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Targeting Tesla isa misguided action
Activists who have targeted Tesla vehicles, owners and facilities appear to have drawn inspiration from Saul Alinsky’s concept of “useful idiots” as outlined in his book, “Rules for Radicals.” These activists claim legitimacy through their support for clean transportation and the working class but inadvertently threaten the employment of thousands who depend on Tesla, a prominent leader in clean energy and job creation.
Furthermore, this newspaper has shifted from even-handed reporting to promoting an anti-American perspective, aligning with the protesters and potentially undermining its journalistic integrity. This situation prompts concerns about the actual beneficiaries of these disruptions, as they do not seem to favor workers, consumers, the environment or the American public.
James HouseWalnut Creek
Concord council caveson tenant protections
Re: “Tenant law sparking debate, confusion” (Page B1, Feb. 18).
Under pressure from the California Apartment Association (CAA) and corporate landlords, the Concord City Council voted 3-2 on March 25 to rescind important parts of its recently passed tenant protection ordinance.
At this meeting, the CAA and corporate landlords stooped to a new low. Dozens of paid agitators showed up holding signs with a sticker from the CAA thanking them. I observed a CAA VP paying for food delivered to them. City police favored the group over protesters supporting the ordinance, allowing them to pack the meeting, even though some shouted threats and tried to provoke fights.
Concord’s city slogan is “Where Families Come First.” The CAA is not a family. Local governments should be doing everything they can to keep their residents as safe and secure as possible in the face of the federal onslaught against all that our most vulnerable families need to survive.
Millie PhillipsOakland
No cuts to PleasantonSenior Center services
Friends of Pleasanton Senior Center, a nonprofit, was created in 2012 with the sole purpose of supporting Senior Center programs to improve the lives of Pleasanton seniors. The center was developed in 1993 to provide a place for seniors to gather for events, services, support, and most of all, the camaraderie so essential to healthy aging.
Center staff provides services that address the wants and needs of Pleasanton’s diverse cultures. It is a safe harbor where many seniors feel comfortable interacting with friends and would otherwise be isolated at home.
Any plans to reduce the days that the center is open would eliminate opportunities for seniors to gather in a safe and welcoming environment so essential to seniors’ emotional well-being.
We urge Pleasanton’s mayor and City Council to continue supporting the only city facility dedicated to Pleasanton seniors.
Mary Jane CasperPleasanton
Trump interested inmoney over governance
President Donald Trump is weakening the middle class by laying off and firing thousands of people, and by eliminating collective bargaining for federal unions; weakening our friendships in the world by threatening Canada and Greenland; and weakening our standing in the world by eliminating aid to countries that need help.
What is going to happen to the social safety net when all of the recently unemployed request assistance? Perhaps this is the whole point of what Trump is doing. It’s all about money, and no matter how much they have, it’s never enough. How does any of this help our country?
Diann HillermanOakland
Willpower the keyto healthy aging
Following a primarily plant-based healthy diet can raise the chances of “healthy aging” at age 70, according to a 30-year study of 105,000 people published last week in the prestigious journal Nature. The study defines healthy aging as intact memory, lack of depression or other chronic health conditions, and the ability to perform basic physical tasks like climbing stairs or carrying groceries. Sadly, less than 10% of their subjects had actually achieved healthy aging at age 70.
We are fortunate to live in a place and time offering every opportunity to engage in healthy aging. Supermarkets offer a rich array of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and grains, grain and nut-based meats, milks, cheeses and ice creams. Fast food franchises and family restaurants follow suit. There are neighborhood gyms for workouts and parks for healthful walks. We just need the will to engage in healthy aging to raise that 10% figure.
Harold KunitzWalnut Creek
Trump mob hard atwork rewriting history
The president has directed Vice President JD Vance to scour the Smithsonian for “a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history.” But rewriting history is exactly what this administration is bent on doing.
Sugarcoat slavery, applaud every war, shrug off union busting, ignore all contributions but from the “right” Americans — none of this will lower the price of eggs. And none of it will make Americans prouder of who they are — not when it’s mandated by a president who has demonstrated contempt for American institutions.
Winthrop JordanBerkeley