Biden needs a different vice president. Harris can run for California governor | Opinion

New vice president needed

Democratic Party leaders in 1944, seeing the failing health of President Franklin Roosevelt, had the foresight to replace Vice President Henry Wallace with World War I veteran Sen. Harry Truman as WW2 raged across the globe.

As 2024 opens, our nation now fights wars by proxy in Ukraine and Gaza, under the leadership of a healthy but over-age-80 president.

Democratic leaders four score years onward could boost our international orbit by encouraging Kamala Harris to return home to run for California governor in 2026, and in this critical year cede the vice presidential nomination to Air Force veteran and astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

Alan M. Birnbaum, Fresno

Bus service to Yosemite

Kudos to Marek Warszawski for his article on public transportation to Yosemite National Park from Fresno. For approximately 10 years I volunteered at the information desk at Fresno Yosemite International Airport every Sunday afternoon, and the most frequently asked question by people arriving at our airport was, “How do we get to Yosemite?”

It was not only embarrassing, but humiliating to tell them to find their way to Merced, where YARTS provided bus service.

Opinion

It’s a given fact that not everyone realizes the size of California, and many infrequent travelers expect to see Yosemite, San Francisco, and perhaps Los Angeles in a day, as they might do in European countries.

It always reminded me of a visitor to New York City wanting to see the Statue of Liberty and being told, “The breaststroke is probably preferable to the backstroke.”

Wake up, Fresno!

Karen Ramsden, Fresno

Sacramento Kings show disrespect

Before the Sacramento Kings recent game against the Toronto Raptors, “O Canada” was announced and played but the crowd was not asked to stand, so they didn’t.

Then for “The Spangled Banner,” the announcer invited the crowd to stand and the anthem was played.

As a Canadian, I was in shock and so upset by this lack of respect, seeing a majority of people sit while my anthem was played. I spent the whole game stunned and couldn’t enjoy the event.

If national anthems are going to be played before games, the organization should be respectful and invite patrons to stand for all anthems. The Sacramento Kings dropped the ball here and shame on them for disrespecting Canadians. They missed an opportunity to educate basketball fans that when an anthem is played for any country, it is customary to stand out of respect.

The Kings were very poor hosts to their Canadian visitors.

Anthony Radford, Fresno

Mad about registering

I have registered to vote as an independent because I prefer to support the best candidates from all parties — I don’t vote for the political parties.

However, I have now been notified that I cannot support any Republican candidates this year unless I register as a Republican. This is a decision by the Republican party itself.

I can understand that they don’t want members of other parties voting for the weaker GOP candidates, but those people can always register as Republicans temporarily to accomplish this. I’m not going to do that because there are candidates from both major parties that I would prefer to support, not waste my vote to slant one party’s voting results.

So, Republican candidates, if you lose by one vote in the primary, you can thank your party leaders for deciding that I shouldn’t be allowed to vote for you. Democracy in action.

Tom Phan, Clovis

On composting food waste

I moved to Fresno from Vancouver, Washington last June. Vancouver has had a composting program for years. Residents are given a 2.6 gallon kitchen waste bin to throw their waste food into. The program also allows the use of compostable liners. I contacted the city about the compostable liners and was told I cannot use them. Why not?

The bins will smell and have to be washed every week. The liners are water permeable after a bit and then completely disappear. They’re plant based without plastic.

The city should allow consumers to use them if it wants to encourage the new composting program. Otherwise people will simply keep doing what has always been done: throwing kitchen waste into the trash.

Nancy Schultz, Fresno

Sore winners

What a joke! Most of these people complained that California was becoming socialistic when, early in the 1900s, anyone joining a labor union was accused of communism.

The same unions helped turn cops and firefighters into solid middle-class jobs and enabled their early retirements at (sometimes) 100% of their taxpayer funded salaries. They complain about the very taxes that provided their generous salaries and benefits, to rationalize leaving California to avoid paying the deferred taxes they owe on their retirement incomes.

One ex-officer said: “I didn’t get subsidized housing, or lower utility bills. Nobody looked out for me.” Really? He seemed to have been looked out for plenty.

No one in a recent article said they moved out of state to live closer to family, which would be understandable. I have suspected that the exodus from California wasn’t people trying to make a better living — these people moved out after they retired — to a state where the median income is 15% lower.

These are mostly people who made their pile of money in California and now don’t want to support the state that helped them build that pile.

Don Smith, Fresno