Iran deal, drought, firefighters, etc.

Iran deal not done yet

Re “Obama strongly defends Iran nuclear deal” (Page A5, April 6): The Joel Pett editorial cartoon in the Opinion section had it exactly right. As Americans, we don’t know who’s less trustworthy – President Barack Obama or the Iranian leaders. Obama may be defending his deal, but the words coming out of the president’s mouth are different than how Iranian leaders are describing the fundamentals to their people.

So, who’s telling the truth? Based on Iran’s and the president’s history of weaving tales, who knows? Obama also suggested that he could accept some sort of vote in Congress if it did not block his ability to carry out the agreement. That’s really big of him. Hopefully, Democrats won’t just follow like sheep on this one.

Water and building moratoriums

Re “Brown defends ag’s use of water” (Page A4, April 6): Agriculture is important, but the last water storage facility built in California was 1970. Since then, California’s population has almost doubled. California has always had and will have drought cycles. Now that we are in the fourth year of drought, Californians are now being asked to cut back water usage 25 percent. What are those of us that have already cut back our water usage 25 percent or more supposed to do? Has there been a public discussion of a statewide building moratorium?

Businesses should let go

Re “Businesses take steps to reduce water use” (Page A1, April 4): The drought reminds us that we live in a semi-arid region where acres of lush, manicured lawns are, at the very least, unnatural. The drought also asks all of us to discriminate between mere appearances and necessity. I was disappointed to read that East Lawn Memorial Park doesn’t believe their patrons can. Considering their captive audience, might East Lawn instead take a leadership role to help us move beyond non-native and water hungry lawns as de facto, even sacred, ground cover? They could start by allowing their lawns to go brown this summer.

Putting greens, water pipeline

I am waiting for someone to pull the plug on all golf courses in the drought-stricken areas of California. Would it really hurt an ardent golfer if the courses were brown?

One other suggestion is that we should ask our neighbors in Oregon or Washington state if we could run a water pipeline to our Lake Shasta during their rainy seasons. Gov. Jerry Brown and his cronies should scrap the idea of a bullet train and start working on the water pipeline. That would really be something for his legacy.

I support assisted suicide

Re “Don’t allow assisted suicide” (Letters, April 6): I strongly support assisted suicide. I’ve been in the medical field for more than 20 years. People are living longer than ever before, but at what cost? We are addicted to health care and refuse to be accountable for our lifestyles. And why should we be accountable for our lifestyles when we can easily get what we need in a pill to solve our problems? Physicians used to be more conservative than they are today.

Cancer and other terminal illnesses plague our society, and we are obsessed with keeping the sick alive at whatever costs, suffering through the painful recovery process with our loved ones if they recover. Our convalescent homes are always full, and the care these individuals are getting is less than desirable to say the least. Rarely do you find happiness lingering in these spaces. Why is death so scary, and why are we so afraid of it today?

Start relying on volunteer firefighters

Re “Placer looking at cutbacks as fire staff costs increase” (Our Region, April 4): Most of the first responders to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012 were volunteer firefighters. Many communities outside California rely on volunteer firefighters and private ambulance services. California’s rural firefighters often work 10 24-hour shifts each month.

Between calls firefighters can sleep, watch TV, search the Internet, prepare and eat meals, and work out just like they do at home. With modern communication technology and GPS, it’s long past the time for California’s rural communities to seriously rethink how first-responder services can best be provided to its residents.

Placer County’s Cal Fire contract costs more than $162,000 per firefighter. Volunteer programs are working well in a handful of rural communities in California, and Placer County should consider replacing Cal Fire firefighters with volunteers.

Follow Notre Dame’s lead

Re “Shift on Indiana religious-rights bill stuns conservatives” (Page A5, April 4): As an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, Indiana’s and perhaps the nation’s No. 1 Catholic university, I believe Indiana legislators should follow the Notre Dame policy for its employees.

Although Catholic religion teaches a marriage is a bond between a man and woman, the university also acknowledges same-sex partners are entitled to the same employee benefits of married couples. Every legal business should respect customers who patronize their establishment in a respectful and lawful manner. The appropriate time to refuse customers is when the doors are locked, such as Hobby Lobby or Chick-fil-A does when they close on Sunday to everyone because of their religious beliefs.

Have some compassion

Re “Don’t like the fine …” (Letters, April 6): I’m sorry, but the world just isn’t all black and white. If you run a traffic light, maybe it was deliberate. Possibly you were distracted by children or another driver. We are all human and make mistakes. Why can’t people who are less able to pay be put on a payment plan or be allowed to do community service in conjunction with a lesser fine? Slapping a poor person with a $600 fine, followed by penalties when they can’t pay, is the modern-day equivalent of debt slavery. The letter writer’s insinuation that people in bad economic circumstances are there because of irresponsibility is downright insulting.

The conversation around income inequality has nothing to do with people who don’t want to pay their fair way. It’s about people who can’t pay for basic needs because of housing inflation, wage deflation, high unemployment or underemployment, etc. Most of us are just a few paychecks away from economic trouble. Instead of demonizing the people who are already there, perhaps Becky McIntyre could educate herself about the global economic recession that put them there. I hope that would teach her compassion.

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Iran deal, drought, firefighters, etc.."