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New leadership key
to animal shelter reform

Re: “Animals underserved at beleaguered shelter” (Page A8, May 18).

I was a San Jose shelter dog-walking and rescue volunteer when the issues started during COVID. I was very vocal about the shelter not having a social media presence to find homes for its animals. I was involved in numerous meetings with shelter management and the city, along with other community and rescue volunteers.

Although that looked promising, the resistance by the shelter management team to accept help was evident, and these groups eventually dissolved without any results after a handful of meetings. As a certified dog trainer, I offered to help with behavior modification of the more difficult dogs, but my offers for free help were declined.

The animals are suffering under the so-called “care” of the medical and operations directors, with little adherence to policies that are evidently unclear. The community and the shelter animals deserve a better leadership team.

Ani Elmaoglu
San Jose

Tordillos the candidate
District 3 needs

Re: “Elect Tordillos for San Jose council seat” (Page A8, May 18).

We need a data-driven District 3 council member to be voted in on June 24. Thank you, Mercury News, for your endorsement of Anthony Tordillos.

I appreciate that Anthony provides specificity to the goals he wants to accomplish. While talking to the community and hearing ideas are good, they need to be put in the form of data: specific, actionable goals that can be measured and adjusted as needed if the desired outcome is not achieved. This level of data analysis ultimately brings value to us taxpayers, which is long overdue.

I appreciate, too, that Anthony Tordillos has served our community for a number of years, including holding a leadership position in his District 3 neighborhood and his time on the San Jose Planning Commission. My vote is for Anthony Tordillos; I hope yours is too.

Tina Morrill
San Jose

Zuckerberg cuts are
a lesson in greed

Re: “Zuckerberg philanthropy quietly cuts funding” (Page A1, May 3).

We know Mark and Pricilla Zuckerberg can afford to fund a thousand housing and education programs without feeling a pinch in their $221 billion fortune. They do not care about the damage their decision causes to many people when housing support and schools disappear.

The reason they have shut down programs is that they wanted to send a message. Not to people who benefited from their programs. Rather, they decided to communicate their allegiance to the president. The Zuckerbergs want the associated power of the government, even if children go hungry, people can’t get medical care and people become homeless.

Shame on billionaires, Congress and Donald Trump’s supporters, who are so greedy that they throw away their values and humanity.

Paula Sanford
Aptos

Affordability isn’t
the only policy question

Re: “The correct question is ‘Can we pay for it?’” (Page A8, May 18).

Elizabeth Erickson’s opinion that elected officials need to ask “Can we afford it?” is a valid one and deserves to be asked.

I would add a corollary: “Is it important for the health and welfare of our citizens and country?”

If Erickson feels we cannot afford to spend more money on Alzheimer’s, she certainly must also agree that we cannot and should not spend upwards of $45 million for a military parade next month.

Establishing priorities for spending our tax money is as critical as “Can we afford it?” Our elected officials also must ask, “Can we afford not to do it?” To most of us, Alzheimer’s research is far more important than a military parade.

Marcia Fariss
Saratoga

Gaza war is part
of a larger conflict

Re: “Hamas’ attack opened door to Gaza horrors” (Page A6, May 9).

We often hear that the war in Gaza began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. This is not accurate.

History does not begin on Oct. 7; this war started May 15, 1948, when Zionists forcibly removed Palestinians from their homes so that Zionists could create the state of Israel. This is the Nakba (the Catastrophe) as referred to by Palestinians.

The Oct. 7 attack was just another battle in this long-fought war. A two-state solution is the only solution.

John Francis
San Jose

Trump is rewriting
America’s principles

I grieve for America, which I no longer recognize.

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In the poem inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, She, who is also called “Mother of Exiles,” cries:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Today, Donald Trump (and his enablers and supporters)  are saying, in effect:

“Give me your money, your rich,
Your white nationalists yearning for autocracy …
Or else, I shut the door!”

Molly Rose
Palo Alto