Time to punch bully Putin
When my son was in third grade there was a kid who would bully him every day. He made my son’s life miserable. I went to the principal for advice. She told me that sometimes the only way to stop a bully is to hit him, hard. I told my son what she had said and a few days later he punched the bully in the face. The bully never bothered him again.
Putin is a bully. And we allow him to get away with it. We allowed him to take Crimea. I guess we don’t learn from our mistakes.
Hitler invaded the Rhineland in 1936, annexed Austria in 1938, then he wanted the Sudetenland, the German-speaking part of Czechoslovakia. He met with Neville Chamberlain in Munich and to appease Hitler, Chamberlain agreed to let him invade as long as he stopped there. Hitler broke the agreement and captured the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939. When he invaded Poland, World War II began.
I understand that Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons if any other country helps Ukraine. And that is scary. But by not helping Ukraine and stopping Putin now I believe we are just putting off the inevitable. He claims that he does not want a NATO nation on his border. If he occupies Ukraine, then he will have Poland on his border. What then? If he attacks Poland, we will be forced to enter the war. And Putin will again threaten to use nuclear weapons. And he will control the nuclear power plants in Ukraine. We will be in a worse situation than we are now.
If you do nothing to stop a bully, they will just keep on bullying. Sometimes, even though there may be consequences, the only way to stop a bully is with a punch.
Tobi Ruth Love, Thousand Oaks
Big cars needed for safety
Re: The Associated Press’ March 10 story, “Biden restores state’s power to set car emissions rules”
The EPA raising mileage standards to 40 miles per gallon by 2026 is no different than Trump’s 35 mpg or Obama’s 54.5 mpg. They’re all pie-in-the-sky numbers.
In recent years car manufacturers have been trying to improve their fleet mpg by pushing small cars. However, California car buyers continued to buy SUVs and large pickups for safety. In any collision the heavier bigger vehicle will always win out over the lighter smaller vehicle.
Now the car manufacturers want to sell more EVs to improve their fleet MPG. EVs by definition are lightweight or small to improve their range. This added danger might explain in addition to the hassle of time-consuming recharging and locating charging stations why EVs are only 3% of the market.
Eight dollars or $10 a gallon gasoline might soon be upon us. What is your life worth in a collision? Most Californians will keep buying big for safety.
Bob Munson, Newbury Park
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Putin deserves punch in face; bigger cars, better safety
