Not Funny

I was remembering laughter just fine up to “And, speaking of women, I thought Caitlyn Jenner was actually a man?” (Letters, July 27). We are not a joke, and we are not disguising ourselves to fool anyone. We are who we are. This is transphobia, and it’s bigotry, whether intentional or not. This has no place on the pages of your nominally progressive rag. This is no more appropriate than racist humor.

—Diana

Via Bohemian.com

Rubber Stamp

I hesitate to comment in the Bohemian, as it has over-edited my comments before, but I sure agree with Padi Selwyn (Open Mic, July 27). The current growth rate of permitting more wineries, especially in rural neighborhoods, needs to be reviewed more carefully. The one big industry in our county has for too long enjoyed the full support of our county supervisors. Their appointees to the planning commission have rubber stamped too many of their projects.

With a weakened Coastal Commission and more investors seeking to put wineries on our coastal hills, we need to elect a 5th District [Sonoma County] supervisor not beholden to the big moneyed interests.

—Ken Sund

Via Bohemian.com

Imbalance

This rampant overdevelopment by the wine industry impacts not only Sonoma County but our neighbors in Napa, Mendocino, Lake, and more recently, Solano counties. I enjoy wine and there are certainly many good grape growers and winemakers in our region, to which the wine industry makes important contributions. However, given that wine is a boom-and-bust product, it has become a serious threat to our economy—too many eggs in the same basket. Ninety-six percent of the veggies and fruit sold in Sonoma County are imported from outside, according to Go Local, which means that we are no longer a food-ag county. In terms of food security, this is a dangerous imbalance that must be addressed.

—Shepherd Bliss

Via Bohemian.com

Fight Big Money

American voters agree money has too much influence in our democracy and are eager to hear candidates debate bold solutions. A democracy does not work when special-interest money drowns out the voices of everyday Americans.

But there are solutions that are already working to strengthen democracy on the state level—and a huge majority of voters agree it’s time to take them nationwide. That’s why it is so important for our candidates to tell us where they stand on the Fight Big Money agenda, a platform endorsed by over a dozen organizations committed to restoring balance to our democracy.

The agenda urges candidates to explain their stances on specific policy reforms, including creating a small-donor, citizen-funded election program, protecting the right to vote, overturning Citizens United, ensuring full disclosure of political contributions and making sure our campaign finance laws are strictly enforced.

These are commonsense solutions supported by a wide majority of Americans—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Join me to encourage candidates to let voters know where they stand on these important issues at WhoWillFightBigMoney.org.

—Nicholas Lenchner

Santa Rosa

Write to us at le*****@******an.com.

Doomed

As long as corporations value profits over people and places, our forests, rivers and the natural world in general are doomed. I used to be an optimistic person, but sadly not any more. Reading this story (“Last Stands,” July 27) made me want to cry.

—Stevie Jean Lazo

Santa Rosa

Appalling Service

The Forest Service are the pimps of the federal government (“Last Stands”). They “service” industry. They not only sell logging rights, they sell mineral rights, grazing rights and more. Their job is not to protect the forests, but to use them and make money off them. Most of their “protection” involves keeping the public away with use fees and closed roads and overpriced campgrounds so you do not see the extent of their pandering. Clear-cutting? No problem. If you don’t think so, go up to the Mount Shasta area and get off-road. You’ll be appalled. And if you go off-road in Oregon or Washington, you’ll just throw up.

—Ed Callaert

Via Bohemian.com

Transphobia

I was disappointed to read this comment on a story (Letters, July 27) published in your newspaper: “First, Melania, regarding Menswear: yes, men do swear, but so do women, so stop staring away and talking about a stairway to menswear. And, speaking of women, I thought Caitlyn Jenner was actually a man?”

Make no mistake, this kind of language is discriminatory in nature and makes a mockery of the transgender experience. I don’t know if you are aware that there is a 41 percent attempted suicide rate in the transgender population. As a team lead and an operator for a transgender suicide hotline, I am all too familiar with this statistic. The sky-high rates are in largest part due to discrimination by family members and society in general. Thank you for contributing to this and being part of the problem. I hope that you had a good laugh at the expense of the transgender community.

Please do the community a favor and educate yourself on social issues that the LGBT community faces and work toward being inclusive and tolerant in the future.

—Orlando Kai O’Shea

Santa Rosa

Poetry in the Veins

Regarding David Templeton’s “Power of Poetry” (July 13): Perhaps someone should remind Templeton that poetry is truth, not “beautiful words” as he describes. That a poet spends his or her entire lifetime, 365 days a year, 24/7, transforming their lives, their loves and their world, as Rainer Maria Rilke writes, into the very blood that flows through their bodies, from which they might distill its essence in a few good lines of “blood-remembering”—that is poetry.

—David Madgalene

Windsor

Write to us at le*****@******an.com.