A ray of hope from op ed directed to Gen Z

Wednesday’s Guest Commentary (Nov. 13), “A message to Gen Z …” was a ray of hope I needed this week. Let’s support our young, which may be our only hope for the future.

— Donna Hall, Soquel

Trump correct that voters back him no matter what

A recent letter-writer claims that Trump’s convictions in the sexual abuse and hush money cases were the result of “illegitimate machinations by the federal government” — except that neither one were federal cases.

And the guilty verdicts? They came from juries agreed upon by Trump’s own lawyers.

And I guess Trump’s past court losses were also due to the weaponization of the Justice Department, such as with his fraudulent “Trump University” and “Trump Charities,” which were both forced to shut down.

If you want examples of weaponization of the justice system, look no further than Trump’s hand-picked Judge Cannon doing everything in her power to derail the classified documents case. Or the Supreme Court, featuring three Trump hand-picked judges, granting broad presidential immunity. But no, Trump didn’t take and hide highly-classified documents, try to pressure Georgia election officials to find him votes, or instigate the riot on Jan. 6.

Apparently Trump was right: he could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue in broad daylight and his supporters would still back him.

— Phil Hormel, Scotts Valley

Schiff’s election the true cause of Nov. 5 sadness

Like many of our local residents, I too have been grieving over the result of the Nov. 5 election.

Yes indeed, the election of Adam (“Russia! Russia! Russia!”) Schiff to be our next senator is truly cause for profound sadness.

— Jim Melehan, Scotts Valley

‘Criminal’ Trump can stay safe in a Musk rocket ship

The majority of American voters just put a career criminal in the White House.

The criminal mind does not happen overnight. This (next) president has a long record of felonious crimes. He brags about it publicly. Elon Musk, his partner, has equipment to leave Earth and spend time in orbit. The Supreme Court has granted Trump immunity from any prosecutions while he is in office.

His base overwhelmingly voted him in.

If he decides to go nuclear, he can bomb out huge territories and stay in a rocket ship while convenient, then return to Earth to a safe area, stocked with prisons for his slaves, etc.

Yeah, Einstein was afraid of misuse of power.

No, I am not crazy.

— Kendra Dorfan, Santa Cruz

Not antisemitic to speak out against genocide

Gil Stein, who the Sentinel never fails to publish, is the voice of the right-wing Jewish narrative that promotes the idea that anyone who criticizes the state of Israel must be antisemitic. In his Letter to the Editor of Nov. 7 he slandered both the Resource Center for Nonviolence and Christine Hong as being antisemitic because they support the right of Palestinians to exist.

It is not antisemitic to speak out against genocide and ethnic cleansing, just the reverse. I, who never knew my grandparents or aunts, uncles and cousins due to the Holocaust, am a member of Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. We are among the millions of Jews who say, Not in Our Name.

— Marcia Heath, Santa Cruz

‘Appalled’ by attacks on Liberated Ethnic Studies

I’m appalled that the Sentinel continues to allow Gil Stein and his allies to disparage Liberated Ethnic Studies with misinformation and false attacks against Dr. Christine Hong.

It seems the Sentinel’s Editorial Board, Stein and his allies don’t believe that Palestinians should have their stories told. California already dedicates an entire curriculum on antisemitism that’s required for all students to learn. Either they don’t understand or they are deliberately lying about the fact that criticizing a government is not criticizing a group of people. Does criticizing the American government make you anti-American? Of course not!

Frankly, I’m sick and tired of having people like Doug Kaplan, Gil Stein, and Roseline Shorestein dictating what marginalized people of color should learn in Ethnic Studies. They are not experts in the field of Ethnic Studies nor are they teachers, as Dr. Christine Hong and Dr. Tintiangco Cubales are.

FYI – Gandhi didn’t support Zionism; he was sympathetic to the Jewish people, just like all of us who support Liberated Ethnic studies!

— Lourdes H. Barraza, Watsonville

‘Handouts’ – SC keeps increasing cost of housing

It makes no sense that the city drove Central Home Supply out of business. A tax-income location in exchange for tax-costing homeless housing. More so considering that half the homeless people have moved to Watsonville. Maybe once the full effect of district elections takes effect this stupidity will stop. Now we have to pay 30% to 50% more for the same supplies at Granite.

Thanks Santa Cruz for increasing the cost of housing for all of us in exchange for handouts.

— Chelsea Wagner, Soquel