Yes, there was purpose — and hope — in Sacramento’s ‘No Kings’ protest | Opinion

Purpose in the protests

“No Kings protest in Sacramento: rage without a purpose,” (sacbee.com, June 16)

There is purpose in the protests: They send a message to our elected officials, including Rep. Kevin Kiley, that we will not accept what is going on. It also provides a sense of hope and solidarity for those of us fighting to return our country to some semblance of sanity.

In addition, the many activities occurring behind the scenes at Sacramento’s “No Kings” protest included voter registration workshops, town halls to keep our communities informed and weekly action items to be completed. Plenty is going on besides marching and holding signs. Without the protests and the resistance activities, the future for America would seem bleak indeed.

Julia Garland

Folsom

No war, no U.S. dictator

“Anti-war organizations rally in Sacramento, condemn going to war with Iran,” (sacbee.com, June 19)

The Constitution provides that only Congress has the authority to declare war, not the president. Yet, Rep. Kevin Kiley and his Republican colleagues continue to sit back and watch this president erode our checks and balances.

Trump continues to operate as if the U.S. is his own private reality television show. Going to war is not a plot point. It will cost billions of dollars, the lives of innocent Iranians and potentially American lives.

Shelley Frost

Auburn

Unreliable charter schools

“Highlands school closures impact Afghan refugee students,” (sacbee.com, June 20)

t. I feel for the many refugee women who relying on the school, but other programs offer English language instruction and wrap-around services, including the Twin Rivers Adult School.

Students need quality education taught by certified adult education teachers; this does not appear to be a standard at Highlands. Annette Emery

Sacramento

False solution

“Cal Fire’s fire hazard severity maps released for Sacramento,” (sacbee.com, March 11)

As wildfire risks ramp up in California, reshaping our communities’ mitigation plans is a top priority. But in a rush for answers, some California legislators are turning to the false solution of biomass energy. Biomass, in this case, involves logging vast amounts of whole trees and other large-diameter wood and burning it at power facilities.

California is the most progressive economy in the world and should invest its resources in solutions that are truly renewable energy and have climate justice benefits. The use of woody biomass for energy is a false solution to the wildfire and climate crisis.

Dan Howells-Schafroth

Roseville

Trump’s corruption

“Editorial: Anti-bribery law’s pause is a gift to corrupt competitors,” (sacbee.com, March 29)

After decimating the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s anti-bribery office, President Donald Trump institutionalized bribery. He takes bribes openly: million-dollar tickets to fund-raising dinners, memberships to his private clubs, the selling of crypto-currency, a $400 million airplane “gift” and $2 billion invested in his crypto-bank, World Liberty Financial.

The wealthy buy government favors, receiving tariff exemptions, financial law deregulation, pardons for felony convictions and sweetheart government contracts in return.

Boldfaced flaunting does not minimize bribery. It corrupts our political and moral values, leading to a dysfunctional government.

Bruce Joffe

Piedmont

Reducing shelter intake

“California animal welfare laws and shifting shelter issues,” (sacbee.com, May 27)

Sacramento’s animal shelters are overwhelmed. Despite years of investment in spay/neuter programs and public education, intake is rising, space is shrinking and pleas for adoptions dominate local headlines.

The real cause isn’t a mystery: Backyard breeders are using platforms like Craigslist and Facebook to flood the community with unlicensed, unvaccinated animals — many sold under fake names and with no accountability. These underground sales are fueling the very crisis taxpayers are trying to fix.

California lawmakers must act. Platforms profiting from unregulated pet ads should be required to verify seller identity, sales tax compliance and paid registration before publishing any listings.

Severely penalize websites accepting noncompliant ads.

If we’re serious about reducing shelter intake, we need to stop the illegal supply at the source — not just clean up the aftermath.

John Ross

LA Pets Alive

Humanitarian principles

“At graduation ceremonies, national divisions over Gaza and Trump are vocalized | Opinion,” (sacbee.com, June 6)

Just as the decades of crimes under Israeli occupation — such as the demolition of homes, arbitrary imprisonment and torture and the destruction of olive groves — do not justify Hamas committing war crimes against civilians in Israel, the crimes committed by Hamas cannot justify war crimes by Israeli forces.

These include the bombing of hospitals and depriving the civilian population in Gaza of food, water and medical supplies.

As emphasized by United Nations Humanitarian Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher: “We see war being used to justify massive human suffering. This is unacceptable… even wars have rules… if your principles apply only to your opponents, then they are not humanitarian principles.”

Terry Hansen

Milwaukee, Wis.