Caste
To the Editor:
MOUNT VERNON – I had a thought the other day: Do you think the German people were good, at least for the most part, when Hitler and the Nazis came to power? Can good people make that kind of mistake?
Recently I read a book that answers that question and some of our problems here today: the book "Caste (The Origins of Our Disconnect)." It's how Germany developed their caste (class) system of that time and what country they copied it from.
If you guessed America, you would be right. They studied our treatment of our Black population from the beginning. How we treated not only Blacks, but Native Americans, Chinese and the Irish. But mostly African Americans, and I don't want to forget the Jews.
Are we making the same mistakes today that the Germans did? Is Trump not more like a dictator than a president? Does he not use lies to divide this country? Has not white supremacy and other hate groups come alive because of his rhetoric? He (Trump) often says one thing, then offsets it by saying the opposite, or just lies.
When he puts down our veterans on tape, do we believe he said these things? Do we think it's fake news (folling?) with a tape.
What is fake news? It's radio talk like the Rush Limbaughs of the world. It is Fox & Friends, etc. It's opinions of the far right, not real news.
Here's another one for you: The price of lumber according to a contractor friend of mine has gone through the roof. It's becoming harder to bid a price. I feel there [are] several reasons to it. One is Trump's trade war/deal with Canada. Another is the fires out West. Some of that is state, but to a larger degree federal land. You have to thin out large forests like those and isn't this also contributing to a shortage, losing this lumber? But Trump doesn't believe in global warming. He blames the State of California for poor forestation.
Ask yourself this: Has Trump ever admitted to a mistake? He's always right, he thinks. He's in his eyes the smartest guy in the room always. That's why he dismisses the science to protect ourselves from the virus and didn't tell us for way too long about the virus. The revolving door of people there to advise him are gone if they don't agree with him on about everything.
Please pick up the book "Caste" at the library or Paragraphs and vote in person if possible before election day.
Thanks,
Ron Meharry
Mount Vernon
Good Leaders
To the Editor:
GAMBIER – Good leaders don’t ask Homeland Security to keep quiet about Russian interference in our election. Nor do they refuse to confront Putin on placing of bounties on the heads of American soldiers.
Good leaders don’t hide the seriousness of the white supremacists’ threat to our government, racists ranked as being responsible for 75% of domestic terrorism by the FBI.
Good leaders don’t lie to us about the seriousness of COVID even when they’ve been briefed.
They don’t call U.S. soldiers and veterans “suckers” and “losers.”
Nor do they call their own supporters “disgusting.” That’s a betrayal of their followers.
Good leaders do not tell so many lies and bulldoze anyone who tells the truth or challenges them.
Good leaders do not put their personal wealth and power ahead of their citizens.
Trump is not a good leader. Let's vote him out.
Jill Grubb
Gambier
Working Families
To the Editor:
Tired of a president and Senate who put workers last? Vote for Democrats who will put the needs of you and your children first.
President Trump has said he will no longer negotiate for a second coronavirus relief package. Instead he ordered Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to “focus full time” on confirming his Supreme Court nominee. I think everyone can agree that people’s needs should come before confirmation of judges.
Trump’s decision shows that he turned his back on the small businesses struggling to keep their doors open and on the firefighters and police officers and other first responders who depend on state and local government budgets now strained to the breaking point. He also turned his back on teachers and school children—standing in the way of support to get the PPE and cleaning supplies and ventilation needed to safely reopen schools and keep them open. He turned his back on families struggling to pay rent, put food on their table, and take care of their kids.
Worse yet, he never even really tried to get a deal for these Americans. Not once in the months since the House passed a relief package in May has Trump stepped up to lead. Yet that is the job: To deliver for the people of this country. It’s what Republicans have shown again and again they have no plans to do, ever.
I want to be very clear about what Trump’s reckless decisions means for American workers:
— No more stimulus checks for working families
— No more assistance to pay rent, mortgages, and bills
— No more support for our schools as they juggle remote learning and reopening
— No more $600 unemployment insurance benefits for workers who lost their jobs
Republicans are ignoring the vital needs of working families—all so he can rush another corporate judge onto the Supreme Court, with less than a month left until Election Day, after more than nine million voters in ⅔ of the states have already voted.
Please do all that you can during these last days before Election Day to elect those Democrats who will put the needs of working families first this election, including Joe Biden.
Troy A. Peugh
Mount Vernon
Pro-Life
To the Editor:
I am deeply and profoundly pro-life. This has an expansive meaning for me and many of my neighbors.
It means placing a high value on the worth and dignity of each human being and valuing each human life. It means placing a high value on the quality of each of our lives within our families, within our communities, and within our larger society over each person’s lifespan. Being pro-life means valuing our interdependence with the rest of the living creatures in our environment. We are utterly dependent on healthy soil to feed us and high-quality air and water for our wellbeing.
As the election approaches, we have the duty to measure our values against the policies proposed by candidates. So, what does being pro-life look like at the policy level? Pro-life policies support every citizen’s ability to meet basic needs and live with a basic sense of security, both in normal times and during a pandemic. These policies include quality healthcare, family leave, and a living wage. Pro-life policies also support our environment. They would address the climate crisis which is resulting in frequent and devastating weather events. Pro-life environmental policies would prepare for future pandemics which, according to many scientists, are likely if we fail to learn to live with an understanding that human, animal and environmental health is interconnected.
I know I share deep dismay with many others that pro-life has come to only mean one is opposed to abortion and there are differences between Republicans and Democrats on this issue. In general, Republicans want to reduce abortions through laws designed to limit women’s choices while Democrats want to reduce abortions by expanding women’s access to healthcare. Unfortunately, we lack data to definitively say that one approach works better. However, Alina Salganicoff, director of women’s health policy for the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation provides some guidance, “If your priority is to reduce abortions, one of the best things you can do is make sure that women have access to high-quality, affordable and effective methods of birth control.”
I encourage you to vote for Democratic candidates who are committed to policies that value life across the age span.
Peggy Dunn
Mount Vernon
Jobs
To the Editor:
Trump has touted his “great economy” but who has benefited? President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Job Acts (TCJA) on Dec 22, 2017, making it one of only two legislative acts that his administration accomplished during the two years that Republicans held both a House and a Senate majority. Why don’t he and his Republican allies talk about it as a major accomplishment?
Could it be that the 2017 Tax Bill included a massive corporate tax cut for U.S. based multinationals that manufacture overseas?
Could it be that the Tax Cut and Jobs Acts (TCJA) has encouraged offshoring of both paper profits and real production of U.S. multinational companies, including AT&T, Siemens and Nabisco?
Could it be that the TCJA also accelerated profit-shifting to off-shore tax havens, which now deprive the United States of roughly $100 billion in revenue each year?
Neither the American economy nor American workers benefit from the use of international tax havens to shield corporate income. Trump and his corporate special interest groups do.
Even before COVID-19 collapsed large segments of the economy, the manufacturing sector had entered a recession that the Trump administration trade wars with China escalated. The Trump administration’s failed tax policies have resulted in continued offshoring, including the net loss of nearly 1,800 factories and thousands of jobs between 2016 and 2018.
While Trump has been blowing off his own tax obligations Midwest workers have been losing good paying manufacturing jobs. We cannot tolerate another four years of the failed economic policies of this president.
President of the UEI-Communication Workers of America’s Industrial Division said recently, “President Trump talks the talk, but does not walk the walk on keeping jobs in America. The sad truth is that Trump has helped companies move jobs out of the United States. His tax bill gave companies a 50% off coupon for moving their money and jobs overseas.”
It’s time for a change. Vote now for Vice President Biden who is serious about reinvigorating American manufacturing and has a strong plan to create millions of new jobs to rebuild our economy (https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/).
Erin Salva
Mount Vernon
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