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Foster families needed
EDITOR: Throughout our beautiful Sonoma County, scores of children are removed from their homes every year due to neglect, abuse or an unlivable home life.
The need for foster families and foster homes is ever increasing, and for this to change, we as a county need public and community support. My immediate family has offered our home as a foster home for over ten years, and with almost thirty children having come under our roof, we have seen the effects negative substances can have on them.
The unruly aftermath of drug and alcohol overuse is permanently detrimental and should never be experienced by anyone, let alone those living within our own county lines.
I ask that as many people as possible, with as much support as possible, consider financially contributing to the current foster homes we have available, or even taking that step themselves and opening their doors for these needy children. With the help of community members, together, we can provide every child in Sonoma County with a future worth looking forward to.
Organizations available for such assistance include TLC: Family and Child Services, which can be contacted by phone at 707-823-7300.
Emily Hambly
Healdsburg
Investing in local journalism
EDITOR: I just invested $1,000 to Sonoma West Publishers and now have 250 shares of stock, which makes me a stockholder in the newspaper I’ve read for the past 30 years!
It’s been frustrating hearing about “fake news ” from our current president and I’ve been distressed about the murder of a respected Washington Post journalist whose death still hasn’t been accounted for and whose body hasn’t even been returned to his family.
Making this small contribution to my local newspaper has helped me feel I have contributed toward fighting this frightening climate of hate for journalism. I’ve been depressed because I felt it was yet another issue that distressed me but which I had no control over.
I feel now I’ve found a way to push back against this menacing climate of hate and supporting my local newspaper seems to be a good first step.
Marian Murphy
Healdsburg
Saturday night massacre redux
EDITOR: In 1973, five years into his presidency, a desperate Richard Nixon ordered his Attorney General Elliot Richardson, then, his Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, to dismiss independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox from investigating break-ins at the Democratic Party Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. Both men refused Nixon’s order and resigned their respective offices — their integrity and reputations upheld. It took a third man, Solicitor General Robert Bork, to do the president’s dirty work.
Now, another desperate man, Donald Trump, almost two years into his presidency, is repeating history. First firing Attorney General Sally Yates, then FBI Director James Comey, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and now Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In the high stakes world of American political poker, the Donald is playing his cards poorly. Showing bravado by raising the ante and doubling down with firings and threats is a bluff easily read.
The appointment of Matthew Whitaker, a right-wing ideologue and vocal critic of the Mueller investigation as interim attorney general places those current proceedings in jeopardy. More importantly, it impacts the Justice Department’s ability to function as a non-partisan, independent, governmental agency. Trump’s stack of chips is diminishing and slowly sliding away and across the table. His gambling instincts need counsel — there is no art of the deal here — only the law to be obeyed. The house, Mr. Trump, always wins, always.
Both Nixon’s and Trump’s self-destructive actions under fire reflect troubling similarities — clear moral and ethical lapses in judgments. Both men seduced by the power inside the oval office combined with their own character weaknesses, saw themselves as being above the law.
The Watergate investigation continued — the truth came out — and Richard Nixon resigned within a year.
The night preceding his being fired, Cox spoke at a news conference.
“Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and ultimately the American people,” he said.
These current investigations must continue.
After all, we have nothing important riding on this but our democracy.
E.G. Singer
Santa Rosa
