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Silicon Valley’s lack
of donations shameful
Re: “Five food banks are desperate for help” (Page B1, Dec. 5).
I cannot understand how in Silicon Valley, the hub and ground zero for most of the technological creations, in the state of California, the fourth largest economy in the world, there is a shortage of donations.
Do these companies teach the nouveau riche anything about philanthropy?
Kevin Kelem
Santa Cruz
Front-page housing
article was tone deaf
Re: “‘I don’t know how we got so lucky’” (Page A1, Dec. 2).
Your newspaper uses its annual Wish Book to encourage donations to organizations that help the needy. The adults in some local families are working two jobs, getting extra food from food banks, and sharing two-bedroom apartments with another family. Our cities have blighted properties because absentee landlords can’t be bothered to maintain them. We are in desperate need of affordable housing. And of course, we have a homeless population with which local relief organizations play whack-a-mole.
And what does your newspaper choose to showcase on the front page? A double-income tech-worker family with one child that managed to snag a home with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths (for three people!) with trees and privacy. Wow — can you spell clueless?
Loui Tucker
San Jose
All gun violence
deserves attention
Re: “Health leader gunned down in N.Y.” (Page A1, Dec. 5).
The shooting and killing of Brian Thompson is front-page news and the lead story on every news TV station. Good, we need to know about this tragedy.
I propose that every day, all shootings get the same coverage. In every small town and every large city, the lead story should be gun deaths in that area. Surely every child, wife, shopkeeper … every victim deserves the same attention as Brian Thompson.
Maybe, as a society, we will finally address the problem we have with gun violence.
Konne Ainsworth
San Jose
Trump policies justify
Biden’s pardon of son
Re: “Biden’s pardon of Hunter only strengthens hatred of ‘swamp’” (Page A6, Dec. 3).
The country is hopelessly and irrevocably politically divided. President Biden’s pardon of his son to ward off the incoming administration’s plans of retribution is justified.
The fact that Donald Trump, found guilty by our judicial system, was elected on campaign pledges to strategically replace Democratically appointed judges, fire anyone associated with his numerous convictions, and replace generals who don’t Trump-think, is proof that half the country doesn’t trust anything about the current government.
For any Trump supporter to be offended by Biden’s action is classic chutzpah, given the people that Trump pardoned in his first presidency and his plans for January 2025.
David Wilkins
San Jose
Column’s nonsense
adds nothing to debate
Re: “How Trump can end war in Ukraine for good” (Page A7, Dec. 5).
Criticism of the Democratic responses to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is an interesting and worthwhile debate. What is not is the nonsense in Marc Theisen’s column or the current doublespeak we are hearing from the incoming administration.
If “not doing enough soon enough” was a fault, negotiating an agreement that you have no intention of backing up with either money or military support is worse, and is also an invitation for Putin to continue.
It is also, by the way, exactly what President Trump did in Afghanistan one year before he disgracefully ended his first term.
Thomas Scott
Morgan Hill
Government must
depoliticize vaccinations
Since its development in the 20th century, the influenza vaccination has become one of the most widely used vaccines in the United States with millions of people receiving the shot annually and many institutions requiring it. However, the COVID-19 pandemic created a significant downturn in flu vaccination, impacting both medical and non-medical professionals. This reluctance has led to more severe flu seasons and increased rates of infection. To counteract this trend, governments must mandate flu vaccinations and depoliticize them.
Vaccinations are a crucial tool for public health. By removing the political stigma surrounding vaccinations, we can boost vaccine uptake and save lives. Vaccination should be viewed as a life-saving tool as opposed to a political statement. We must undo the misinformation regarding vaccination to prevent the spread of preventable diseases. Getting vaccinations allows everyone to play an essential role in protecting ourselves and our communities. Every vaccination matters.
Saara Saini
Saratoga
Amazon is a global
resource in climate fight
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The world will need to remove many millions of tons of carbon dioxide per year from the air to meaningfully limit global warming.
The Amazon forest is capable of absorbing huge amounts of carbon; yet, the nations in which it grows are allowing it to be cut down at alarming rates.
Pasturing cattle to supply beef and other agricultural uses are priorities beyond the health of the planet.
These forests are the “lungs of the world.” They belong to the world and should not be under the sole commercial control of the countries in which they grow.
Rosemary Everett
Campbell
