I see Steinle verdict as a miscarriage of justice

No justice for Kate Steinle, her family

Zarate discharged the firearm that killed Kate Steinle. He could have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter. So why was he only convicted of felony possession of a firearm?

This miscarriage of justice will put Zarate back on the street in the near future.

My condolences to the Steinles.

An important Trump accomplishment

A Forum writer recently complained that President Trump has accomplished “little, if anything.” But Trump has been after China to lower import tariffs and just prior to his Asia trip China did lower them.

There wasn’t much about this in our news. I had to find out from BBC that China had lowered import tariffs on 200 items, making American goods more competitive to be sold in China.

Trump’s Asia trip cemented the relations with China.

Trump’s base is being duped

The two Trumps? The “base” loves racist, inflammatory tweets and the “very rich” love his “big, beautiful” tax cuts, designed to disproportionately benefit billionaire donors while duping the impressionable base.

Well played, sir!

Guess the base can’t be bothered with Medicare cuts, sunset benefits, $1 trillion deficits, and estate tax and student loan deductions, or the pass-through income scam.

Wonder if they’ll notice the demagogic authoritarian encroachment into wallets and free speech, and the drift to plutocracy?

CFPB is holding banks accountable

I highly commend your editorial on the success of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Over 90 percent of the almost $12 billion in fines collected from banks, credit card companies and lenders are used to repay cheated customers.

Banks, et al, do not like the CFPB because it is holding them accountable.

Dismiss the accused from Congress

Those in the U.S. House and Senate who have had taxpayer-funded payments made on their behalf for payoffs for disgusting behavior should have their names revealed. They should also be dismissed immediately from elected office – both Republicans and Democrats.

We do not need people of such low character representing us in Congress.

Pay state workers a living wage

I have always been proud that my home state supports a great system of public parks.

While at Lake Norman State Park recently, I saw an advertisement for an open position there: A maintenance worker for a full-time, 11-month position. It described a difficult job involving hard work and requiring a lot of skill and knowledge.

I was dismayed to see the wage offered: $8 per hour. This is not just an inadequate wage for the time and place we live in, it is a truly insulting wage for the nature of the work.

The people who work for our public institutions should be able to support at least themselves, if not a family, with the amount they earn. They should also be decently compensated for hard work.

Replace those plastic yard bags with paper

Kudos to Mecklenburg County for working with local retailers to encourage the use of paper lawn bags instead of plastic.

It makes much more sense to urge us to shift from plastic to paper since you save the cost and time it takes your crews to empty the plastic bags. The paper bags and their contents get composted as a complete package.

Let’s put an end to the plastic bags!

This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "I see Steinle verdict as a miscarriage of justice."