contained. She did not damn the Biden-Harris administration or lower herself to political bashing but said that America needs to reestablish our world leadership role. She also spoke of our need to better educate our children, especially the underrepresented.
I was impressed by her knowledge and ability to answer each question with intelligent answers — no hesitations, straying from the subject matter, or uncomfortable pauses or false smiles.
It is clear to me that she is head and shoulders above Kamala Harris in every respect. It’s too bad she is not our California, favorite daughter, presidential candidate.
Neil Bonke
Saratoga
Vote for the flipper
over the flopper
The current presidential campaign is heating up with more effort to change voter positions, to get more people to register to vote, and to get registered voters to actually vote.
The two campaigns are at full throttle and that brings up my issue: I want accurate information. For instance, I hear the term “flip-flop.” To start with, “flip-flop” is a slang term. It would seem to imply that one has a position, changes that position then changes back to the former position. In the current campaign, I see one candidate, Kamala Harris, flipping (evolving) and the other candidate, Donald Trump, flopping (lying).
I’ll be voting for the flipper and hope you will as well.
Lura Halbert
Los Gatos
Positive body image
crucial for teens
You’ve purchased their new school supplies, new shoes and notebooks. But have you talked with your kids about body image?
As the new school year begins, it’s crucial that the adults in students’ lives address this pressing issue. Today’s students are constantly bombarded with images of stereotypically attractive and seemingly flawless individuals on social media, far more than previous generations. According to Harvard Health, “one in seven men and one in five women experiences an eating disorder by age 40, and in 95% of those cases the disorder begins by age 25.”
But food is fuel and nourishment and community. As students return to school, let’s foster a culture of conversation about body image at our dinner tables. By encouraging our kids to embrace their unique qualities and strengths, we not only build resilience in mind and body but also equip them to tackle the demands of the new academic year.
Elaina Huang
Menlo Park
Supreme Court rulings
leave justice behind
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court rulings in two cases this past summer involving presidential immunity and the rights of homeless people, we now have a Supreme Court that has said that we cannot send a president to jail for violating his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution, but we can send a homeless person to jail for the crime of having nowhere to go.
Steven Rease
Salinas