The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil represents the intentional violation of the First Amendment | Opinion
Intentional violation of free speech
“Mahmoud Khalil arrest: Bay Area critics say detention of pro-Palestinian activist is ‘a move toward fascism’,” (sacbee.com, March 11)
The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is about the intentional violation of the First Amendment by the Executive Branch of the federal government, whose express intention was to punish speech with which it disagrees.
Khalil’s political viewpoints are irrelevant, because the administration has arrested him without due process or criminal charge. If Khalil’s political speech can be punished this way, anyone’s political speech can be met with the same punishment.
Kevin Oeser
Roseville
Coexistence, not killing
“Humane Society petitions to stop bear hunting in California,” (sacbee.com, Jan. 20, 2022)
Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick claims that Assembly Bill 1038 will reduce human-bear conflict by making bears fear humans and dogs, but hunting with hounds would only be allowed in wilderness areas — where bears belong — and not in neighborhoods where conflicts occur.
In reality, hunting pushes bears into urban areas to escape. This bill is not only deeply unethical, it is based on false claims. California’s black bear population has been stable for a decade.
The real issues — wildfires and habitat loss — call for coexistence, not killing.
Devon Barone
Homewood
Health scare
“Tuberculosis is back in Kansas. Under RFK Jr., this might be just the beginning,” (sacbee.com, March 7)
Military officials have said that tuberculosis puts our troops serving around the world at great risk. Why? Because if TB is not stopped, we are all at risk of contracting this disease — the leading infectious killer of adults in the world.
Congress must invest in child immunization and maternal health — investments that have been saving and improving lives for decades.
Nick Arena
Fresno
Young environmentalists
“Trump’s hiring freeze could impact California firefighting efforts, federal services,” (sacbee.com, Jan. 21)
Some of the firefighters who abruptly lost their jobs thanks to President Trump’s hiring freeze had been working with Indigenous communities using fire to maintain healthy ecosystems and promote biodiversity, “to care for the land.” Hopefully, they will carry on.
Traditional ecological knowledge could be a part of the public school curriculum from a very early age. Designated tribal members and foresters could utilize their skills in the classroom and in outdoor activities with the children: a practical study of soil nutrition and regeneration as well as history, geography and botany lessons to be learned from the land.
This might make children environmentalists.
Elizabeth Caffrey
Placerville