Canada knows best, China knows better: PD Letters

Enough already

Editor: When will Congress say “Enough is enough?”

— Stevie Lazo, Santa Rosa

Transactions get us nowhere

Editor: Will President Trump trade Taiwan to China in exchange for a quick “win” on Iranian oil?

Trump is transactional. He wants flashy agreements to pad his legacy and is bored with the long war with Iran. Meanwhile, Chinese leader Xi Jinping plays the long game. Xi wants Taiwan.

Trump might see a deal where China stops buying Iranian oil and replaces it with U.S. oil as a major victory. In return, he might ease U.S. support for Taiwan. China might not see the loss of Iranian oil as much of a hardship, they have severely reduced their oil imports due to extensive electrification of transportation and industry. Xi does not need a full surrender right away. He knows that any single step back by the U.S. makes Taiwan harder to defend.

Taking that step is a massive mistake. Taiwan makes 90% of the world’s high-end computer chips. If China controls Taiwan, they hold a chokehold on global manufacturing, cars, and data centers.

A quick oil deal is not worth handing the world’s tech lifeline to a rival.

— Howard Hertz, Novato

Democrat fair booth game

Editor: Amid all the kerfuffle about the “violent” game at the Democrats’ booth at the Fair, one fact that has been left out by both the detractors and the defenders of the game: The game requires the participant to throw a tiny beanbag at a target, which, when hit, causes a platform to drop, and the doll to fall a few inches into a dish. No one was throwing anything at the 2″ rubber Trump doll. It makes me laugh to think that it’s the Democrats who are the supposed “snowflakes.”

— Bonnie Petty, Santa Rosa

Thank you, Canada

Editor: Thank you Canada for finally telling the corrupt United States government that enough is enough. You are the first to acknowledge and plainly state the obvious — we can’t be trusted. All three branches of the American government are corrupt. It starts with a president who enriched himself by $2.2 billion in one year. Who knows what his extended corrupt family made? It extends to our Congress, where almost all Republicans (and some Democrats) understand and embrace corruption. Their only concern is to stay in power and feed off the graft. Then we have the judicial branch. Many judges still try to follow the law, but when it hits the Supreme Court the majority embraces the graft.

I wish you well, Canada. Sell your fine products to countries that can be relied upon to adhere to contracts and agreements. Remember well that any agreement with the United States at the moment is a Trump “deal” — an invitation for Trump to enrich himself, then declare bankruptcy, and leave the rest of us to pay the bill.

— Daniel Jenkins, Santa Rosa