Letters to the Editor: Donald Trump is the reason the COVID-19 crisis is out of control

To the editor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) make the case that we need a commission to obtain answers as to how this COVID-19 crisis grew in our country and how we can better prepare for such a crisis in the future.

I contend that the answer was clear the moment Donald Trump was elected president in November 2016: By selecting Trump, the American people had chosen to turn the presidency into an on-the-job training position.

This serves to answer both how we stumbled into our current crisis and how to better prepare for future problems. The presidency requires, among other traits, emotional and intellectual intelligence; it also requires prior government service.

Our current president has none of these.

Gary Valdez, San Diego

..

To the editor: With deep appreciation for Feinstein and Schiff, I believe the last thing we need is another congressional commission with more hearings on COVID-19.

Such media blame games may help elected officials go “on record” with sound bites for their constituents, but the answer to how we bring the virus under control is obvious and immediate: Review every step of the Trump administration’s response to our pandemic, and do the absolute opposite next time.

Loretta Redd, Santa Barbara

..

To the editor: I heartily agree with Feinstein and Schiff on the need for a thorough investigation into the government’s handling of the coronavirus disaster. I also agree that the 9/11 Commission provides an excellent model for that investigation.

Careful deliberation is in order. Following the 9/11 attacks, Congress acted in haste and left us with some of the mechanisms now being used by the forces of reaction. Both the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and the odious Patriot Act were passed overwhelmingly by Congress in the time between the attacks in 2001 and when the 9/11 Commission issued its report.

These acts now give the Trump administration much of the legal cover and bureaucratic apparatus that it is using against free speech in Portland, Ore., and other places. Both Sen. Feinstein and Rep. Schiff voted for these measures. (Then-Rep. Bernie Sanders, in contrast, voted with the tiny, principled minority against both.)

I urge the authors to exert themselves to abolish the Department of Homeland Security, repeal the Patriot Act and reclaim the power of Congress under Article I of the Constitution.

Michael Deck, Altadena