LETTERS from Gazette READERS - August 2018
Moving On
I met a man last night who was packing up his stuff and moving out of his home here and moving to Ukiah where he just bought his wife the home she really wanted. Here (corner of Morgan and 6th streets) his front yard is littered with bottles and human feces not to mention the drinkers who sit for 12 hours each day not 16 feet from his home...and his mortgage was $2,400- a month but in Ukiah his new home is only $900- per...and it’s bigger...and it’s newer in much better shape and there are no bums shitting on his lawn.
Now it appears City Hall has heard some stuff from several of their employees. It seems this guy who walks with a cane goes out each morning to pick up the all the litter in the sizeable parking lot in front of his morning haunt, Holy Roast Coffee. One very nice guy from the city crew is on limited duty due to an injury and it was his job to once a week come and clean this once a dump up...now he gets himself a cup of coffee, strolls about the place picking up the few cigarette butts the other guy missed...he loves this part of his job...although he can no longer justify the time he once was required to spend here.
Marcos Zapatero
LOCAL vs. Chain
(Chain Pharmacy Pricing is a Tough Pill to Swallow - JUNE 2018 Gazette)
I cannot thank Robert Pellegrini at Tuttles on Sonoma Avenue and his staff enough. They watch out for me and check and double check. They call me on Sunday to let me know clarify if needed... Huge fan of Tuttles and Pharmacist Robert and his team!!!
Shawna Westly Nielsen
Inspiring Immigrant Stories
Every month I again want to thank you for printing Christopher Kerosky’s inspiring Immigrant Stories. They are a crucial counter-narrative to the hateful and dangerous mood circulating in the world today. As with other forms of prejudice, it seems like this type of bigotry springs from the typically human fear of “the other,” receiving a constant stream of misinformation from social media and certain news outlets, and a lack of interacting with - and getting to know - individuals.
Throughout history, there have been too many recurrences of categorizing and dehumanizing groups of people that lead to catastrophic results. It’s especially important at such moments, to highlight stories such as these.
Thanks again, Irene Barnard, Santa Rosa
Vesta forwarded me your very nice email on the subject of my column. I want to thank you for your kind words. It really means a lot to me.
I agree with you about the need to constantly counter the misinformation about immigrants and immigration. The false narratives on this subject are so widespread, including now emanating from our federal government.
I plan to continue playing my little role writing for theGazette on this subject, inspired by readers like you who appreciate this.
One last thing: perhaps you’d be interested in seeing some of the videos produced by a local non-profit calledMy American Dreams that I’m involved in. The videos tell inspiring stories of immigrant youth from our own County, making a difference in their community.
These videos have been on PBS stations across the country. You can find them all atwww.MyAmericanDreams.org. If you have a chance to watch them, let me know what you think.
Thanks again for your support,
Christopher Kerosky
Time to Speak Up
We’re all well aware of the accepted political protocol that says, former presidents don’t comment on or criticize sitting presidents. I suppose that’s ordinarily a sound idea and a civil way to go about our democracy, but we are not in ordinary times, and we have a president that has taken us to extraordinary limits in both his character and policies. This comes as news to no one who has watched the man’s actions and is alarmed by the directions he wants to take this country.
If there was ever a time for the ex-presidents to speak up and address what’s happening in our nation it’s now. In his drive to be held unaccountable and above the law this president has broken the rules and precedents established over 250 years of government, and in so doing presents a clear and present danger to the political system that governs us.
There is no other political body, save the judicial, that can counter this president’s ambitions and goals, and the highest court is soon to be drastically weighted to partisan interests, perhaps for generations to come. Therefore the only small group of political leaders that can influence the public’s consciousness, and whose voice can be heard above the clamor and chaos and vitriol generated by the current president must be sounded. And the time is now, for tomorrow may well be too late.