Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for April 28, 2024

First ladies play key role in building partnerships

Alice Cochran deserves a round of applause for her recently published thoughtful letter on the role of the partner of the president in the White House. I’d add that there were a number of Republican first ladies who were exemplary in their roles, as well the Democrats she mentioned, including Betty Ford, Barbara Bush and Laura Bush.

Our family has a rather interesting peek into the lives of these “first ladies.” My husband’s grandmother stepped in to serve in lieu of the wife of former President William McKinley when she was incapacitated. We have pored over her diaries of her time in the White House. It’s quite clear that a role we often forget is that these partners are critical players in diplomatic visits by foreign dignitaries.

First ladies work behind the scenes to create social events to honor and comfort the visitors, recognizing details of the visit that can be facilitated with the minimization of stress at social encounters while honoring the visitor’s country and customs.

I guess you could say that the spouse of the president also has a significant role in paving the road to successful diplomacy. And, isn’t building partnerships a very important part of the presidency?

— Kathy Hartzell, Larkspur

Bridge activists displayed serious lack of judgment

I am writing in regard to the article published April 16 with the headline, “Protesting war in Gaza, hundreds stop traffic on two major Bay Area freeways.”

Anyone who thinks stopping traffic on two critical Bay Area roads will convince me to support an issue demonstrates such poor judgment that I will likely support the opposite side of the issue based on the lack of judgment their action demonstrates.

— William Ring, Sausalito

Supermajority election rule means minority can win

In his recent commentary published April 17 with the headline, “In-person communication key for November tax plans,” IJ political columnist Dick Spotswood shares his analysis as to why Tamalpais Union High School District’s Measure A, a school facilities bond, was defeated in the March primary.

He opines that proponents of Measure A failed to do the time-consuming hard work of in-person communication to build consensus. The proponents clearly did build consensus, but only enough to create a majority, not a supermajority.

Requiring a supermajority to pass tax measures that affect everyone and then faulting proponents’ efforts to meet the supermajority threshold is a bit rich.

Spotswood avers that the supermajority rule is a “tough but fair hurdle.” I would agree with tough, but it is not fair. I can’t think of another instance in which the minority dictates the outcome for the majority.

— J.S. Danielson, San Rafael

Treatment of San Anselmo man was unacceptable

I am writing in reference to a recent incident during which a police officer used a Taser on a man whose wife had called 911 for medical assistance (“San Anselmo man sues police over restraint after brain seizure,” April 5).

All too often, a follow-up story on a police incident like this ends with a department or police union spokesperson saying that the officer(s) who injured an unarmed, law-abiding citizen was/were acting within accepted police practices.

I don’t know who “accepted” these practices, but I sure would like to see a list of them, and find out who is responsible for creating and “accepting” that list.

— Charles Kelly, Fairfax

Reparation qualifications aren’t specific enough

I am writing about the recent reparations article by the Sacramento Bee published in the Marin IJ (“Reparation bills advance in Legislature,” April 20).

As I read it, I was nodding along, thinking “this is entirely supportable.” The entire point of the article was to explain how specific land seizures via eminent domain harmed specific Black people and their descendants, and how the proposed reparations bill would compensate those people.

However, near the very end, the article states that the proposed legislation would compensate all state residents who are descendants of any Black person living in the U.S. before the end of the 19th century. In my opinion, saving that note for the end discounts the merits of the arguments about property seizure that preceded it.

As presented here, that rationale appears to be a mere Trojan horse for blanket reparations.

— Stewart Johnson, San Anselmo