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In emergencies,
landlines more reliable
Re: “Reject AT&T bid to shed its landlines” (Page A8, March 10).
I urge everyone to carefully reconsider supporting the complete dissolution of phone landlines.
Cell phones, while handy when everything is going well, have some major, potentially life-threatening limitations in emergency situations (anything from storm power outages to major earthquakes to acts of war). Even urbanites cannot rely on cell phones to function in these situations to reach loved ones or to call for help from emergency services. Large-scale damage in emergency situations often affects cell phone towers, too, and outages may outlast battery power. The true scariness of disaster movies like “Leave the World Behind” is that we are unbelievably lucky not to have experienced similar cyberattacks to our satellites and digital infrastructures so far, given how overly reliant we are making ourselves on these systems.
This over-reliance and the over-eagerness to discard “old fashioned” analog backups makes us incredibly vulnerable when these systems fail, a foolhardy mistake we may live to regret.
Shirley Cseh
San Jose
Increase happiness
by cleaning our roads
I see the California Legislature has created a new committee to figure out how to make California residents happier. The chairperson is Anthony Rendon, Speaker Emeritus of the state Assembly.
In the absence of our beloved Mr. Roadshow’s column, I encourage all Californians to write to this committee to ask them to please reduce or eliminate trash from our California roadways. All California residents benefit. It shows self-respect, welcomes visitors and creates jobs and pride in our beautiful state.
We compare very badly to other states and countries in the amount of trash “decorating” our roadways. We would be much happier with cleanliness.
Cindy Castillo
Sunnyvale
Top-two primary is
the threat to democracy
Re: “Garvey’s win marks loss for election reform” (Page A6, March 14).
The top-two primary system is fundamentally undemocratic by muting the voices of all minority parties. If the goal of election reform is to solidify the hold of the majority, that sounds a lot like the choice Russians had in the “reelection” of Vladimir Putin.
Suggesting that Garvey’s “win” is a setback for election reform is absurd. With Democrats holding a huge majority, his is the first time a Republican has been on the senatorial ballot since the system was implemented. Republicans are a minority party in California, but a top-two system also excludes the Green, Libertarian, American Independent and Peace and Freedom parties.
Are voters better served in an election that only offers the choice between a liberal Democrat and a more liberal Democrat? I’m sure Democrat voters would be outraged if their only choice for Senate, sometime in the future, were a MAGA and a more MAGA candidate.
Dave Riggs
Aptos
Column astounds
with litany of untruths
Re: “I want to support Trump, but he keeps making that harder for me” (Page A9, March 17).
Another astounding column by Marc Theissen. Astounding for all the distortions, untruths and outright lies.
He talks about Donald Trump reversing the Obama-Biden era policy of denying Ukraine lethal aid. Then who is it that is sending weapons and aid to Ukraine? As far as I know, this war is just two years old, so that would be an outright lie. Biden didn’t give us the worst border crisis in history. It has existed for years. Biden did not weaponize the FBI. Trump brought that on himself entirely.
Yes, Mr.Theissen, you have spilled gallons of ink, defending a person who will go down in history as the worst president of the United States for most people. Your opening statement, “I want to vote for Donald Trump in November,” says it all. Joe’s State of the Union speech proved that he is the right man for the job.
Steve Ortiz
Redwood City.
Desperation demands
we act to save Gaza
Re: “My Gazan family faces starvation at Ramadan” (Page A7, March 13).
The relentless bombings and starvation in Gaza have tortured the Palestinian people to such an extent that Mohammed Alshannat wrote from Gaza: “People are hoping that Israel nukes us so we get rid of this pain.” I was shaken to the core.
This Ramadan in Gaza, fasting is not required since they are starving every day. In the article “My Gazan family faces starvation at Ramadan”, the writer Laila El-Haddad lamented: “I oscillate between a profound sense of loss and sadness and a feeling of urgency and obligation to do anything I can to help.”
The same desperation was felt by Aaron Bushnell, a young active-duty U.S. airman. On Feb. 25, he set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., to protest against the genocide funded by our tax dollars. Through self-immolation, Bushnell made a desperate plea: Don’t be complicit in genocide, act now.
Nancy Tsou
San Jose
Israel must replace
PM Netanyahu
Re: “Schumer urges new leadership in Israel, calling Netanyahu an obstacle to peace” (Page A4, March 15).
As a secular Jew, I applaud longtime Israeli supporter Sen. Chuck Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel.
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Benjamin Netanyahu is waging a profligate, reckless war to keep himself in power. Richard Hass, president emeritus of the Foreign Policy Institute and Middle East Specialist for Republican Presidents, has written (Wall Street Journal) that Hamas cannot be destroyed by killing defenseless children, women and unarmed citizens. Hass writes that the top Hamas leaders have not been captured or killed. A more nuanced reaction could have garnered international support.
Middle East Monitor states that half a million Israelis have left the country since Oct. 7. Israel’s bond rating has declined. Both Schumer and Hass agree that peace cannot be found without a two-state solution. Such a solution is difficult, but a possibility with the aid of major Arab countries.
Netanyahu has degraded Israel’s International standing and economy. He must be replaced.
Gary Latshaw
Cupertino