Yes to a female president

Re “Will the U.S. ever be ready for a female president” (Dec. 27):

I am so tired of the Democrats and liberal press painting conservative men as misogynist Neanderthals. The above title of the article in today’s newspaper is proof perfect. The vast majority of my male friends would happily vote for a woman for president, or any other office, as long as they aren’t proven criminals or brainless twits. Many, if not most, of the accomplished adults in my life are females. They are the badasses that birth all the children and shepherd us through most of the crises in our lives. Being the president of the United States would be a layup for them. So let’s just take that generalization (like Black man, Hispanic, gays, etc) off the list of people that will never be elected and move on.

— Dave Swoish, Orange

Unserious Trump

Re “Trump’s unserious posturing on the world stage” (Dec. 27):

The editorial staff seems to have just discovered Donald Trump’s posturing in the last few weeks since the November election. They appear to be concerned over his ridiculous pronouncements with regard to Greenland, Mexico and Canada, as if this sort of rhetoric was news to them. Where, exactly, were they during his prior campaign, prior term as president and during the most recent campaign? I guess they were distracted by their constant harping on every word or act of the president, VP Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom or any Democrat in their line of sight. That must have kept them from commenting on everything “unserious” thing that Trump had to say prior to his election. Expressing concern, and being hopeful that the president-elect will do the right thing, is way too little, way too late. You might say that it is unserious journalism.

— Elise Power, Garden Grove

Bird flu outbreak

Columnist Susan Shelley seems to have forgotten the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic we all endured — as well as the million-plus American lives lost. Gov. Newsom should be praised for being proactive for declaring the state of emergency over bird flu instead of being vilified — not due only to the severe case in Louisiana, but the dozens of cases among California farm workers and dead cattle and felines throughout the state. Gov. Newsom is only working to keep Californians safe.

— Nathan Okawa, Gardena