To the Editor:
I don’t often address another LTTE, but Ms. Walker’s last week is representative of the Republican self-image, though far from what the current Party really stands for.
We are battling inflation, an anticipated result of the Covid-19 disaster. Unemployment is at surprisingly low levels. Several bipartisan bills have been passed to aid the economy. Accusations of a disastrous presidency and a “Biden Crime Family” are unaccompanied by facts.
Unlike Ms. Walker, the GOP endorses “being in the bedroom.” It also believes it has jurisdiction over pregnant women’s uteruses. DeSantis and others believe that transgender people do not really exist, or that they have no right to live their lives consistent with their sense of self. They believe in parental rights, but not to choose affirmative medical care for their transgender child.
Who can quarrel with the assertion that “children should be protected by their parents?” But a growing number of mid-west Republican states have passed laws allowing children as young as 12 to work in meat packing houses and restaurants, even on the night shift. IA, SD, and AK are just three red states that allow child labor without age verification or parental permission. The vulnerability to slaughter of schoolchildren, and those in public places, is just the price to be paid for war-weapon “freedom.”
We should all be aware of our reasons for war. Ex-president GWBush attacked Afghanistan and Iraq for fallacious facts and reasons with no withdrawal plan, subjecting us, our allies, and the Mideast to two decades of war. President Biden has been clear that our commitment to Ukraine is to resist the takeover of a free country by a deranged despot, and to prevent another world war.
The wall didn’t work, Mexico didn’t pay for it, and thousands of children were separated from their parents. “Immigration” hasn’t been resolved by either Party, in part because there is an issue of asylum, and an economic benefit in allowing some minimum wage labor to pick crops, clean homes, corporate hotel rooms, and restaurant kitchens. For Republicans it is a beneficial political issue.
Republicans will risk the “full faith and credit” of the US and refuse to pay debts that Congress has already incurred. They propose to reduce by 22% support for veterans, school lunches, and WIC allotments, repeal green tax incentives, and scale back rail safety inspections, etc., and will renew Trump’s tax cut for the wealthy without offset. They defend assault rifles in public places. This, too, will get Ms. Walker’s faithful Republican vote.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
Something the so-called Progressives are really good at is teaching what to ignore or gaslight. Another is to focus on emotions and ignore reality. Today their name calling is overused. It’s become a WOKE/JOKE and now most pay attention to reality that is right in front of them. But last week’s Kelly Scoles blatther using the word “MAGA Christian Right” was pathetic. As though people with religious faith look at Trump as a god. That was really ugly and even an apology to those of faith she insulted would not be enough. I am not religious at all, but I have respect for those of faith and the good we have all received from their faith for hundreds of years. Did Scoles conveniently forget the many pictures of Obama with a halo over his head or praying candles with his picture?
Did she forget (ignore) about our schools with the “Progressives” in control? The left has had complete control of our schools and California for many years, yet today “Nearly 1 in 4 people over the age of 15 lack the skills to decipher the words in this sentence. Only 77% of adults are considered mid- to highly literate.” according to Ed Source March 2, 2022.
There are 45 million Americans who are functionally illiterate, unable to read at a 5th grade level, and half of all adults can’t read a book at an 8th grade level, California 25% of the state’s 6 million students are unable to perform basic reading skills according to the Policy Center reported six years ago.
What did Obama and Progressives do to address this? Millions of students have completed K-12 since Common Core State Standards, started in 2010 under Obama. The so-called educational initiative failure aimed at getting around legal barriers to allow federal bureaucrats to establish a curriculum of what should be taught and when; to teach for the test, not to the students’ needs. Today thirteen years later public education is basically child care (sometimes a danger to students) with a food pantry anyone could find at a 7-11. Yet teachers demand a raise in pay. Failure sure pays with Gov, Ed.
Why is a failure in public education so ignored? Because the Progressives use IGNORE IT AND FOCUS ON EMOTIONS, RACE AND SEX, but point the finger that it’s “their fault not ours.”
Jean McLeod,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
There are some democrats that are just unable to recognize the damage our current president has done to our country. They rattle on about the failures of Trump, DeSantis and others yet fail to point any finger at Biden. Even when faced with facts of the disasters Biden has inflicted upon the nation, they act like the three monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
True, I’ve written about how I believe Biden is a danger to America. And I’ve written on how I support many of the policies implemented by Trump, DeSantis and others.
I believe there are two genders, yet acknowledge that there are individuals who are attracted to the same sex and believe in their right to have such an attraction. The government needs to keep out of the bedroom.
I believe children are to be protected by their parents. Unless the parents are being neglectful of their children, keep government out of my house.
If you’re sending my children off to war, please tell me why. Tell me the end-game. I’ll be more willing to support the cause.
I support the completion of the wall at the border. I don’t believe we should bring in over four million immigrants a year to “pick our crops” and clean our homes. I don’t support slavery under any terms.
I believe there are inherent rights which all are entitled to without discrimination. I don’t believe “roads are racists”.
From my point of view and from all I’ve heard on CNN, MSNBC and The View, and what I’ve read on Politico, New York Times and others, the democrats do not believe in the same things I believe in. So until a Democrat comes into power that has my core values, I’ll keep voting Republican.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
“Brokeback Republican Politics.” I wish I had created the phrase, but it was coined by writer Tim Miller. After Trump endorsed the Party into a pink stream rather than the expected red wave in 2020, some braver GOP politicians pronounced him a “loser.” But when they tried to stamp out the campfire, they left a few embers burning. All it took was an indictment, then a trial for rape-based defamation, to inflame MAGAs and “dissidents” to flee back to Trump’s “persecuted” but cozy embrace. They just can’t quit him.
The attachment to Trump is not about his dubious policies, certainly not because he did a darn thing for the ordinary American in four years (he did create a tax break for the yacht and private-jet wealthy which was lauded by MAGA, most of whom are not rich), not because of his dedication to the constitution, or because he represents the finest ideals of American politics or manhood.
The MAGA Christian Right often offers images of Trump as Christ, their “savior,” no matter that he consorted serially with women not his wife, is credibly accused of multiple sexual affronts, even rape, and laughs about it. It is unlikely that any despicable treatment of others, refusal to accept responsibility, penchant for falsehoods, alleged criminal conduct, or attempted insurrection will aggrieve his smitten base. How do they overlook his obviously un-Christian defects?
It’s because MAGA is emotionally attached to someone who will say whatever he wants, do anything he wants, flout institutions, courts and values, reject any criticism, has (heretofore) avoided accountability for anything, expressed admiration and appreciation for despots, and encourages emotionally satisfying outrage, resentment, and victimhood.
MAGA is in love and can’t move on even though Trump only pretends to return the devotion. When resisting a strong biological, emotional, or spiritual force, reason is useless. Trump makes MAGA feel good about themselves. From an old Johnny Mathis song:
“When I am with you, I am nothing I was before.
I am everything I ever wished I could be and more.
So, it's not just for what you are yourself that I love you as I do,
But for what I am when I am with you.”
We have to hope that there are more of us who vote and are not emotionally enthralled than there are those who are impassioned by a pseudo-Christian sham-populist demagogue. They can’t help themselves.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
You know by now that Tucker Carlson is out at Fox, fired at the direction of owner Rupert Murdoch. Carlson and other hosts and execs (including Murdoch) have cost the network nearly $790 million in a settlement reached last week with Dominion Voting Systems. It is the largest known media defamation settlement in US history.
Regarding the settlement, the network issued a statement that it “acknowledges the Court’s rulings finding certain [Fox] claims about Dominion to be false, “referring to the judge’s ruling that, as a matter of fact Fox repeatedly permitted on-air claims of election fraud by Dominion despite knowing that they were false. The only issue to be tried was the award of damages. The settlement did not require Fox to admit on-air that it spread lies.
In Dominion’s discovery process, they obtained mass incendiary texts, emails and deposition testimony that were made public, and they were damning for Fox. The witness list included Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo, all of whom were spared cross examination and the alarming prospect of having their private conversations revealed in open court.
Tucker Carlson had texted that he “passionately hates Donald Trump,” whose presidency was a “disaster.” Privately, Fox management and hosts called MAGA claims of a stolen election “mind-blowingly nuts,” “dangerously reckless” “really crazy,” “bogus,” “asinine,” and “bullshit.” But Fox hosts continually reported on-air as “newsworthy,” without challenge, what they knew to be false election fraud allegations from Trump, Rudy, Powell and others.
Sadly, by settling Dominion foreclosed further public exposure of the network’s dishonesty. Fortunately, a rival company, Smartmatic USA, is headed toward trial on the same issue with the same discovered facts. Fox investors are pursuing their own lawsuits alleging that the Murdochs and Fox board members were derelict in allowing Fox to promote election lies and harming the network’s reputation as a “news organization.”
Fox has been a “safe space” where viewers could rely on hearing only what they wanted to hear. Apparently, outrage and resentment are comforting, but anything that produces anxiety or doubt causes defection to another news source. Fox has conceded that what they report is often unsubstantiated or untrue, designed to attract certain right-wing viewers.
Fox is hoping and trusting that viewers won’t care that they played them for revenues.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca
To the Editor:
If you want to know why, increasingly, Republicans in power are dismissive of the law and endorse unrestricted gun use, observe the case of TX Governor Greg Abbott.
On July 25, 2020, Daniel Perry, 30-year-old off-duty Army sergeant and Uber driver in Austin, honked as he drove his car into a Black Lives Matter protest against the George Floyd murder. When 28-year-old Air Force veteran, Garrett Foster, legally open-carrying an AK-47 rifle, approached to ask him to slow down, Perry shot Foster multiple times with his .357 Magnum. Perry had earlier tweeted that he “might have to kill a few people on my way to work.”
Eyewitnesses testified that Foster had neither been aggressive nor aimed his rifle at Perry, and Perry later admitted that “I didn’t want to give him the chance to aim at me.” Following a two-week trial and 17-day deliberation, the jury rejected Perry’s “stand your ground” defense and found him guilty of Foster’s murder.
Immediately thereafter, before sentencing, and at the urging of conservative politicians and commentators including Tucker Carlson, Abbott directed the TX Board of Pardons to supplant the verdict and recommend a pardon. He said, "I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk." There is no assertion that Abbott reviewed a single minute of testimony or piece of evidence.
Why are so many Republicans defending these deranged and violent events? Stand your ground laws compounded with legal open carry generate the distinct possibility of even more disorder and violence. A very unsettling pattern is emerging.
Abbott and others are now at the “ignore the courts,” and legislate for use of civilian military weapons, stage. Anger and resentment, particularly among MAGA, is moving towards chaos. When it gets bad enough, a future autocratic government will be “forced” to intervene to stop the carnage and forcibly restore order as they define “order.” The people will have been shown as untrustworthy to govern themselves.
Until then, they will try to convince voters to elect legislators who promise to keep them “safe” and endorse their singular righteousness in whatever beliefs they choose. Voters who won’t understand that knee-jerk distrust of the “other,” belligerence and hostility over differences, and the permission to violently enforce personal biases, is disastrous to our representative democracy and makes our country a mark for despots.
Why do you think Trump, Carlson, DeSantis and others so admire authoritarians and dictators?
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
These last weeks have been like a Stephen King novel where a garish carousel goes rogue at 70 mph. The first ex-president was indicted, and the judge had to instruct the defendant not to attack officers of the court. The defendant then demanded that Congress defund the police, in this case the FBI. Republicans threatened that the indictment would skyrocket support for Trump. But popularity is not a defense to criminal prosecution. We are still nation of laws, not men.
The nation experienced once again the agonizing murders of children and staff, this time in a Nashville school, and the political disenfranchisement in TN of two Black Democratic legislators for breaching house decorum while arguing to save children from assault rifles in schools.
A new law in FL allows permitless carry with no requirements, including training. Orange County Sheriff John Mina objected, “somewhere along the line we stopped listening to law enforcement...Go ask the street cop what he thinks… It's going to make [our communities] more dangerous.”
I’m ready for a little amusement in politics and we had some of that, too. Apologies for the mirth, Martin.
There was Margie Green’s 60 Minutes interview where she proclaimed that all Democrats are pedophiles and “groomers” because they think it unwise to restrict references to sexuality to high school students. Margie apparently thinks that fifth graders are counting the days until their parents OK their curiosity about sex.
Or the ex-president supplicating evangelicals to identify Easter Week as The Trumpian Stations of the Cross. "One thing that I've always remained solid on, that is our faith, our religion, our Christianity, our beautiful Christianity," said the self-appointed poster boy for Christian virtue and fledgling mendicant.
The winner? Senator Lindsey Graham who materialized on the teevee, wailing about the ex-president who, having been accused of serial illegalities, and claiming he has billions, now “needs your [financial] help.” You would think that the resulting torrent of reprimand from both Republicans and Democrats would have persuaded him to tone it down.
Lordy no, y’all, this recently hatched televangelist did a full-on Jim Bakker overcome with pitiable blubbering. Send your prayer gift now! Still, it was a triumph for Trump’s borrowed beauty consultant who very nearly replicated the mango face and urine-hued hair. Lindsey is either ingesting something he oughtn’t, or Trump has something scorching on him.
I don’t care to know. It probably isn’t funny.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
Last week, Trump was indicted on 34 criminal counts by a Manhattan grand jury. He was arrested and arraigned Tuesday of this week, pleading “not guilty” to all counts. He is presumed innocent at this point.
Over last weekend, social media exploded with horrific threats of violence, civil war, and assassination if Trump were arrested. Threats that the arrest would further motivate and outrage MAGA were ignored, and our system survived. We are still a nation of laws. The NY DA declined to require a “mugshot” or to handcuff the former president for the arraignment. Undeterred, MAGA printed shirts for sale with a fake photo.
MAGA Republicans stood by their man. Weepy Republican Senator Lindsey Graham begged for donations to “help the man.” This is the same guy who warned about Trump’s presidential ambitions in 2016, “if we make him our nominee, he'll destroy the Republican party and we will deserve it.”
The judge, who did not issue a gag order at the outset, expressed deep concern for the language used by the parties, and cited Trump emails and posts predicting “death and destruction” following his indictment, threats to the NY DA and his family, one calling him “an animal,” and otherwise engendering hate and resentment against officers of the court.
Outraged hyperbole scudded like flying monkeys. Fox's Gerri Willis proclaimed that, “people are not going to want to run for office if this is where it goes... You’re not making a lot of money [$400,000 as president]. The downsides are so much bigger than the possible upsides. We are kind of signing our own death warrant." She said the quiet part out loud: that’s why people run for president, for the money! And to be unaccountable.
But she’s wrong about the upside. You can bawl “persecution!” “unfair!” and “witch hunt!” when held answerable for anything. You can pay off a porn star for sex, laugh about assaulting women, get sued for rape, deny you ever did anything wrong and have no need of forgiveness, and still have evangelicals celebrate you as a Jesus stand-in. You can profit from foreign countries in your elected office. You can tell deliberate, relentless lies in order to overthrow a legitimate election and claim innocence.
And you can inspire Fox to claim we will all imminently die if Trump is not the political ideal.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca
To the Editor:
My name is Richard Green. I’m not sure if your newspaper publishes any special interest stories, or has an investigative reporter on staff, so I am submitting my story, which started out as a complain to Park Services, which is a division of the Casitas Water District. I am happy to speak with anyone who feels that this story should be looked into deeper and ultimately published.
Park Services, who handles RV Camping Reservations, which falls under the watchful eye of The Casitas Water District, is suspected of not following their own protocol of opening up camping reservation dates to the general public. Specifically, when reservations opened up for the weekend of the Ojai Wine Festival, June 17th, all of the full hook-up sites (36 sites) were gone at 12:00 AM on March 18th (which is the precise time they were open for public reservations). I questioned the Park Services Manager about their processing of reservations through their website. It appears that these sites were either assigned politically, or to friends and family, prior to being made available to the public. This sounds like a page out of the Ticketmaster debacle. The Park Manager, Joe Martinez, after speaking with his system providers, responded that the reservation system was accepting mobile bookings faster than computers and had no reason as to why this occurred. I waited months for the moment tickets were supposed to be made available to the public and accessed their site with a MacBook operating at 500 Mbps, and instantly all 36 sites showed up as unavailable. My friend who was trying to access the system from his mobile phone at the same time, experiences the same result. There is something unethical about the way reservations are being assigned, before availability to the public. I asked Mr. Martinez to check the time stamps of the existing reservations, and to date, he has not gotten back to me. There is apparent impropriety going on here which needs to be looked into further. I am available to share my actual email complaint and the Park Services response to anyone who feels it may be useful. Thank you for reading my story.
Richard Green
To the Editor:
I was relieved and happythat Waco/Trump did not devolve into a violent event. In fact, print reporters who were there said that there was a lot of yawning, and people began to hit the exits a half-hour into the rally. The only brief cable news reporting of the event I saw was not on Fox, but CNN, and the actual speech wasn’t featured.
There was no indictment by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg last week as Trump had predicted, but hecontinued to raise the spectre of violence if he becomes the first former president in US history to face criminal charges. On Friday, Trump warned of “potential death and destruction”if he’s indicted, calling Bragg “an animal,”and his office “human scum.” Even his latest lawyer, bombastic Joseph Tacopina, admitted that Trump’s language was threatening and legally unwise.
On his social media website, Trump retweeted a picture of himself aiming a baseball bat at Bragg’s head which hislawyer claimed Trump hadn’t seen or authorized, butwas a mistake made by his staff (who don’t take a bathroom break without his permission) and was then removed from his site.
From his inauguration, he has painted a dark picture of America as “carnage.”Trump repeated his remarks that the biggest threats to America are not brutal dictators like Putin and Xi, who are “brilliant” or “great,” but are Americans who do not agree with him.
Trump is doing what he has always done. He is playing the wounded warrior/hero, triumphant in his wealth, generous only in his love and approval of his base (though disdainful in private), who makes a virtue of flouting the law, paradinghis perpetual victimhood and “persecution,” vengefulness, resentment,and fear of failure.Fantastically, MAGA buys it.
He has so far avoided indictment for a variety of alleged actions,but in a country of laws, rather than of political mythology, he must at some point be made accountable and be held to guilt or innocence, just like any other citizen.I don’t know all the details of the tawdry hush money case in Manhattan, and I wish the more democracy-threatening investigations (January 6, and the National Archives documents cases) were at the bar.
I can hope that violence will be avoided even though the de facto head of the MAGA Republican Partyconstantly signals the need for it to reestablish his power.
Kelly Scoles
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
In response to the LTTE published recently regarding Florida’s Individual Freedom Act or the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, must not have read the bill. Its main purpose is to stop, as a condition of employment or education, requiring any individual to believe specific concepts. That to do so is a form of discrimination. The act states that no race, sex or national origin is superior, inherently racist, privileged or oppressed and, therefore, no race, sex or national origin should be treated differently or discriminated against all in the name of diversity, inclusion or equity. Further, regardless of your race, sex or origin, you should not be made to feel guilty because of your race, sex or origin. It seems to me that forcing one to believe in a specific concept, i.e., that the passage of this bill is a form of White grievance politics is ludicrous.
Patti Walker
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
The voluminous list provided by Mr. Shields makes responding to each assertion impossible here, but briefly: internment of Japanese American citizens, widely supported by both Parties, was an unconstitutional disgrace; John Wilkes Booth was a member of the “Know-Nothing Party”; Lee Harvey Oswald was not a registered voter; Las Vegas gunman, Stephen Paddock, was consumed with right-wing anti-government conspiracy theories and Second Amendment rights; people did die on January 6 in a violent attack on the Capitol and the perps weren’t Democrats..
Mr. Shields is, however, correct that the Southern Democrats of the 1800’s-1900’s were generally committed racists. So, how did it happen that the South is now largely Republican? Did racist Southern Democrats surrender their prejudices to the Party of Lincoln?
One surprising assertion was that I make “bizarre attempts to paint conservatives as violent.” The retaliatory list of Democrat Offenses followed. Let’s be clear: MAGAs are not “conservatives.” When you use violence to attempt to overthrow a legitimate election, you are a radical. So, let’s talk about an imminent test of MAGA political violence.
Two events will enlighten us on MAGA intentions regarding violence:
First, former Republican president Trump asserted that he would be arrested Tuesday of this week on charges of filing false election documents involving payment of hush money to two women. It’s a strong case with relatively minor status considering the other pending investigations. Trump falsely characterizes this legal action against him as a “dark attack” on the country itself and urges ACTION. NYPD has observed an up-tick in MAGA sites discussing armed gear.
Right-wing broadcaster Pete Santilli argued that the US military should execute former President Barack Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder if former President Donald Trump is arrested. Is he just a singular nut?
Second, on the day he predicted an indictment, Trump scheduled a rally for Saturday, March 25, the 30th anniversary of the Waco TX Massacre, “the most violent homegrown terrorism event in the nation’s history” (predates Oklahoma City). Did Trump choose that place and anniversary because he wants to honor the dead? Or because he wants to invoke an event where a cultish leader stockpiled weapons and challenged the authority of the federal government?
Will MAGA Republicans answer a call to violence for either event? I’ll be very happy to be wrong.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
You assert "no official recognition should be acknowledged for "transgenderism" because it is a scientific falsehood...without two X chromosomes no one can become female...without X and Y chromosomes no one can become a male."
Science has yet to discover a "Catholicism" chromosome, no evidence for a "Catholic" gene. Using your reasoning, no official recognition should be acknowledged for "Catholics" because "Catholicism" is a scientific falsehood.
A few Realities for you:
Transgender people exist. That is a scientific fact. Transgender people, like Catholics, are studied scientifically under the umbrella of the Social Sciences. Fields of study that include History, Anthropology, Psychology, Linguistics, and Geography to name a few.
Transgender people, along with the entire spectrum of human diversity, are studied scientifically at universities around the world including the University of Oxford in England, Trinity College in Dublin Ireland, and at Georgetown, the top-ranked American Jesuit Catholic university.
But let's be real. Your flawed argument is not your own. It was made for you, at least in part, at the recent CPAC meeting, by callous pious bigots attempting to justify their hatred for everything and everyone that isn't just like them.
Science has yet to discover a "rapist" chromosome, no evidence for a "child-molester" gene; but the scientific fact they exist is evidenced by a trip to your local Catholic church. They are the men wearing long flowing robes, sometimes adorning fancy hats, always claiming to be messengers of God.
Scott Duckett,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
There are many subjects to discuss this week, but I can’t let last week’s Editorial slide.
I wrote that recent CPAC attendance was way down and posited some reasons. One offered by Republican non-attendees was that not every Republican still worships at the Trump altar. Another was the sexual accusation against Matt Schlapp. Is it possible he’s innocent? As a matter of law, it is assumed. I did not say he was guilty, I said that his denials were unconvincing to me, and apparently similarly received by numerous Republicans.
Your response? “The Democratic Party is so strewn with the remnants of generational sexual abuse cases and accusations are you surprised? Do any prominent Democratic politicos come to mind?” What are you talking about? This is what you think is a principled, defensible argument? Vague, incendiary accusations against “others”? You have repeatedly accused Biden of leading a “crime family,” without proof, yet you turn a blind eye to the multitude of extant criminal and civil actions filed against Defendant Trump.
In inelegant terms, Martin, you can dish it, but you can’t take it. You believe that accusations against anyone on “your side” are unfair, trivial, malignant, and prevarications, while accusations against liberals are appropriate, defensible, and ipso facto accurate.
Correct. No president has suffered the political arrows as has Trump. And no other president did all of the following: was named in multiple criminal or civil suits for sexual improprieties, attacks and payoffs, and fraudulent business dealings; and had extensive financial links to treacherous foreign governments (in the public realm right now are horrifying details involving Saudi Arabia, Jared, and Trump); and denigrated American citizens; told an estimated 30,500 lies in office; and was impeached twice, once for trying to overthrow the government.
No other president has used the Constitution to wipe his ego.
Potential presidential candidate Mike Pompeo is brilliant. He is also currently trashing Trump for running up the national debt (including 1.9 trillion just for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2017, without offsets) and not being a “conservative.” During his appearance at CPAC, Pompeo said that the GOP must “move away from celebrity leaders with fragile egos." Conversing with Hugh Hewitt, Pompeo said that the GOP needs “more seriousness. We need less noise….We need leaders that are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood.”
He played the Trump card until it blocked his hand.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore,Ca.
***
To the Editor:
Mrs Skoles,
Let’s drill down on your bizarre attempts to paint conservatives as violent by introducing information that one could call “an inconvenient truth”. This may come as a shock to some of you readers as it’s never been taught to you but it’s all true: A Democrat killed Lincoln. A Democrat killed JFK. A democrat killed MLK. The KKK was created by the southern democrat party. Democrats were the ones who lynched blacks. Democrats were for segregation and push for it in colleges today. Democrats created Jim Crow laws. Japanese internment camps were a democrat creation. A democrat president got us into Vietnam. Antifa and BLM (now known as Buy Large Mansions) violently burned down cities where they protested while their democrat brethren in public office mandated the police inaction and innocent people actually died, which is something that never occurred on Jan 6th no matter how hard you clutch those pearls (aside from Ashley Babbit, who was murdered in cold blood by a democrat capital policeman). Cities that have been run entirely by democrats for decades represent the most deadly and hopeless in America. Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are violent, drug fueled cesspools of corruption and decay; democrats run them without exception. Democrats now push for men in women’s bathrooms and women’s sports. Democrats disgustingly advocate for transgender reading hour and lessor punishments for pedophiles (Gavin Newsome signed it into law) and insist on grooming children in every conceivable way possible. Democrats want grading in schools to be based on race. Democrats want jobs and public positions to be about race quotas as well (so much for MLK’s “content of character” speech, no wonder they had him killed). Democrats pushed for school closures and vaccine mandates for a vaccine that did nothing to stop the spread of a virus as the globalist media mislead Americans about its very origin. Democrats mandated masks that were ineffective and advocated for law enforcement to use force against mothers taking their children to the park to play. A violent Democrat shot Steve Scalise and attempted to kill others at a Congressional baseball practice. A Democrat was the shooter at the Las Vegas massacre the media wants us all to forget about. Children between the age of 1 & 14 were more likely to die from drowning, car accidents, cancer and the flu than they were Covid yet the boob tube consumers and their groupthink bought into the globo-elite mainstream hysteria and ineffective vaccine as insurance for an event that wasn’t statistically significant for that age bracket. Democrats shut down businesses, churches, schools and political rally’s while allowing millions of unvaccinated non-citizens across the border yearly and then allowed actual violent protests to occur in the big cities. Democrat politicians push for escalation into world war 3 in Ukraine while we all know that none of them will be doing the fighting…or spending their own money on weapons to kill…but they’ll sure take those MIC donations and profit off of the insider trading. A democrat president just let a convicted international Russian arms dealer (Russians were supposedly bad, until now I suppose) walk out of prison on a trade of a anti-American basketball player…while at the same time attempting to reduce Americans ability to defend themselves. I could go on for days but most people get the point hopefully. Now this is not to say that republicans are perfect, as vultures possess both a left and a right wing, but the point is that you simply sound a bit unstable by propagating the propaganda on a weekly basis as if your side is beyond reproach. It most certainly is not. The media is simply owned by the elites to control the poor and middle class, not the other way around.
Regards,
Ryan Shiells,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
Biden cannot seem to realize that the policies he has put in place during his presidency have caused, in some cases, irreparable harm.
His disastrous removal of the military from Afghanistan contributed to the loss of the life of 13 soldiers and 100's of Afghanistan citizens. He left our weapons behind for use by the Taliban which have regained a hold in the area.
He opened our border causing millions to pour through placing a burden on communities across America to find housing, health care and provide education for the immigrants at a time when resources are stretched thin due to the pandemic. Those resources are thin due to the requirement to take a vaccine that was known not to keep you from either getting or transmitting the disease.
He cut our energy independence to the bone all in the name of climate change then turned to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela pleading for fossil fuel. His strategy caused Europe to look to Russia for fuel, then we had nothing to offer when the war in Ukraine began. When shamed by the country he took from our reserve, selling most to China in hopes it would keep them from looking to Russia for their fuel. That too failed.
In January 2021 when he took office inflation was at two percent. Today its over six percent.
Biden weaponized the FBI and DOJ. They keep J6 defendants locked up for trespassing but let those who burned down a federal building out on bail. If you pray before an abortion clinic you get ten years but we can’t seem to find you if you burn a pregnancy center to the ground.
Let’s castrate our youth and hire pilots, doctors and teachers based on race or sexual preference instead of education or experience. He is appointing members to his departments that believe a man can give birth. Women are being pushed out of sports.
Banks are failing, not due to any fault of the prior administration, but due to the low interest rates that have been in place for years. Those banks purchased treasuries and when the interest rates increased they found they didn’t have enough money to cover their debts. Biden decided to let the FDIC print more money so all depositors, even those over the $250,000 allowed by law, will be made whole.
And last week, knowing we are moving toward a recession, Biden unveiled his $6 trillion budget asking for more socialist programs. He failed to address the concerns America is facing instead targeting climate change, equity and transgender dialogue.
A leader he is not. He continues to blame Trump, MAGA Republican’s and anyone else but himself. That is the most shameful part of his entire presidency. Unless the citizenry step forward I only anticipate the loss of America and the Constitution is at hand.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
CPAC is the annual Republican event where Party activists, elected officials, and loyalists come together to check the Republican mood and rally around their shared values. It has been an essential stop for presidential hopefuls. Not this year, and the group was densely Trumpian. Still, in the poll for preferred presidential candidate, Trump won only 62% of his own crowd.
Mitch McConnell, Mike Pence, Kevin McCarthy, and Ron DeSantis declined invitations to attend. Part of the reason could be the scandalous sexual accusations made by a staffer against Matt Schlapp, the head of the American Conservative Union which organizes CPAC, who has unconvincingly denied the claim.
CPAC has apparently morphed into a Donald Trump fan club and many Repos are not inclined to join RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel also did not attend, though Trump supported her recent reelection.When she later declared that all Republican presidential candidates, in order to ascend the debate stage, will be required to sign a pledge of support for the eventual nominee, Trump’s campaign spokeswoman told CNN that Trump “will support the Republican nominee because it will be him.”
Trump delivered a rambling keynote address and reveled in self-adoration and his false 2020 election fraud claims. He claimed that all the storefronts in Portland, Oregon are gone, because stores are "burned down every week." He repeated the lie that he “saved” NATO by forcing other countries to pay up. In fact, in 2019 Trump tried to withdraw the US from NATO. He called non-MAGA Republicans “freaks, neocons, globalist open borders zealots — and fools."
Announced presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy attended, as did potential hopefuls Mike Pompeo and Tim Scott. The usual election-denier suspects were there. In a monstrous rejection of democratic and Christian principles, Michael Knowles, a Daily Caller host, stated, “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely,“ and Lauren Boebert proclaimed that God approves her plan to “uproot and defund any agency that advocates for diversity, equity, or inclusion.”
Someone else was missing from the event: Fox. In years past, Fox Nation helped underwrite CPAC and provided streaming coverage of the multi-day event. Fox contributed nothing this year and their “big guns” Hannity, Carlson, and Ingraham were conspicuously absent. Black-fly magnet Steve Bannon has vowed to bring Fox down for revelations in the Dominion lawsuit and their recent lack of Trumpian enthusiasm.
There is something afoot in Repo World.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
While you and I share views about the importance of the Russian War against Ukraine, I disagree that the conflict supersedes the home-grown threats to our democracy. The pressure and conflict in Europe and Asia are world-wide and inevitable, and not just to military interests. The economy and power of China has been snapping at our heels, and our voracious appetite for plentiful and cheap goods has helped fuel that. Russia is at the mercy of a bitter and possibly deranged dictator. You want to weapon-up rather than give diplomacy a shot at avoiding an immediate horrific world war. I think our first responsibility is to confront the “loaded and locked” battle we have going on now in our own country. Only we can solve this conflict.
I understand that you and others want to avert your eyes from those who have contributed so mightily to our present political threat, and Fox is one of the chief architects though they doll it up as a “cultural conflict” to capture the alarm of religious and racial interests. But the country is about to reckon with the fact that “fair and balanced” and “News” are oxymorons when used to describe Fox.
“Wokeness” is vilified as a liberal scourge. A lot of it is ridiculous, e.g., re-writing Raoul Dahl’s books eliminating words like “fat” so as not to offend anyone. However, the Right in this country is doing the very same thing under a different principle. They are replacing “wokeness” with “autocratic government control” of the culture: ban books, allow only government- approved books, rewrite history for a “feel good” experience, refuse to admit the humanity of LBGTQ persons, assert ownership of a female’s pregnant uterus, propose balancing the budget on the backs of the poor, reward the morbidly rich, accept no responsibility for failure, and attack opponents as morally repugnant or criminal (truth optional). I’d say that’s a significant national threat.
It is absolutely no surprise that management has ordered Fox hosts not to reveal or mention the fact of the Dominion lawsuit on-air. They do not want to spread the truth. Their viewers will not stand for it.
Even Fox hosts have admitted privately that Dominion did not commit election fraud. The legal questions you anticipate will occur in a court of law where the concept of “actual malice” is understood and mere assertions of guilt or innocence are worthless.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
This past week we’ve heard a lot about East Palestine Ohio. A train carrying cancer causing vinyl chloride derailed. Under fear the chemical would cause an explosion, it was determined by authorities it would be best to release it into a trench and burn it off. Residents within a one-mile distance were told to evacuate. Most have returned home to find problems with the water in the creeks and a host of health issues relating to air safety. The EPA and FEMA, as well of other entities, have come to the city and have offered help and testing to address the residents’ concerns. I’m sure it will be years before problems come to light and the matters are rectified as we’ve seen in response to other disasters like Love Canal, Camp Lejeune, and Hinkley.
Regardless, many got on the wagon pointing a finger at the previous administration. Joy Behar on the View stated, referring to Trump, “It’s his fault . . . “. She also indicated that it was East Palestine’s fault by saying, “That’s who you voted for . . . “, referring to Trump. Prior to his visit 20 days after the accident, Pete Buttigieg, the famous Secretary of Transportation had the audacity to weigh in stating, “We’re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation,” and cited “the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015.”
Under Obama it was required to restudy the efficacy and costs regarding the brake system requirements and to repeal the requirement if there wasn’t going to be any benefit. As a result, Trump was obligated to repeal it when it was confirmed those factors applied.
Actually, what caused the derailment was an ungreased wheel bearing and the axle broke. Even NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy put to rest the misinformation and untruths by pointing out if Trump upheld the rule, the rule would not have applied as the train did not carry material classified as high-hazard flammable.
Even after the truth was disclosed, misinformation, disinformation and lies about Trump and East Palestine continue to be spread on the internet, Twitter, and throughout mainstream media. Truth and reality are relevant.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
Fox News has been sued in federal court by Dominion Voting Systems (DVS) for defamation. The lawsuit alleges the "fair and balanced" network actively lied to its viewers about purported DVS "fraud" in the 2020 presidential election. It reveals that Fox News personalities are play-acting. They tell their audience what it wants to hear though they don’t believe it themselves and gin up conspiracies and false narratives to keep ratings up.
The controlling law on defamation is New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), a unanimous SCOTUS decision that held inaccuracies in reporting are protected by the First Amendment unless the plaintiff can prove “actual malice,” that is, publication with “reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani publicly promoted unfounded claims that DVS shifted vote counts to steal the election from Trump and that many election results were therefore invalid. Fox relentlessly interviewed Powell and Giuliani and reported “fraud” claims though they knew them to be false.
On January 5, 2021, Rupert Murdoch suggested hosts should “say something like ‘the election is over and Joe Biden won,’” and that would dissipate “the Trump myth that the election [was] stolen.”
Maria Bartiromo let Powell push election fraud claims of DVS complicity in switching votes from Trump to Biden that she and Giuliani got from a source who claimed she learned the information through "time travel."
Steve Bannon spoke to Bartiromo within days after the election, saying, "71 million voters will never accept Biden. This process [election denial] is to destroy his presidency before it even starts, IF it even starts. We either close on Trump’s victory or delegitimize Biden.”
Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham all privately slammed the Kraken-Rudy claims. The fraud claims lost their lustre.
As time went on, when the facts manifested themselves, emails between the hosts and with Fox management indicate panic that ratings had dropped because the hosts weren't pushing false election conspiracy theories with the same vigor as upstart cable news networks such as Newsmax and One America News. Back to the saber rattling.
In essence, the goal of Fox News is not to report actual news, but to deliver gratifying, obliging stories that reinforce their viewers' feelings of self-righteousness and self-esteem. Even if it means lying. For ratings. The Court will determine if that is “actual malice.”
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
I was so depressed after reading your Editorial I nearly swore off the Gazette. While I am used to your dismal views of anything not Inquisitional, Crusade-minded or White Christian Nationalist, I must question your revulsion at the term “woke.”
The term was originally used by Black communities in the last century. One of its earliest uses was in a 1931 recording of the protest song "Scottsboro Boys" by Lead Belly. The recording addressed the prosecutions of 7 Black boys for the false accusation of raping two white women in Alabama.
To “stay woke” meant to stay alert to the deceptions and potentially violent racial threats from other people. But following the police killings of Michael Brown in 2014 and subsequent killings of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, etc., “stay woke” became the cautionary watchword of Black Lives Matter activists on the streets and meant to keep alert for police brutality and unjust police tactics.
On the left, to be “woke” now means to identify as a social justice advocate who’s concerned about contemporary civil rights. On the right, “woke” - like “canceled” - refers to “political correctness” gone awry, and the usurped term is usually used sarcastically or to fulminate against progressive values.
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has implemented policies in schools that limit discussion and curriculum on race, systemic oppression, gender and sexual orientation and the now-blocked “Stop WOKE Act.” A federal judge in FL recently ruled the Act "positively dystopian," in restricting teachers, university professors and employers who are providing education or training that could make some people feel “guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological stress” about historical facts or gender issues. Truth and reality are irrelevant.
DeSantis complained, in a December 2021 speech, "they [Woke] really want to tear at the fabric of our society." He means only White, Christian, straight society. His “Woke” dog whistle promotes White grievance politics without having to resort to explicitly racist or homophobic terms to flog those seeking equality and justice.
An comment in the LTTE was that Biden had the nerve to sign bills for badly needed infrastructure improvements, to be funded by “your tax dollars.” Yep. That’s how federal funding works. And why the corporate users who gain the most from that infrastructure should absorb a huge percentage of that tax bill.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
It’s time to raise the “death limit.” It’s only February and the country has already lost 61 dead and 168 injured in 37 national events of gun violence, many of which involved assault weapons.
Last week, several members of the Republican House observed that fact, and celebrated Gun Violence Survivor’s Week, by wearing AR-15 assault weapon lapel pins. Representatives George Santos (R-NY), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) were all caught on camera with the pins.
The same Representative Luna last week also participated in a “raucous” House Natural Resources panel debate to push back on Democrats’ attempt to ban firearms inside the Committee’s hearing room. In a dazzling display of thought process, she complained that, “the same Democrats who are voting to send firearms to Ukraine are telling me I can’t carry one.” Poor dear can’t tell the difference between a war zone and a House committee meeting. Reason enough not to allow her to carry.
Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) argued that gun control isn’t the answer to mass shootings because “when 9/11 happened, we didn’t ban planes.” In fact, the safety measures imposed on civilian plane travel to prevent future deadly incidents forever altered air travel after 9/11. Where has “gun momma” been?
The “Gun Violence Archive” recorded 647 mass shootings in the US in 2022, and in excess of 44,000 people died due to gun violence in the same period. After 9/11 our outrage was inflamed at fewer than 4,000 deaths, and we went to war for 20 years over the attacks.
Still, even with broad support from American voters for some gun regulation – including some of whom are gun owners - Republicans have blocked meaningful gun reform legislation, including voting against bills to expand background checks for gun purchases.
Really, there is no point in raising the “death ceiling” from assault weapon fatalities. There is clearly no number of gun deaths, heartbroken parents, and destroyed lives, that will offend the consciences of most elected Republicans, many of whom receive enormous campaign support from gun lobbyists. Given the financial incentives, and the skewed thought process and lack of logic displayed by most Republican congressionals on the subject, there may be no limit to the carnage they - and we - will have to endure.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
Tonight will be Biden’s second State of the Union Address. It is anticipated he will tout his accomplishments. In the event you were unable to watch the ceremony, he wants you to know the good he has done.
He signed bills that gave your tax dollars in the amount of $1.2 trillion to invest in bridges, roads, airports, and broadband internet. A $369 billion investment of your tax dollars to give $7,500 tax credits to individuals who purchase EV’s. Some manufactures raised the cost for their EV’s by a like amount.
While Biden capped drug prices of seniors on Medicare and reduced premiums for Obamacare, it is expected insurance premiums will increase to cover the reduced rates. In addition, Medicare recipients saw the largest Part B premium increase ever.
Biden wants you to remember that he created more jobs than any other U.S. president. Under Trump in 2019 unemployment was at it’s lowest since 1969, 3.5%; same as it is today under Biden. Biden won’t tell you that he paid out $1,400 a month for many to stay home, increased their unemployment payment, and on top of that, they didn’t have to pay their rent.
What he won’t touch on is items that you already know. Why should he remind you that gas prices, while they have come down, are still at a seven-year high. Or that everyday goods and services have all increased, causing more financial hardship to lower-income families. It’s doubtful they will decrease anytime soon, if ever.
Biden’s anti-American energy policies have not only hurt Americans with increases in electricity and heating oil, but is causing a global crisis throughout Europe due to the war in Ukraine and the shut-down of the Keystone pipeline giving Russian dominance in supplying fossil fuel. Sanctions imposed on Russia have not limited the scope of the war and the trickle of military aid from us and our allies has allowed Russia to continue its onslaught.
Biden’s failure to uphold the Constitution has resulted in an open border allowing for cartels to infiltrate our country. We are not immune, as Ventura County has seen an increase in sex and drug traffic incidents in recent months.
Democrats continue to push diversity, inclusion and equity (DIE) in the military, government institutions, schools and workplace. They’ve replaced meritocracy with DIE and we’re seeing a reduction in the education or background requirements for doctors, soldiers, airline pilots, etc. Even federal judges no longer need to know the Articles of our Constitution to be considered.
And that’s the State of the Union today.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
Congressional Republicans are once again caterwauling about the national debt after springing for tax cuts for the wealthy and significantly raising military spending in the Trump administration. When the Repos are in power, they spend prodigiously, but when Demos are elected to sweep up their mess, they are suddenly awash in horror about government spending, especially on entitlements.
The House majority has vowed to balance the budget by making cuts to spending and increasing the sales tax to 30% rather than tax income. That way, for instance, the more kids you support, the more you are taxed. The wheels of commerce will be limited to groceries and yachts. DOA.
Senator Rick Scott’s (R-FL) 11-Point Plan to save America identified the intent to put “entitlements” on the block every five years. It garnered so much interest that Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rushed to deny the real meaning for fear it would be understood and turn Republican voters against the Party in the midterms.
House Republicans insist that they will refuse to raise the debt ceiling, renege on already-accrued debts, and close the government unless they can make unspecified massive spending cuts. The middle class will bear the burden, because raising taxes on the very wealthy is never a Republican option when the middle class can be made to pick up the tab.
The vague Republican proposal is to create “special panels” to study spending cuts rather than identify particular cuts. They fear that their base would revolt at explicit plans to eliminate Social Security and Medicare. They also know that President Biden will never sign sweeping cuts to entitlements. Congressional Republicans are eagerly attacking Democrats for the national debt (to which Republican administrations have lustily contributed), and manufacturing turmoil around the possibility of a second Republican Recession or Depression so they can “own the libs.”
The U.S. has never defaulted on its debt. A default would be a violent blow to investor confidence, increase borrowing costs throughout the economy, lead to a credit-rating downgrade for U.S. debt, and threaten up to six million jobs. Whether the dollar would remain the world currency is questionable. The Republican House (mostly) knows this and are unlikely to do anything so stupidly disastrous. They are posturing for the fame game and for the base that shares their appetite for chaos.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
I owe you an apology. I thought you were joined at the forehead with, and incapable of criticizing, Fox News or Tucker Carlson. I was heartened to read your spot-on observations of their horrifying response to the conflict in Ukraine. There are also Republicans in Congress who subscribe to those views. But they are merely supporting the “America First” philosophy so widespread in the Trumpian Republican Party wherein no one really matters except our own country (and only certain people in it) and anyone who disagrees or solicits our financial or military contribution is, as you pointed out, vilified and ridiculed.
Beyond criticizing President Zelensky for his wardrobe choices, Carlson and others have embraced despots like Viktor Orban, a darling of MAGA for his views on racial purity and dismantling Hungary’s fledgling democracy during his 12 years in power, and a close friend of Putin’s. It’s fine to want an accounting of our contribution to the Ukrainian cause, but the idea that we should turn our backs on that country’s courageous battle for independence and fail to support it is tragically erroneous. It is a conflict of freedom against brutal dictatorship. Something we, as Americans, profess to support.
I don’t know what Tucker Carlson really believes, but I know he hawks for despotic leaders and against just causes. Amazingly, there’s a market for such un-American endorsements in this country. Carlson has tapped into it, makes a substantial living from it, and that is likely motive enough. That or he is merely caustic and inflammatory, imagining he sounds intelligent, but often offering ridiculous assertions and is, indeed, a purveyor of “stunningly stupid comments.”
What is concerning is that other people listen to him and believe that he is an honest analyst and reporter. I am gratified that you, at least on this subject, do not buy into it.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
“Political corruption, social greed, and Americanized quasi socialism can ruin even the most wonderful places. California proved that.” Tiffany Madison
Did everyone enjoy the rain we’ve had since the first of the year? At my home we had over 16" in as many days. We were saying we needed the rain, just not all at once! Did note it’s getting close to the normal rainfall I remember from years back.
Today, California is moving at a rapid pace to save the world through adoption of drastic policies relating to climate change. There is a move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without giving the policies the time needed to do so without financial damage to businesses and residents. The desire to be carbon neutral is set to begin in 2035 and continue to 2045.
First, there will be implementation of phasing out all fossil fuel refining. Also the move to have vehicle miles traveled reduced 30 percent, and, of course, only electric vehicles will be allowed on the road. New buildings will be required to be all electric.
At the first of the year we got a notice from SCE our rates will be increased by $12 a month. The reason given was “Some of the power we deliver to you comes from natural gas-fired power plants and the price we pay for natural gas has increased.” If California is moving to reducing gas emissions, what plans does SCE have to replace the gas-fired plants? Wind turbines? Solar? Purchase from out-of-state producers?
One other way California is looking to address climate change is through the reduction of dairy methane (manure) emissions by 50 to 75 percent, or in laymen terms, dairy farmers will need to reduce their herd by 50 to 75 percent. Moving in this direction does not take in account regenerative agriculture which are agricultural policies focusing on the whole ecological system allowing for the integration and managing of grazing and pasturing along with composting to increase soil health, all without the use of man-made fertilizer.
The direction California is headed reminds me of the tongue-in-cheek definition of totalitarianism. You have two cows. The government takes them and denies they ever existed. Milk is banned.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore