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Trump military decisions
a foreign policy disaster
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi is troubled by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “rookie mistake.” Being a rookie usually means that a person has met the criteria for joining the team and will be given an opportunity to gain experience.
Hegseth was never even remotely qualified in the first place. He was selected, apparently, because he was an effective talking head at Fox News. Talking heads talk; that is what they do. With his ill-considered words, he gave away critical negotiating points in the effort to stop the terrible Russian assault on the free and sovereign nation of Ukraine.
The Trump administration is “drifting away” from Ukraine. How about saying the truth: This administration will abandon Ukraine unless Ukraine agrees to give the United States half of its mineral wealth.
America, Europe and, worryingly, China are watching this ongoing foreign policy disaster. The 2026 midterms cannot come soon enough.
Robert Douglass
Colonel, USMCR (retired)
Fremont
Schools do all they can
for safe environment
Re: “Schools work to be ready for ICE agents” (Page B1, Feb. 14).
Creating a safe environment has always been a priority for educators. Safe schools will continue supporting students’ well-being by maintaining open communication with parents and encouraging a respectful community in order to promote students’ academic success.
ICE agents in schools only bring in fear that will disrupt school learning. It is crucial that school districts continue implementing safety measures to ensure students’ safety and to protect marginalized groups.
Monserrat Rangel
Union City
Kennedy confirmation
an ode to incompetence
Re: “Kennedy confirmed as Health secretary” (Page A4, Feb. 14).
It is very disappointing that the U.S. Senate approved Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for the position of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Shame on the “toady” Senators who backed Trump’s nomination of a totally unqualified candidate for this position.
The Senators who voted for Kennedy and who ignored the opposition of the medical community, the Kennedy family’s concern and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s plea do not deserve to be reelected to the Senate.
Margery Bernstein
Walnut Creek
Federal workers seen
only as means to end
Re: “Anger, chaos take hold as federal workers deal with mass layoffs” (Page A4, Feb. 15).
My 30-year-old nephew was one of 1,000 National Park Service workers fired via email last Friday.
He’s young, intelligent and was happy-go-lucky until now. There are thousands more unseen government workers and their families now facing his plight: how to pay for housing costs, food, gas and schooling, let alone what our nation faces losing this generation of federal workers with all the potential they bring to our future.
President Trump only knows how best to get what he wants from others as he sees people as a means to his end, not as living human beings with feelings.
Until the rest of America wakes up and learns the art of empathy and compassion prior to needing “personal experience” to understand other’s pain, concerns and viewpoints, we need to continually speak up and out to address these callous and ludicrous decisions being made by this administration.
Lisa Rigge
Pleasanton
Trimming U.S. spending,
workforce isn’t new
Re: “Anger, chaos take hold as federal workers deal with mass layoffs” (Page A4, Feb. 15).
There is an irony to all the “hand wringing” over reducing the federal workforce and weeding out fiscal waste. These concepts and their implementation are nothing new.
For those of us who are too young or just don’t remember, we should look to the past.
In 1993, President Clinton enacted Executive Order 12839 to reduce the federal government’s civilian workforce.
In 2011 President Obama enacted Executive Order 13576 with the intent to shrink federal government spending.
Was there as much outrage and consternation back then as there is today?
As an independent thinker, I would suggest it all depends on your political party affiliation and not common sense reasoning.
Mark Blanchard
San Lorenzo
