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Opinion
Hatred has no place in our politics. Violence is not the way we settle our differences.
The attack on Members of Congress was cowardly and inexcusable, and threats and statements that appeared afterwards on social media are inflammatory and counterproductive. We are better than this.
The rancor and venom I have witnessed lately is poisonous, and it has to stop. We will destroy ourselves if we do not step back, take a deep breath, and remember that we are all Americans.
We all care deeply for our country and our countrymen. There is much more that unites us than divides us, and I urge us all to stand together in support of all those wounded today, their loved ones, and their families.
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force as well as the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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- Written by: Congressman Mike Thompson
I am writing in response to the article printed in the Ukiah Daily Journal titled "Lady Cats Dramatic Comeback," and written by David Taxis.
First, it should be noted that his motivation for this piece was driven by the Coach Wingler's decision to not allow him to sit in a lawn chair in foul territory. I'm sure this decision was made more for the safety of the players than it was for the protection of some low-level sports writer who could actually benefit from a line drive to his melon.
He begins the article with, "We all have our impressions of Lake County," and his tone is obviously not complimentary. I can assure him that, based on the kindness and generosity of the good people of Mendocino County during the last six months in the aftermath of the Valley Fire, their impression is obviously much different than his.
He also describes the "mule trails" above Clear Lake and I am guessing that his reading skills are equal to his writing talents and he misread the directions on the best route to Lakeport and ended up driving over Cow Mountain instead.
He also mentions "Lakeport's reputation aside," as if he is qualified to be critical of the good people of this town.
This editorial of the geographic area is bad enough but it is his disrespectful editorial and personal comments that proved to be incredibly irresponsible and tasteless.
He offers an insulting physical description of the umpire and, after looking at Mr. Taxis' Facebook page, I found it ironic that he would be able to be judgmental of anyone's personal appearance.
The part of this article that I found to be the most offensive was his misogynistic and disrespectful treatment of the young women from both teams. As a father of two daughters and as a high school coach of young women, I am deeply offended and I would expect more from the Ukiah Daily Journal than to allow that kind of work to make it to their readers.
While I am not from Lakeport and I actually coach a rival team of Clear Lake High School, I have the good fortune of being friends with many of the players on their softball team as well as a deep respect for their coach, Doug Wingler.
It makes me grateful for the exceptional, thoughtful and respectful coverage that our local Lake County news sources give to our youth sports.
I would hope that the UDJ would reconsider who they send to cover a game in the future, their readers deserve better and certainly our kids deserve better.
Rob Brown lives in Kelseyville, Calif. He is a high school wrestling coach and Lake County supervisor.
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- Written by: Rob Brown
It is my opinion that we are losing our principle of “valuing human life,” as one of our paramount virtues.
The media, such as video games and movies show people killing people, in more and more gruesome ways. Our children are growing up and being instilled with a less sensitive mindset.
One of the manifestations is the reluctance of many police departments to allocate funds for Tasers. A needed non-lethal method for police to restrain suspects is worth its weight in non-lawsuits.
Except for the military whose “no one left behind” principle is famous, our society has devalued human life.
We see homelessness, family hunger and the departure of the middle class as if it does not affect us. America needs to find a consensus of our new identity.
Are we still the compassionate society that we grew up picturing ourselves as? Or are we now just pragmatic former idealists?
We used to temper our definition of laws to be merciful as well as protecting society. Now, we have private prisons that are cheaper because the guards are paid minimum wage and receive a minimum of training.
This is another example of our devaluing of human life, as we have lowered the bar on who needs warehousing on the public’s dime, just to allow rich investors to make money.
Greed has replaced humanism in America. We need to reevaluate who should be warehoused, and be proactive in the rehabilitation of those we do keep in cages. Yes, prisons are like zoos, except we keep humans in them – yes, humans.
We lock them up and allow their families to live on welfare, often making the children into latchkey kids, without parental guidance (example of familial “cycIe of incarceration”).
I realize that what we learned in school was often fictionalized to make us seem to be an exceptional society, one who like Robin Hood gave to the poor (third world) without a “hidden agenda” (example of foreign policy by foreign aid).
Fictionalized history is not a new phenomenon, as our role as one of the worst genocidal societies was glossed over.
Texas is now teaching its students that the Civil War was fought over just states' rights, which was true, but we know slavery was in the mix as well. Leaving out history is the same as lying about it.
Human rights has always been one of my country’s virtues that I grew up being proud of. It is sad that we are regressing, instead of progressing; we no longer have a seat on the human rights commission at the United Nations, a commission we started.
George W. Bush refused to join the World Court at the Hague, because we were refused an exception to prosecution.
Our intention to torture prisoners in opposition to the Geneva Convention keeps us a rogue nation, as does our formation of private mercenary armies to supplement the force Congress refused to supply, because there were no rules of engagement for these private citizen soldiers from a plethora of nations.
When did our armed forces become an extension of Halliburton’s investment strategy? With a profit of $34 billion, they were the definitive winners of the Iraq war. They were followed by the mercenary companies, who paid their veterans $1,000 a day, all on the public’s dime.
Millions in overcharges, paid without investigation, and Congress stymieing further auditing. So, the humanistic morality, and public’s will are depleted and devalued.
It is our own fault for allowing free rein for the industrial takeover of our government. The idea that private companies are more efficient than government agencies, has eroded public trust in government.
Congress cutting the budget of agencies such as the post office and EPA, and imposing rules to keep public agencies at a disadvantage, so private companies can make money is immoral and not in the interest of the public. This shows that Congress no longer represents the public, but the highest bidder.
Another instance is the illegality of buying pharmaceuticals under collective bargaining, even though the Veteran’s Administration has been doing it, defying the law.
Recently, Congress made it illegal to sue Monsanto for wrongful death or any other reason.
Who are they representing? It seems obvious not to be the citizens.
Dave Gebhard lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: David Gebhard
Six months ago, I lost my house in the Valley fire. I wanted to let the community know that after losing my house, the biggest, and currently only, obstacle to rebuilding has been the county of Lake.
The state of California cleaned my lot in a timely manner. The insurance company proceeds are sitting in the bank. My architect and contractor have been very responsive.
Ray Ruminski from Lake County Environmental Health has not been returning phone calls to my builder for over two months. My septic permit application has been sitting unanswered at the Environmental Health office for over four weeks.
The house that I lost was only eight years old and environmental laws cannot have changed that much.
It is sad that the governmental organization that should be encouraging rebuilding and healing is the one keeping us from returning to our homes.
I miss living in Lake County. I want to come home.
Craig Waters' home in Anderson Springs was burned in September 2015 during the Valley fire. He is living in San Francisco while he attempts to rebuild.
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- Written by: Craig Waters