America: Never Better

EDITOR: America has never been better. Do you want to cut wood to burn, cook and keep warm, depend on animals for transport, candles to see when it’s dark, live in a log cabin with dirt floors?

Wake up, look around at what we have now. We eat fresh food that was grown 1,000 miles away, electricity, electric cars that don’t pollute, computers that have spell checkers and printers that type, ovens, air conditioners, airplanes and trains that move us miles away in minutes , swimming pools, golf courses, television, hospitals, 40 hour weeks, some stay at home and work, public schools and social security, plus Obamacare, thanks to the Democrats. We live better now than kings did years ago. Help us stop polluting so we don’t lose what we have now.

As for inflation, it doesn’t matter which political party wins the election, because inflation is here to stay, when inflation is 2%, it means it’s 2% more than last year, it doesn’t mean prices are. it’s going to go down.

LEONARD RIEPENHOFF

Santa Rosa

Libraries help children

EDITOR: I hope people will support continued funding for the Sonoma County Public Library System. As a retired reading specialist, I can say that research shows that children’s reading improves with access to libraries. Unfortunately, schools have been forced to downsize their libraries, often hiring non-librarians to oversee their collections. But having a vital county library system, especially all the ways that libraries are more accessible, helps to counter this unfortunate trend in schools. Support Measure W.

MOLLY BISHOP

Monte Rio

Empowering women

EDITOR: There have been 46 presidents. They were all men. Some were better than others, but not a brilliant record overall. Kamala Harris running for president, only the second woman to do so, is an alternative. And it is historic.

In the US, we have a history of the Equal Rights Amendment and the women’s movement. Internationally, the 2024 Paris Olympics marked the first time that there were as many women’s events as there were men’s events. Women have come a long way in proving that being in positions of power is not the sole domain of men.

We are now at a crucial turning point in our history, as the continuation or demise of this trend is what is at stake in this election. Many members of a political party want to restrict women’s rights and are led by a man whose history with women is well known.

As Michelle Obama recently explained, voting for a woman to lead our country benefits men. It improves men so that women have equal rights. If men vote for a party and a candidate who tries to respect women, not control them, both are empowered, and Americans will make history on Election Day.

JEFFREY KAHN

Sevastopol

Sonoma County Heritage

PUBLISHER: letter from Carol Mitchell (“Let’s Save the Cows” Wednesday) brought back many memories. When my family vacationed at Disneyland in the 1950s, the highlight of the trip for my dad was visiting the dairies at 5am before Disneyland opened. Dad was a milkman from Santa Rosa and cared more about the cows than himself. His care for cows has been passed on to my children and grandchildren and it is my wish that they continue to follow in his footsteps. Please vote no Measure J — the legacy of Sonoma County depends on it.

QUEEN AGGIO

Sevastopol

Trump’s policies

EDITOR: They say you might not like Donald Trump, but you’ll like his policies. Can someone please tell me what those policies are? He never really tells us beyond tax breaks for himself and his rich friends and that he will seek revenge on those he dislikes.

Kamala Harris’s politics are known because she talks about them. She will cut taxes for those earning under $400,000 and restore Roe v. Wade. She will continue the policies that have produced a strong economy with a great job market, lower gas and food prices, huge stock market gains, etc. It will continue to reduce the prices of drugs and medicines. It will help first-time homebuyers with a $25,000 down payment, help small businesses get started with a $50,000 tax break and more.

What will Trump do to help anyone? He appears to have no plans other than deporting immigrants and slapping huge tariffs on imported goods, increasing those costs for consumers. Please let me know when you find out and put it on the front page.

BARRY TAYLOR

Santa Rosa

Terror, not hate

EDITOR: I wish people trying to defend Donald Trump would stop saying his critics are just haters (“Approval of Newspapers”, Letters, Friday). This willfully ignores countless records, testimony and public statements documenting his dangerous unfitness for the highest office. He is bigoted, erratic and vindictive. He has no humility, no empathy. He won’t take advice from anyone with more experience, but he’s very open to being told what he wants to hear. He is easily swayed by flattery and loves dictators.

I don’t feel hate. I’m terrified.

NADENIA NEWKIRK

Santa Rosa

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