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DA Price recall is
misguided, premature
The effort to recall District Attorney Pamela Price is misguided and premature at best, and racist and undemocratic at worst.
There are two things that bother me a great deal about efforts to recall. First, it began just six months into her term; in no dimension is this a sufficient amount of time to declare someone is so egregiously failing at their job that it justifies a recall. This tells me that people with a lot of money did not like the outcome of the democratic vote, and are trying to buy a new election.
Second, it has become more and more obvious to me that the people driving this recall are ill-informed of what does and does not fall under her control in the capacity of her position. I strongly urge people to educate themselves on the various positions within our local government.
Andrea King
Fremont
Banning surcharges
good for restaurants
As a local restaurant owner I could not agree more with the law banning restaurant surcharges.
These petty 2%, 3% or 5% surcharges just alienate the average diner. They are not necessary and leave a bad taste in the mouth, no pun intended. It’s much cleaner to roll all the costs into the menu price. If the burger is $20 and your restaurant has 6% in miscellaneous fees, just make the burger $21.20 and be done with it. It’s better for all.
Rocco Biale
Walnut Creek
U.S. should have
followed Carter example
Historians delayed recognition of President Jimmy Carter’s multiple accomplishments, but they miss one salient point. Had the United States been wise enough to follow Carter’s lead, electrification would be 43 years advanced. For perspective, 43 years ago AIDS was officially recognized by the CDC; the space shuttle made its first orbital flight; Charles and Diana got married. Those obscure historical events took place when solar panels were installed on the White House roof, but the Reagan administration quickly had them removed.
The missteps now being experienced in conversion to electric power would long since have been solved. PG&E could have been revered rather than reviled. Instead of advancing into electrification, U.S. society at large adopted the snark prevalent among CEOs of the largest polluters, filling the land, sea and air with their toxins. Today’s climate pays the price. Whether lack of foresight or common sense, progressive wisdom was then, and continues to be, blunted at every turn.
Raymond Cote
Castro Valley
End Gaza war and
find a lasting peace
The war in Gaza must come to an end. The death of more than 34,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, should push the United Nations Security Council to adopt effective measures to end the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian-occupied territories, and the release of all hostages and prisoners. The Palestinian state must be admitted as a full member of the United Nations. A final peace treaty and commercial agreements should be concluded between the Arab states and Israel and must be guaranteed by the United Nations Security Council.
Let this war come to an end, and be the last war between Israel and the Palestinian people.
As Martin Luther King had a dream, my dream is to witness peace and justice in the Holy Land, and I will pray in Al-Aqusa Masjid in Jerusalem. Please pray for peace and justice in the Holy Land.
Amer Araim
Walnut Creek
Standing for Gazans is
a stand for human rights
I’m appalled by accusations of antisemitism being hurled at those daring enough to stand up for the humanitarian rights of Gazan innocents. Although my great-grandparents had immigrated to the United States before World War I, I’ve often pondered whether my parents would have risked standing up for Jewish rights had they lived in Germany during World War II.
Those currently putting their well-being at risk through actively protesting American monetary and armament contributions being used by certain Israeli contingents to fuel the loss of homes, health and lives of Gazans are not forgetting the atrocities suffered by so many Jewish innocents over the years. Instead, they are doing their best to atone for those who could have taken a stand against the horrendous results of antisemitism, but didn’t.
We can’t change history, but we can learn from it. Failing to take a stand against inhumanity renders one complicit.
Linda Thorlakson
Castro Valley
Israel is right in
seeking total victory
Re: “Hamas open to peace talks, but attack on Rafah would hinder progress” (Page A1, May 3).
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Imagine a headline late in World War II that read: “Hitler open to peace talks, but attack on Berlin would hinder progress.” Any sensible person would rightly see it as ridiculous.
Many of us see Israel’s war against Hamas as the same battle (albeit on a smaller scale, at least at this point) that took place between the Allies and the Nazis, even down to their tyrannical totalitarianism and their virulent antisemitism. So, the Israelis’ goal of total victory, unless Hamas surrenders unconditionally (which would take a miracle), is correct.
By the way, criticism of Israel is not antisemitism, but calling Israel genocidal, as has become common among the protesters and their supporters, and calling for Israel to be abolished is.
Christopher Andrus
Dublin