Letters: Trump’s speech, media bias, school ‘slave’ auction

Why ignore war widow?

Re “Trump tells nation, ‘Time for small thinking is over’ ” (Page A1, March 1): The writers missed an emotional and poignant moment of President Donald Trump’s speech by omitting the reaction of Carryn Owens, the widow of Navy SEAL Ryan Owen, and the long standing ovation she received. It blew up on social media, and The Bee showed its true colors by omission.

Trump is still a puppet

What does it say that Tuesday night’s big surprise was Donald Trump sounding presidential?

Don’t be fooled; he is a puppet and Steve Bannon and Vladimir Putin are pulling his strings.

Trump is still spouting a dangerous nationalistic message that excludes everyone but white-skinned Americans. He scored a victory by showcasing phony facts and manipulating tragedy. Bringing on that poor widow who hasn’t yet worked out her grief was shameful.

Trump doesn’t get fair shake

Re “The truth about the press, if Trump can handle it” (Foon Rhee, Insight, Feb. 28): The media promotes the concept of free press. However, an implied condition to a free press is a responsible press. The Bee constantly reports news that is either critical of President Donald Trump or casts a bad light on him.

He has accomplished much during his first 30 days in office. Where are the articles describing these accomplishments? Are these omissions a responsible press?

Overreaction to auction

Re “Auction off a senior? School ends tradition some criticized as racist” (Page 3A, Feb. 28): Here’s another activity that students considered fun and raised money is stopped because someone complained it was similar to slavery.

The fact that this was stopped is absurd. Nobody is being “sold” or forced into slavery. The teacher and student who complained said money was donated in exchange for seniors “quoting poems on demand” or “carrying a backpack.”

The only “all-around wrong” or offensive act here is equating such an event to slavery.

Republicans are failing California

Re “State GOP moves to align with Trump’s policies” (Capitol & California, Feb. 27): Once again, California Republicans have decided to turn their backs on the Bear Republic. They would rather follow edicts from the Trump administration than stand up for Californians.

It is time for voters to turn their backs on the current crop of Republican and vote for the other guy in the next primary and general elections.

Keep housing for sober homeless

Re “Homeless aid site struggles with its ‘sober first’ entry rule” (Page 3A, Feb. 25): I am dismayed to read that Serna Village has lost $250,000 in federal funding simply because it requires its residents to be clean and sober.

Although I understand that the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s goal is to eliminate barriers for homeless seeking housing, it does not seem reasonable to deprive the homeless who seek a clean and sober environment of an option such as Serna Village.

There is not a “one size fits all” solution to homelessness and Serna Village provides safe and healthy housing for families, especially those with children. And as one of the most underserved areas in Sacramento County, North Highlands desperately needs more, not fewer services for the homeless population.

I implore our government and civic leaders to find the funding needed for Serna Village to continue with its mission.

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Letters: Trump’s speech, media bias, school ‘slave’ auction."