Random Letters — 10/24/19

Gentrification in San Pedro

Your astute publication of “Gentrification in San Pedro: What We Lose” (by Arlo Tinsman-Kongshaug; Sept. 26, 2019) hits the nail on the head. If gentrification’s purpose is to award exclusivity and destroy diversity, then gentrification causes us to lose everything: our sense of community, innovation, self worth, humanity, open space, intelligence, fair and equal housing benefits and privileges, and compassion for those less fortunate.

Speaking of the housing crisis, in contradiction to all those who still cling to the notion that affordable housing and habitable living conditions will take years to cut thru the proverbial red tape, the city of San Jose has set a new standard by promoting granny flats/tiny houses that can be built in 10 to 12 weeks. Bravo!

Geary Juan Johnson, Los Angeles

Going Down

RE: “Trump Isn’t Going Down Without a Fight,” Oct. 10. 2019:

Thank you for your sanity and insights, James!

Lieve Jerger, San Pedro

Bravo on your OpEd!

Sabrina Skacan, San Pedro

Great article James … and I posted it on my FB page. I especially like the “arguing with a corpse” 🙂

Richard Pawlowski, Oregon Coast

And Then this Rebuttal

Editor James Preston Allen claims that President Trump’s support stems from “branding, not facts.”

The truth is that the president has accomplished a great deal for the United States, including forcing China to sell their stake in the Port of Long Beach to another owner. National security matters, and the President’s tough stance on China’s abusive practices in trade and human rights are long in coming. Neither Trump’s Republican and Democratic predecessors did anything about China’s rampant, global abuses. His trade and economic reform policies are helping American workers, as well. I thought that Allen and Company were pro-labor.

He is our duly elected President. He won, fair and square. Despite rampant voter fraud in California (which allowed Crooked Hillary Clinton to receive a majority of the national popular vote), Trump swept the Electoral College, winning over disaffected, long-dismissed blue collar workers in the Rust Belt. From economic growth to border security, from tackling the corrupt media to taking on Big Tech, Trump is a fighter, a champion for the United States both at home and abroad.

For the Democratic House Majority to obsess on impeaching Donald Trump is just nothing short of insane. After two years of investigations into so-called “Russian collusion”, Robert Mueller came back with nothing. House Democrats have sought after the President for his tax returns, and now they want to launch impeachment inquiries because of his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump released the transcript, which showed no “quid pro quo.”

To be honest, however, I hope that Alzheimer’s Nancy Pelosi and her aged Democratic majority leadership do force a vote on impeachment. Hell, I hope that there is a trial in the United States Senate, which will be summarily dispensed with, since there’s no crime, no corruption, no collusion. Any impeachment effort from the House Democrats will blow up in their faces, and Republicans will take back the House in 2020 along with holding the U.S. Senate and the White House. Then we can hopefully have a Congress that will get things done for We the People.

Arthur Christopher Schaper, Torrance

Well Arthur,

I can always count on your delusional take on current affairs and your blind faith in the Trump Brand. I do suggest that you read The Cult of Trump, by leading cult expert Steven Hassan and get back to us when the House of Representatives finally submits their articles of impeachment. As far as insanity one need look no farther than Trump’s own 71- minute speech in the cabinet room with reporters this week — it was truly the delusional stuff of a mad-hatter.

James Preston Allen, Publisher

It’ s Time for Medicare for All

Earlier this week, Joe Biden called Medicare for All “ridiculous.” He compared us to Trump. He said we were “trying to con the American people.” The truth is, it is really sad that Joe Biden is using the talking points of the insurance industry to attack Medicare for All. Joe must know that we currently spend twice as much per capita on health care as the people of almost any other major country and that we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. He must know that under Medicare for All, funded in a progressive manner, all Americans will have comprehensive health care coverage as a guaranteed human right and, with no premiums, co-payments or out-of-pocket expenses, ordinary Americans will be spending far less for that care than they currently pay.

We knew that we would be taking on Trump and the Republican Party in the fight to guarantee health as a right for every man, woman and child. We knew that we would be taking on the drug companies and the insurance industry. But I am honestly a bit tired of Democrats who insist on defending a dysfunctional system, a cruel system, that leaves millions uninsured and underinsured and tens of thousands of people dying every single year. But that is what we are up against — and it is a fight we must win. And I cannot do that alone. So I am asking:

Ours is a campaign with the guts to stand up to the greed and the corruption of the insurance companies and the drug companies whose reckless pursuit of profits is killing Americans. We are going to fight them — not beg them for money.

And if we stand together, we are going to win.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont

Facebook’s Blatant Misinformation

Facebook says it cares about protecting our elections, but it’s profiting off of disseminating politicians’ lies — both in the form of ad revenue and our attention. Tell Mark Zuckerberg it’s unacceptable to give politicians free rein to lie and misinform the public. When politicians speak, people listen. You can draw straight lines between the lies that Trump and other white supremacists are spreading via social-media platforms and the manifestos of mass shooters both domestically and across the globe.

Facebook’s lax attitude toward blatant misinformation and its willingness to appease Trump is a threat to the health and safety of people of color, women, And to what end? Could Trump and others get away with ads targeting people of color saying that the day of the election has changed? Or that they have to bring their passports with them to the polls?

What’s worse is that Facebook is making money off of hate and misinformation. In fact, according to a recent report, Facebook has made millions by promoting content from hate groups — including white-supremacist organizations. Facebook is profiting off of deception: Demand that Facebook stop giving politicians immunity to lie on its platform.

Heather, Nilda, Carmen, Jessica, Free Press Action