Housing status must be free of discrimination

I advocate adding “housing status “ to the existing protected categories in Chico’s broad anti-discrimination laws. Doing so will better protect people experiencing homelessness from being targeted or denied access to employment, housing and other services simply because of their housing status.

Local Ordinance 2451, enacted 10/7/2014 (approved by the Council 6-1), states it is the “general policy” of Chico to prohibit discrimination against any person “in access to or provision of services in any manner on the basis of race, sex, color, age, national origin, religion, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, AID/HIV status, genetic information, political activities or affiliations, military and veterans status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status, unless exempted by state or federal law or otherwise indicated.”

Doesn’t housing status deserve equal protection to these other protected characteristics? Adding just these two important words will help combat discrimination in services against our unhoused family members, friends and community members and help propel them into a more stable and productive life.

— Alan Mittman, Chico

Upon reflection, these were some strong words

The way you build a truly vicious nationalist movement is to wed a relatively small core of belligerent idiots to a much larger group of opportunist and spineless fellow travelers whose primary function is to turn a blind eye to things. We may not have that many outright Nazis in this country … America, but we have plenty cowards and bootlickers, and once those fleshy dominoes start tumbling into the Trump camp, the game is up. Every statement Trump Makes is fear based. You know we have to be fear of the Muslims. We have to be fear of the Black people. and particularly of the big Black Obama guy, who’s destroying this country, who’s making everyone miserable. Trump isn’t going to destroy climate, but when he spoke to the oil industry, he promised he would get rid of the clean water act. He’s going to open up the floodgates to every kind of pollution.

Powerful words, AND NOT MINE.

I should have put the statement in quotations because they belong to RFK who had a radio show called “Ring Of Fire.” So, Kennedy after selling out, are you one of the “bootlickers” now? After being a “fleshy domino tumbling into the Trump camp” do you have any shame throwing your values into the Trump outhouse?

It is going to be a long four years …

— Mike McCarty, Palermo

A win-win-win scenario for president(s)

OK, so here’s a great idea. President Biden resigns, new Presiden Kamala Harris pardons him ala Nixon/Ford (pardoning yourself is a little sketchy legally), and then Joe makes a fortune selling 45/48 gear to replace the 45/47 gear. Win-Win-Win.

— Bob Gustafson, Oroville

Margin of victory doesn’t equal mandate

No, it wasn’t a “landslide;” the margin of victory ranks 44th in the history of presidential elections. And no, winning less than 50% of the vote doesn’t give Trump a “mandate” to do whatever he wants. Voters clearly want lower prices and a secure border, but most of them believe in climate change, support abortion rights, want millionaires to pay more taxes, and don’t want to eliminate the FBI, DOJ or Department of Education.

Trump’s election is definitely a setback to our national stature, as evidenced by the fact that our enemies rejoiced and our allies winced.

It’s inconceivable to millions of Americans that we re-elected a man whose own cabinet members, including 4-star generals, clearly stated was unfit for office. Someone on social media lamented, “How could moral, intelligent people vote for Trump?” To which someone else answered, “They didn’t. Sadly, moral, intelligent people currently comprise a minority of the country.”

Even though I fully expect Trump to fail, I am not rooting for that outcome. Our democratic norms and the balance of powers survived Trump’s assaults last time (barely), the GOP House majority is the slimmest in over a century, and hopefully Trump’s clownish cabinet picks are too incompetent to do much damage.

If I’m right (food and gas prices don’t plummet, the deficit skyrockets, and peace doesn’t break out around the world), I can’t promise that I won’t say “I told you so.” But I can definitely promise to never stoop to saying “neener, neener, neener.”

— Scott Paulo, Chico