Why is Congressman Kevin Kiley so obsessed with Newsom? His constituents want to know | Opinion
Trust not terror
“Progressive Caity Maple votes for police armored vehicle,” (sacbee.com, Feb. 2)
Thanks to City Council Members Mai Vang and Katie Valenzuela for voting against further militarizing our police force in the purchasing of a Rook, an armored vehicle. I am puzzled about Councilwoman Caity Maple’s flip from being against further militarization to voting in favor of the purchase.
I’m very much against buying an armored vehicle for our “safety.” Just how is it going to be used? Seems like it will make us feel more fear and terror. After the deaths of Tyre Nichols and George Floyd, I thought there would be huge efforts to re-imagine police protection in ways that would instill trust, not terror. Our tax money would be better spent on our safety rather than funding tools of war.
Billie Hamilton
Sacramento
Rook was right call
“Progressive Caity Maple votes for police armored vehicle,” (sacbee.com, Feb. 2)
This column denigrates my newly elected City Council Member Caity Maple for her vote in support of purchasing a Rook for the Sacramento Police Department. In a recent Bee article, an in-depth description of the Rook made it clear that this vehicle provides protection for officers in situations dealing with likely armed suspects.
It appears to me that Maple’s vote was rooted in common sense, not politics. I thank the seven council members who voted for the Rook for their support of the Sacramento police, as we need law enforcement’s presence in Sacramento.
Tim Sullivan
Sacramento
Free education
“Sacramento to consider reparations for Black residents,” (sacbee.com, Feb. 6)
Any reparations solution should have the ability to create generational wealth for all who choose to utilize it. That solution is free college, graduate school or professional/trade schools. Remember, the first thing the slave trade denied slaves was access to education and the ability to read. The ability to gain necessary experience, education and/or certification of a skilled trade is fraught with passive racism.
Free education eliminates finite and limited economic solutions. Black descendants of American slaves should be guaranteed a free education to balance unjust institutional racism.
Larry G Broussard
Sacramento
Transparency
“Best and worst federal-rated nursing homes in Sacramento, CA,” (sacbee.com, Feb. 8)
The Bee’s article on the federal ratings for the best and worst nursing homes near Sacramento was alarming.
The Foundation Aiding the Elderly worked with The New York Times on a rating system years ago which revealed that ratings are based on input from nursing homes — not consumers. The U.S. Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services is certainly in no position to rate nursing homes based on self-reporting information by an industry that continually fails in caring for our most vulnerable citizens.
Families should not use the government rating system as a guide. Instead, check out the facility for yourself and look up the facility’s history of complaints and inspections, located at the CA Department of Public Health Licensing Office.
Carole Herman
President, Foundation Aiding The Elderly
Sacramento
Whiny Republican
“New California congressman Kevin Kiley is using his new position to ‘expose’ Gavin Newsom,” (sacbee.com, Jan. 26)
Kevin Kiley is my new Congressman and already a disappointment. He was elected to work on big national issues like homelessness and immigration, but he seems to have forgotten why he ran for Congress. Is Kevin using his Congressional platform to covertly run for governor of California — a high mountain to climb in blue state California?
Stop bashing Newsom and do something on a big national issue, Kevin, and you might qualify as a legitimate gubernatorial candidate. Otherwise, you will just be another whiny Republican who can’t get anything done.
Julia W. Edwards
Auburn
Kiley’s words
“New California congressman Kevin Kiley is using his new position to ‘expose’ Gavin Newsom,” (sacbee.com, Jan. 26)
Kiley indicated that he intends to use his new platform to take his vendetta against Newsom to the national level. By rejecting the recall effort and re-electing Newsom to another term, the majority of those impacted by Newsom’s policies demonstrated that they don’t share Kiley’s views.
“This is a state where we wake up everyday asking, ‘What is the government going to take from me today?’” Kiley has said, adding that “Newsom seems to believe he’s created a template that ought to be followed by Congress, by the White House and by other states.”
These statements could be perceived by some as a threat to their way of life. With the recent increase in politically motivated threats and violence against elected officials and their families, these words need to be kept in mind.
Bonnie Peterson
Citrus Heights
Black history matters
“DeSantis wants to prohibit university diversity in Florida,” (sacbee.com, Feb. 1)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis censored the “wokeness” of Black History curriculum in the name of unity and “objectivity.” Sounds reasonable until you stop to realize that the charge of “wokeness” is only a political slogan.
All histories have a point of view because every storyteller’s perspective is shaped by their own personal histories. American history includes 400 years of slavery — something you cannot expunge overnight. Our children should know American history from many points of view.
Let´s present the facts in our classrooms, not censor them, and let’s encourage our students to find their own point of view. Hurling the word “woke” at the facts does our children a disservice.
Robert Blake
Davis