I write to supplement Victor Shi’s op-ed “A Gen Zer’s advice to Biden as he gears up for reelection bid” (Nov. 20) with a baby boomer perspective.
Victor and I co-host “iGen Politics” and, despite the age gap, share mostly the same views. But here, while praising President Joe Biden’s accomplishments and pushing to encourage spreading the facts, I would have pushed back much harder on the age criticism of Biden. He is only a few years older than Donald Trump and likely in better health. He bikes rather than take a golf cart as a sport. And Biden’s mental capacity and legislative accomplishments far exceed Trump’s.
Both make gaffes, but Biden acknowledges his. Trump does not. Biden has never shared secret Israeli intelligence with the Russians. Trump did. Biden doesn’t refuse to return classified documents based on a spurious Presidential Records Act argument. That act passed as a result of the Watergate scandal and does not allow what Trump is claiming.
Then there is the attempt to delete video evidence and the Colorado court finding that Trump is an insurrectionist who tried to encourage disruption of Congress’ constitutional duty to count electoral votes. I could go on, but the bottom line is I fear Trump in a second term will further diminish our rights, our democracy and our world standing.
Biden’s age will not do any of that. Trump’s announced goals and policies will.
— Jill Wine-Banks, former Watergate prosecutor, Evanston
Delta-8 hemp regulation
Thank you to the Tribune for reporting how Big Cannabis cynically used the need to safely regulate delta-8 THC and other delta hemp products as a poison pill to derail legislation that would have helped small social equity cannabis operators to fairly compete with them (“Craft cannabis growers fight expansion hurdle,” Nov. 8).
This is a serious matter that transcends corporate cannabis’ self-serving legislative manipulation. Responsible businesspeople who work with delta-8 and other hemp-derived cannabinoids have been advocating for strict regulation of our industry for several years. We’re committed to protecting consumers from unscrupulous operators who take advantage of lax hemp regulations to cut corners and make a fast buck. We also want to repair the reputational damage their actions inflict on our industry.
We call on the mega-cannabis corporations to join us in making sure that anyone producing or selling delta-8 and similar products is subject to rigorous testing and labeling standards, just like any other product intended for human consumption. They must get out of the way of proposals to prohibit the sale of delta hemp products to anyone younger than 21 and to allow state regulators to shut down anyone who does not adhere to these standards. Delta hemp products should also be fairly taxed to cover the costs of state regulation, with any remaining revenue invested in healing wounds caused by the racist war on drugs.
As a proud Black founder of a delta hemp beverage brand, I have firsthand knowledge of the thousands of jobs our industry has created and how it’s expanded ownership opportunities for people who look like me. This has led to new, safe and innovative products used by a diverse customer base for health, wellness and recreation. I’m concerned that all this may be lost if our elected officials allow Big Cannabis’ scare tactics to succeed.
— Todd K. Harris, co-founder and CEO, Plift
Students writing letters
Regarding Peter Schwartz’s op-ed on letter writing (“Letter writing is essential to human connection,” Nov. 8): As a high school English teacher for 41 years, I had many of my students write letters, and I always wrote with them. I had students write business letters of complaint and compliment to real companies. They wrote letters to celebrities and to publications. The results were memorable for us all. Our class was once treated to free pizza because a student had complimented a local business for its pizzas.
For one senior class, the students wrote me a letter every two weeks, on a topic of their choice. They always had to include a self-addressed stamped envelope, and they would get my return letter through the mail. I had to teach them how to address an envelope and where to put the stamp. These were all college-bound students, but they had never sent letters through the mail. Some even put the stamp on the wrong corner. The assignment changed the dynamics of the class in ways I could not explain. We developed a strong sense of community.
The two best assignments were the letters of appreciation to a former teacher and the one-year letter to self. The letters to a former teacher were my personal favorite because I always wrote one, reconnecting me with my own former teachers. I will never forget the handwritten note from the wife of my fifth grade teacher. She said, “Ed will not say this in his letter, but he cried when he read your letter to him.”
It was the letter to self that impacted many students. The students wrote a letter to themselves, which I would hold for one year and then place in the mail. In these letters, students were able to see their growth, dreams and goals with the eyes of someone one year wiser.
Two years ago, I received a letter from a former student, thanking me for the letter she had received from herself when she was a college freshman. She explained how in one year in college, she had forgotten so many of her goals and her own letter to herself helped her get back on track.
Schwartz has a lesson for us all. We would all do well to revive our letter-writing skills. The sight of a personal letter in a mailbox is still an exciting event.
— Mike Stracco, Campton Hills
Alternatives to nuclear
I am continually perplexed why many spout nuclear as clean and safe while ignoring the huge problem of the radioactive fuel rods left behind. We cannot continue to utilize methods that don’t have a safe and environmentally friendly outcome from start to finish.
Nuclear power may prevent harmful carbon dioxide, but finding places to bury the dangerous fuel rods is a problem. In addition, when something goes wrong at a nuclear power plant, things go very wrong.
Instead, Illinois should be doing far more to convert the state to cleaner and safer energy such as electric heat pumps and geothermal, solar, wind and hydroelectric power and find ways to lower the costs of each.
Just like burying CO2 is a danger, spent fuel rods are a huge danger.
— Jean Brennan, Chicago
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