18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY august 8-14, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com Peace Talks Thank you for your excellent column (“Seventy-nine years after the bomb, the U.S. still clings to nuclear weapons,” Aug. 1-7). Unfortunately, the U.S. continues to insist that nuclear weapons keep us safe. The Department of Defense has completed an internal investigation of the new Sentinel ICBM program which is to replace the aging, land-based Minuteman III ICBM nuclear missiles, and declared the replacement to be “essential to national security.” The replacement Sentinel missile project is estimated to cost about $140 billion, but what’s worse is the fact that, according to over 700 scientists and the Union of Concerned Scientists, as well as former Secretary of Defense William Perry and other experts, our security is lessened by landbased missiles. Dismantling and not replacing the land ICBMs makes the world safer, and saves us billions of dollars. The immense lobbying power of the nuclear weapons industrial complex is sending us all down an insanely dangerous path. Our luck can’t hold forever. The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the way to universal security. Lynn Hamilton | Monterey Thank you for the thoughtful article on the use of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I’m glad you’re among the many voices of sanity committed to keeping alive the memory of this horrible chapter in U.S. history. Pat McNeill | Monterey Kurt Vonnegut was a master of detailing the horrors of war. In his historical fiction novel Slaughterhouse 5 he details the firebombing of Dresden where some 30,000 people died in the flames. Numerous young girls sought to escape the flames at the slaughterhouse. Days later they were found boiled alive by the arriving American soldiers, giving rise to the book title. The firebombing of Tokyo was equally bad. I have spoken with former German soldiers and a former Japanese WWII pilot, and they all stated they were glad the U.S. won the war. I have spoken with former American soldiers who detailed the 100,000 body bags being prepared for the coming invasion of the Japanese main islands, only to have the shipment canceled following the Japanese surrender. There are many to blame for the start of that war, but we have entered an uneasy existence since other countries have entered the nuclear arena, which will take centuries to leave. Walter Wagner | Salinas home free The Supreme Court ruling 6-3 in Grants Pass v. Johnson made sleeping on public property illegal, and Gov. Newsom is encouraging cities to enforce “sweeps” as they are called—such an offensive term (“Gov. Newsom’s order to clear encampments means more work ahead for local governments,” Aug. 1-7). We “sweep” dirt into a dustbin and dispose of it in the trash. Is that how we think of the homeless members of our community? As dirt to be thrown in the trash? Moving homeless individuals from place to place not only does not solve the problem, it compounds the trauma experienced as a once-safe place is dismantled and personal belongings, medication and identification are often lost. Clearing encampments is a fruitless endeavor. People sleep outside because they have nowhere else to go. There is a lack of affordable housing on the Monterey Peninsula. There are not enough shelter beds to get 2,500 people off the streets. The ruling and Newsom’s actions are a monstrous step backward. Homelessness is not a crime. Homelessness is a result of poverty. Weaponizing poverty is not the answer. It’s time we find our humanity and have compassion for the most vulnerable among us. Housing is a human right and these human beings—our neighbors, our community members—deserve better. Staci Alziebler-Perkins | via email Note: Alziebler-Perkins is executive director of Gathering for Women. Stop the Hate I was profoundly moved by your article on hate speech which managed to encapsulate the problems of antisemitism and other discriminatory challenges in a concise and informative way (“Federal investigation finds repeated acts of antisemitism created a ‘hostile environment’ in Carmel Unified,” Aug. 1-7). I taught for 53 years in local schools, and believe me when I tell you I witnessed a great deal of prejudice during those years. I felt deeply saddened by my own ability to help or “cure” the situation, though I did try to the best of my ability. The Weekly is an outstanding newspaper, and usually the news is presented in a deep and thorough way, not always evident in other newspapers. Olivia Morgan | Monterey Safer Streets Government doing what government should be doing (“Improvements on Front Street in Soledad are underway,” posted Aug. 2). Cliff Pilcher | via social media Flash Back I am doing the happy dance at Mr. Malin’s return to Seaside as interim city manager (“Squid Fry: Mail It In,” July 25-31). His tenure here from 2015 to 2021 was stellar, and he has familiarity with all of our development projects coming to fruition. As a bonus, he loves books and libraries and is a really nice person. Sandra Weaver | Seaside Ready for Takeoff I bought a house in a neighborhood full of trees. The birds wake me up every morning. Who do I complain to? (“Complaints about flight noise around the Monterey Regional Airport have inspired activism,” July 25-31.) Phil Candreva | via social media For the last 18 years I have lived about a half-mile from the airport. On a scale of 1 to 10, this problem is a 1. The Monterey Peninsula lives on tourism; airplane noise is a small price to pay. Jeffery Olms | via social media Sing Song I really need to get out there and sing! (“Karaoke occurs throughout Monterey County almost every night of the week. A creative and supportive community keeps the culture alive,” July 25-31.) Steve Lisowski | via social media Letters • CommentsOPINION Submit letters to the editor to letters@montereycountynow.com. Please keep your letter to 150 words or less; subject to editing for space. Please include your full name, contact information and city you live in.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==