We send Bee Opinionated to newsletter subscribers first. Get it in your inbox before it publishes online:Sign up here. Hello, it’s Robin Epley from The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board, and I hope you have a joyful Mother’s Day. But if you, like me, are missing your mom or are otherwise unable to celebrate — then I hope you at least have a peaceful and restful day. (I spent the day kayaking on Folsom Lake with friends, which is my favorite way of ignoring the relentless onslaught of Mother’s Day messaging on what can otherwise be a hard day.) But it is the right weekend for a little girl power: Hannah Holzer and I joined bylines last week to write up a joint column on California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s return to the U.S. Senate last week — and whether or not the calls for her to step down rise to the level of sexism, as some have suggested they do. Our verdict? It probably is rooted in sexism. But ultimately, that’s a good thing. “American political history is full of men who were allowed to remain in elected office when they were no longer physically able or mentally competent to serve. These men generally were given the benefit of the doubt by their colleagues, the media and the public. But now Feinstein, a woman, is in the same position, and she has been subjected to intense scrutiny and pressure to step down. “This new public reaction, however, is ultimately the right one. The days of excusing politicians who can no longer serve out of a misplaced sense of ‘tradition’ should be eliminated. “If it takes a woman to amend that… well, it’s hardly the first convention Feinstein will have broken in her career.” In short: The conversation needs to be had. It needed to be had years and years ago. So if Feinstein is the subject of intense scrutiny or public questioning in a way those men were not, it’s in part due to the presence of women and people of color in the Senate, which has helped challenge the status quo that sheltered powerful white men for far too long. “It seems improbable at this time, however, that the senator will do the right thing and step down. That final act of selfishness will undoubtedly mar what should have been a great legacy.” Unfazed, UnbotheredSan Luis Obispo Opinion Editor Stephanie Finucane wrote last week on her joy when a New York jury found former President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse during an incident in 1996 and defamation thereafter, in a case brought forward by writer and journalist E. Jean Carroll. “I played with the idea of making some sort of announcement — like a modern-day town crier — but I’m not that brave. Instead, I shared the headline with a woman sitting next to me, who had leaned over to ask about the ordering protocol. ‘Have you seen this?’ I asked, turning my iPad toward her. ‘He didn’t even know her!’ she huffed. It wasn’t the female bonding moment I’d been hoping for, though I did get that from the employee who took my order. ‘She gets $5 million?’ she asked. ‘She deserves it!’ Somewhat buoyed, I splurged on a $30 glass of champagne and quietly celebrated, avoiding eye contact with my ‘He doesn’t even know her’ neighbor.” And yet, Trump’s supporters insist he “doesn’t even know her,” or that she’s “too ugly” to have raped. “If millions of voters could believe the Big Lie — that Trump rightfully won the election — it’s not much of a stretch to get them to believe that he was wrongfully convicted by an out-to-get-him New York jury,” Finucane wrote. “It makes me want to vote for him twice,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said post-verdict, adding that with a New York jury, “he had no chance.” Price of Service“He was brought to the United States from El Salvador as a small child without a visa. He grew up mostly in California with legal residency arranged for him by his family, enlisted in the U.S. Marines as a 19-year-old in 1999 and eventually suffered a traumatic brain injury while fighting America’s enemies in Iraq. Jose Segovia has already served his time in state prison for crimes that he committed after his honorable discharge — crimes that may have been a consequence of the trauma he experienced in combat. “But unless a pardon from Gov. Gavin Newsom is bestowed on Segovia, or unless federal authorities extend a humanitarian visa that expires on May 19, Segovia may be deported back to El Salvador for the second time and despite his combat duty, his physical and emotional scars earned while wearing a Marines uniform and his commitment to serve a country he thought was his until it wasn’t.” California Opinion Editor Marcos Breton wrote last week that there is no guarantee that a pardon from Newsom would prevent Segovia from being deported, but there is a good chance it could. “Advocates for Segovia have been asking the Newsom administration for a pardon since 2019 to no avail and there is no indication if he has a chance at one,” Breton wrote. “If America turns its back on this particular soldier, it would only underscore how pointless and destructive the war in Iraq was. Our country would be throwing away a warrior whose heart was once useful to our government but whose wounds are inconvenient because he’s missing a piece of paper. This Marine doesn’t deserve to be thrown away.” Opinion of the Week“...This will be a part of who we are for a long time.” — Bishop Jaime Soto of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, talking to Melinda Henneberger in her final column for The Sacramento Bee about the possibility of the diocese’s bankruptcy, in response to what he’s called the “staggering number” of clerical sex abuse claims. Got thoughts? What would you like to see in this newsletter every week? Got a story tip or an opinion to tell the world? Let us know what you think about this email and our work in general by emailing us at any time via [email protected]. See you next week, Robin |