Abortion choice, dump Bera, space traveler

Risky actions have consequences

Re “Regulating abortion rights into oblivion” (Editorials, March 3): The Sacramento Bee routinely mischaracterizes the beliefs of those who oppose abortion.

I believe that women should choose when and whether to bear children. Indeed, I want them to make that choice more deliberately. If a woman is not emotionally, physically or otherwise ready to bear a child, she is not ready to engage in sexual intercourse. Birth control can fail and accidents happen. She has to take those risks into account when making the choice, and then bear the consequences.

Every choice involves risk. But we don’t get to declare the consequences unwanted and thereby avoid them. Fetuses should not be so cavalierly sacrificed because of someone’s risky choices.

Bera doesn’t deserve re-election

Re “Labor attacks on Bera don’t help Democrats” (Another View, March 3): Steve Caruso says that Congressman Ami Bera is just being practical as he steers public policy rightward exactly as his Republican opponent would have done. But what’s the point of voting for an ersatz Republican when voters can have a real one?

Bera repudiates his party’s signature social programs in favor of “fiscal responsibility.” Yet such “responsibility” doesn’t apply to multitrillion-dollar wars or bank bailouts. His support of toxic treaties and other wrongheaded policies have denied him an endorsement even from his home city’s Democratic club.

Opportunists like Bera can’t understand that voters want something different from the business-as-usual public policy that simply hands more money to plutocrats. As a former supporter, I see no point in re-electing him.

Yosemite corporate greed

Re “Don’t blame company for Yosemite name dispute,” (Another View, March 1): Congratulations to Dan Jensen for displacing Martin Shkreli as the face of unconscionable corporate greed in America.

That’s quite an achievement, one that will no doubt give him and his Delaware North cronies bragging rights among their fellow country club members. Too bad the rest of us recognize them as the despicable corporate opportunists they are.

Address immediate urgent needs

Re “Tent cities won’t fix capital’s problem” (Insight, March 2): Marcos Breton is correct that city-sponsored camps won’t fix the problem of homelessness. No one is proclaiming they will. They are a stopgap to help people today who do not have housing. We cannot just wait until we have enough low-cost housing for all who need it.

But in the meantime, what do we do? The Red Cross and others hand out food and shelter following a disaster, not as a solution to the tragedy but as the expression of the human family helping another in need. It is the humane thing to do. Granted, we must focus upon the solution down the road, but at the same time we must not ignore the human plight of our brothers and sisters right here and now.

Astronauts’ return rates front page

Re “Astronaut returns to Earth with fist-pump and cult following” (Page 4B, March 3): I enjoyed reading the comprehensive article about Scott Kelly’s return to Earth after a year in space. He and a Russian cosmonaut orbited the globe 5,440 times and conducted countless experiments. They communicated photos and information to the public as never before.

This was a phenomenal year of space travel by brave and dedicated astronauts. So why didn’t this news warrant front-page coverage? Maybe we’ve become complacent about the contributions of space travel.

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Abortion choice, dump Bera, space traveler."