To the Editor:
I am concerned by our editor’s rave review of Tucker Carlson, whom I sometimes watch as a civic duty. FOX NEWS attorneys won a defamation suit for Tucky by successfully arguing that, “given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer arrives with an appropriate amount of skepticism about the statements he makes.” [Emphasis mine] The judge accepted FOX’s argument and ruled that “[Carlson] is not stating actual facts” about the topics he discusses. [Translation: he says whatever his viewers want to hear despite the truth] so, if Tucky is your political guru, be careful where you step.
Mary Bennett’s mind is made up for herself, and for YOU. She prefers the smoting, vengeful god of the Old Testament. The point of my LTTE was, if someone is to decide the future of a fetus, it must be the person with the most intimate relationship with the fetus: the woman. Not Mary or the police.
I think Ms. Walker made a good case for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The alarming statement: “…most of the billions of taxpayer dollars are going to climate change...more Americans are concerned about the rising costs in their everyday life, not climate change.”
Cadillac Desert (1986) by Mark Reisner analyzed the dangers of improper water management in the Southwest US. While agriculture is the primary recipient of surface (and now ground) water, massive desert populations like Phoenix and Las Vegas have hugely exacerbated the problem.
ProPublica has published a recent interview with Jay Famiglietti regarding overuse of the Colorado River and worldwide water depletion and increasing high temperatures and drought. “The Colorado River crisis is urgent…but the hidden, underground water crisis is even worse.” Parts of the Central Valley are 28 feet lower now than a century ago because of vast overuse of groundwater. It can take centuries to restore. You can go to duckduckgo.com and search for “ProPublica interview with Famiglietti on water” to access the article (since PP requires sign-up).
Good government’s job is to help solve what concerns citizens now, but it is also responsible for anticipating impending, life-changing challenges of the future. To ignore or minimize climate change is legislative malpractice and will not stay the future. That’s why Biden’s IRA includes billions for climate change and its consequences. Without one single Republican vote.
Expensive? Yes. Or we can wait until all the money in the world won’t turn on your faucet.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
So, if you want to make America great again, you are a fascist, or semi-fascist according to Biden. I was offended that as a Republican, Biden would call me a fascist. I supported Trump’s policies because they cut my taxes. They relaxed regulations allowing small business growth, built up our military, took a stand with Israel, made historic agreements with the Middle East, built the border wall, increased energy production and energy independence, defeated ISIS, improved the Mexico/Canada trade agreement, sent weapons to Ukraine, reduced prescription drug prices, plus much more.
Common sense doesn’t support the fascist narrative. Biden on his first day overturned many of the positive policies Trump put in place. Republicans aren’t looking for a system of government with a centralized authority or a capitalist economy with strict governmental controls. I don’t hear them suppressing the opposition or spewing belligerent nationalism and racism. Biden, while campaigning from his basement, promised to support “the rule of law, our Constitution”, thereby voting for him would “end Trump’s assault on the rule of law.”
How can anyone ignore the fact Biden put in place government controls all the while ignoring the Constitution he swore to uphold. He federalized state rental laws, he ended all immigration enforcement laws put in place by Congress, and vaccine mandates on businesses, and now is using his executive powers to pay an unknown amount of your tax dollars to pay off student loans forgetting Congress is the only entity that has that power. But Republicans are the dictators?
Hitler used his political power to dominate institutions and organizations that were previously independent, like courts, churches, universities, social clubs, and youth groups. In the last 15 months the government has ignored the many rulings of the courts, churches were sued if they remained open during COVID, the FBI refused to rescind its order to law enforcement targeting parents as domestic terrorists who spoke out against school board decisions, and men have infiltrated women’s college sports.
Are Republicans truly seeking to subvert democracy? Do they oppose the rule of law? Can you outline how they are embracing political violence?
In Georgia they require identification to vote. In the 2020 election they saw three times as many voters as in 2016. There is actually overwhelming support among all walks of life in America for voter ID. Yet Democrats continue to use it as a tool to support their narrative. Are they not subverting democracy by not representing their constituents’ wishes?
Embracing political violence? Really? The Democrats call to defund the police. The current administration failed to call out the DOJ for refusing to uphold the law and arrest protestors in front of judges’ homes. Sen. Schumer said “... you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you ...” Or Rep. Waters when she said, "we've got to stay on the street. We get more active, we've got to get more confrontational.” Sen. Booker said “...my call to action here. Please don’t just come here today and then go home. Go to the Hill today. Get up, and please get up in the face of some congresspeople." Or Rep. Castro said, “fight [Trump] and challenge him in every way that we can in the Congress, in the courts, and in the streets and protests ...”. And finally, Sen. Tester said that in order to take on Trump, you have to “punch him in the face”.
Democrats failed to speak out against these calls for violence within their own party. Yet they firmly believe Trump incited the J6 protest when he said, "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard...".
Their current Democratic rhetoric is there will be a “civil war” if Republicans regain control of Congress.
From my chair I see a Democratic party that uses words that increase the rise in political polarization and extremism, partisan pressure, support harmful policies on immigration, and vote for bills that cause disparity in wealth, economic opportunity and political influence.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
In the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America it states:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and of the Pursuit of Happiness.
At this time I am focusing on the right to life. The medical profession says that life ends when a heart stops beating. (conversely that means life starts at the beating of the heart.)
A child forming in its mother’s womb, a child’s heartbeat, can be easily detected at 5 weeks from conception. Does the child therefore not have the right to life quoted in our Declaration of Independence.
As for the science, medical doctors now perform corrective surgeries on the unborn.
The United States to our shame ranks 3rd in the world in numbers of abortions, 65 million total to date, right behind China and North Korea.
Since 1973 at the passage of Roe vs Wade we the people have been fed lies about the unborn (not) being a life. But science now confirms that at 8 days the brain starts to form, at 21 days the heart starts beating--the sign of life.
At the reversal of Roe vs Wade the abortion laws go to the states to decide. Currently there are a multitude of Pro-Abortion bills in California waiting to be approved by our legislature, 13 of which are in a package recommended by the California Future of Abortion Council. Most distressing to me is AB2223 which extends the time an abortion can be performed after the birth of the baby and removes all criminal liability. AB1245 allows use of our tax dollars to pay for women in other states to come to California all expenses paid for their abortion. I for one do not support or want to pay for this denial of the right to life. There are millions of Californians who feel the same way; will you be one among those to stand in favor of life? Let your representatives hear your voice and consider supporting Life Centers & Abortion Restriction Laws.
Respectfully,
Annette Sula,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
We all share the shock that a “former president’s home” was subject to search and seizure. That an ex-president is reasonably believed by federal law enforcement to have engaged in criminal conduct that could have compromised the country is repugnant. But even an ex-president who believes that he IS the republic is not above the Law. You assume that the warrant was a political act, but any president who did what the warrant describes could and should be subject to the legal process.
Republicans, the self-styled Party of Law and Order, so passionately critical of “defunding the police” (a foolish idea) by some liberals, had no problem immediately attacking the FBI, demanding the agents on the surveillance tape be identified, threatening bodily harm to them, and demanding the agency be defunded.
Trump was in negotiations until last June for the return of WH documents, which are not owned by the president personally but belong, post-term, to the National Archives under the Presidential Records Act. He falsely assured DOJ that the retained documents were merely “mementos, letters from other world leaders and other pictures and documents,” (some of which were marked Top Secret and which his WH staff desperately tried to retrieve before they were “disappeared” to FL).
Having been lied to and having information leading to a reasonable belief that a crime had been committed and the evidence was still at Mar-A-Lago (MAL), the FBI executed a search warrant signed by a US Magistrate in FL. The Affidavit supporting the warrant was likely provided by someone close to Mar-A-Lago and, understandably, Trump desperately wants DOJ to reveal that name.
You complain again that Representative Brownley didn’t provide you with data that the White Nationalist home-grown terrorists are the “biggest threat” to America. Brownley undoubtedly assumes that her constituents are (1) not playing games, and (2) able to navigate the internet.
I appreciated the splash of humor at the end. The misty-eyed disappointment at not being able to trust…not sure who, exactly. Good one.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
On August 12th, the House Democrats passed the $740,000,000 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Biden signed into law on the 16th. Actually it’s misnamed as most of the billions of taxpayer dollars are going to climate change. Why the change? Well, more Americans are concerned about the rising costs in their everyday life, not climate change. Those who voted in favor believe it will help reduce the $30.7 trillion debt. Truths be told it’s believed it will decrease the deficit by $100 billion, and that’s over ten years.
How did the IRA address your kitchen table issues? Here are few take-a-ways:
You on Medicare? Well, in 2025 the most you’ll have to pay on prescription drugs for the year will be $2,000. That’s good news.
Medicare insulin user? Remember in 2020 Trump put in place a $35 insulin copay cap starting in 2021. Biden put a pause to it when he took office so he could “review any new or pending rules.” That’s a very long pause wouldn’t you say?
Are you enrolled in the Affordable Care Act? The subsidy given to about three million Americans has been extended through 2025.
Well, for the $740 billion cost I hoped I’d see a larger cut into the inflation attacking the American household. In the end they decided to tout its “deflationary, because it increases our energy supply and makes it easier for consumers to afford their energy bills.”
And how does it do that you may ask? First you need to keep in mind most of the tax credits or rebates are based on whether you are in a moderate to low-income household. This is based on the average income of your community. In Ventura County for a family of four the annual low-income is $62,700 and moderate-income is $100,350. The moderate average income in America is $44,200.
Knowing the above will help you decide if you want to take advantage of the $7,500 tax credit to buy a new electric vehicle. Keep in mind both Ford and GM raised the costs of their EV’s by a like amount. Or maybe you’d like to apply for a rebate on a new heat pump, induction cooktop, heat pump dryer, or maybe you want to rewire your home.
Not in the market for any of these things? That’s okay. The bill will spend $1.5 billion to plant trees, $60 billion for environmental justice, and $300 billion to give to corporations to build solar and wind projects, as well as green batteries using materials mined in and built by China using coal.
All of the above adds to the debt. So how does the IRA reduce debt? Well, it included a minimum 15% corporate tax on those earning over $1 billion which is expected to generate $200 billion in revenue over the next 10 years. They’re spending $87 billion to hire 85,000 gun carrying tax agents. And in keeping his promise, Biden wants you to know no one earning under $400,000 will see a raise in their taxes. Yet, when Republicans tried to put that language into the bill the Democrats said no. Actually, the government determined over 10 years they will see an additional $16.7 billion in tax income from those who earn less than $200,000 and $14 billion from those making over $200,000.
So I believe like 71% of Americans, Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will not make any difference in inflation. Sadly, it could make things worse.
Patti Walker
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
In last week's Gazette, Kelly Scoles wrote:
"Your biblical references" (on abortion) "are from a thousands-of-years-old oral tradition of monotheism arising from paganism in the Judean world."
Wrong. The references are from God's word - the standard Kelly and we will be judged by when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Kelly also wrote: "The written Old Testament from which you quote says a lot of things that are unacceptable today (offering your daughters to visitors for the night), or just plain psycho (God testing Abraham's loyalty and love by demanding he kill his son, Isaac."
The record of Lot's offering his daughters to the visitors is simply a record of what happened; it doesn't say that God approved of it. Secondly, to say that God's testing of Abraham "is just plain psycho" is blasphemous. God isn't a psycho, and nothing that He does or says is psycho. God is holy.
Kelly wrote that the Good News of the New Testament is "Love over Law."
That's half true. While we are free from the dietary/ceremonial laws of the Old Testament (Colossians 2:16), we are not free from the moral law. Jesus says, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." (Matthew 5:17-18) In keeping with this, the moral law found in the Ten Commandments was applied repeatedly by the apostles, such as by Paul when he writes, "Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) Love doesn't negate the law, love keeps the law, as John writes in 1 John 5:3, "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments."
The good news of the gospel is that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus, the Son of God, escape condemnation under the law because their sins are forgiven. "He who believes in Him is not condemned ..." John 3:18 (Ephesians 1:7; John 5:24)
Kelly wrote: "There are two kind of belief systems: one based on choice (e.g., religious beliefs, which do not require proof) and one based on facts (science, which does)."
The idea that a fetus (unborn child) is simply part of a woman's body that she can discard at will is neither factual nor scientific. It is patently unscientific to say that the child, having a blood type different than her mother's is simply a part of her mother's body. It is equally unscientific to say that a woman's body can have two heads, two beating hearts, two legs, two arms, etc. and all of that simultaneously. Abortion rights are not based on science at all. They are based primarily on couples' irresponsibility in sexual relations and the desire to have sex (usually by committing fornication) without consequences. The consequences are there, even if the woman aborts her child. For unless they repent, fornicators as well as blasphemers will go to hell, not heaven. That's not what I think. It's what God says.
Mary Bennett
Fillmore
To the Editor:
In response to Mary Bennett’s thoughtful comments on abortion:
Your biblical references are from a thousands-of-years-old oral tradition of monotheism arising from paganism in the Judean world. The written Old Testament from which you quote says a lot of things that are unacceptable today (offering your daughters to visitors for the night), or just plain psycho (God testing Abraham’s loyalty and love by demanding he kill his son, Isaac). It is an often-beautiful though violent document, but the relationship with God generally so severe and punitive that God sent His only Son with a far different message in the “Good News” of the New Testament:Love over Law.
There are two kinds of belief systems: one based upon choice (e.g., religious beliefs, which do not require proof) and one based upon facts (science, which does). There are many religious belief systems world-wide. You have chosen some version of Christianity (there are many). Others have chosen otherwise.
No one argues that the moment of conception does not produce “life.” The question is, at what point does a fetus become a “human being? Since Science cannot answer that question, the issue must be resolved otherwise. Who has the superior relationship to the pregnancy? The woman who carries the fetus, or you and your chosen religious principles imposed by the State as law?
You represent that your personal chosen religious beliefs should be imposed upon a woman’s most intimate issues even if she does not share your beliefs, and include severe, punitive sanctions. They do this in Iran under Sharia law. You are welcome to your religious choices for your own life, Mary, but in a free society you cannot impose them as ”facts” derived from a three-thousand-year-old religious document.
With all due respect, Mary, other women’s moral standing or health choices are beyond your responsibility or authority, or that of the State. Still, those who believe as you do can perform a great and loving service: you can pray for her.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
Last week the Biden administration under Attorney General Merrick Garland indicated he is intending to indict Trump as he has convened a grand jury and, as everyone knows, obtained a criminal warrant to search and seize documents from Trump’s home. As soon as the information set out in the warrant was released at Trump’s request, those giddy with glee bounced on the word “classified” documents. The Receipt for Property says the DOJ took “various classified/TS/SCI documents (top secret and sensitive compartmented information).” The DOJ refuses to release the Affidavit which gives the pertinent information for what they actually hoped to find. Trump says they were unclassified; Garland won’t say anything.
It is then left up to the commentators on TV, cable news, newspapers and you to determine what actually was in those documents. Could they be worse than Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s top secret documents on the server in her home?
If Garland thought they were so sensitive in nature why did he wait? His last communication with Trump was in June. No request from the DOJ for documents or another peek into those boxes under double lock. No, let’s just knock on the door, break the locks on the storage door, riffle through the drawers and take any slip of paper we may find. This was done all with the hope there is a word or phrase found that will allow the grand jury to give into the propaganda.
And make no mistake about it--it is propaganda. And the spewing of misinformation and lack of information does nothing to give the average American a sense of peace or trust; quite the opposite. In the last 18 months at least nine individuals who were close to Trump (mostly his attorneys) have had their homes and/or offices searched, and phones seized. Congressman Scott Perry had his phone seized while on vacation with his family. They didn’t contact him or his attorney prior to the seizure.
The timing of the move by the DOJ and FBI has caused further division of the American citizenry. Dictators like Hitler, Mao, Stalin, and Pol Pot, as well as many of our current leaders, use fear to keep control. And they promote fear. Fear of COVID, climate change, war with Russia and/or China, for instance. We’re told white supremacy is the greatest threat to our country. Yet Congresswoman Julia Brownley was unable to provide me with data that supported this assertion.
This is not just about Trump. It’s about the desire for the establishment to retain power. That desire is greater than the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or the rule of law. Twitter announced this week they are going to censure (again prior to an election) what they deem misinformation.
And they want me to trust them? It’s getting harder and harder every day.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
In 2019, the CDC found that 37.3 million American (11.3%) of the population had diabetes, with an additional 1.4 million diagnosed each year. Type 2 diabetes is being found even in teenagers. The medication that keeps many of these Americans alive is insulin. In the United States, insulin costs over $98/unit (monthly cost up to $1,000), whereas the rest of the world pays less than $10/unit.
The Democratic proposal would limit price increases on all prescription drugs, improve Medicare’s drug coverage, and allow the government to negotiate directly on the price of some drugs used by Medicare patients while also limiting insulin co-payments. It would also provide insulin coverage for people without health insurance.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) tweeted on Sunday after the debate over a component of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that would have capped the cost of insulin at $35. He said that he had voted to make insulin available for pennies on the dollar, and that it was Democrats who blocked it. Video of the vote showed clearly that Grassley had voted “No” for insulin cost relief. Does he think his voters won’t notice his lie about his vote?
What happened: the Parliamentarian decided that the insulin bill was not subject to the rules for reconciliation (requiring a simple majority vote). To pass as a regular bill, it needed “Yes” votes from 10 Republicans to join the unanimous Democrats. Since only 7 Republicans joined the Democrats, the bill went to defeat and Congress failed to deliver the benefit to our citizens.
The Democrats did not deny insulin relief. The Republicans did. Providing it was just not as important as “owning the libs.” Or telling the truth.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
One of the good things about being old is that I can remember when a lot of things actually happened. T, there was a time when the political parties differed on policies, but generally had the country’s welfare as a priority. Politics was not just a zero-sum game played only to maintain party power. There really was a “Reagan Revolution” when it became acceptable to be greedy and to blame the poor and increasing number of homeless for their situations, rather than tag big money and the failure of capitalism to provide for anyone except the rich and powerful.
The Democrats have their causes, but white nationalism, Christo-fascism, and denial of civil rights of women over their own bodies are not among them. Here is what the Repo senators have done in the last couple of weeks to strengthen and serve the interests of their constituents:
0% voted for cheaper gas
0% voted for cheaper insulin
0% voted for child tax credits to help out young families
0% voted for the Voting Rights Act
1% voted to fight domestic terrorism
4% voted for background checks to buy assault weapons
6% voted for more baby formula
13% voted to stop domestic violence
16% voted for veteran’s cancer care
23% voted to keep gay marriage legal
32% voted to uphold the 2020 election
Why does the party that vehemently proclaims their patriotism and reverence for the constitution and flag also make it difficult for people to vote when there is no legally-supported evidence of elections abuse? Why would they vote against supporting our veterans In need? Why would the party that claims to stand for the “average American” and “the little guy” work so hard to prevent working people from having union representation in the workplace?
Why do so many Republicans support authoritarian Russia and vote against aid to democratic Ukraine? Why do Tucker Carlson and other conservatives celebrate an autocrat and fascist like Viktor Orban when he’s openly endorsed Russia in its conflict with Europe and Ukraine.
Why do they constantly try to reduce taxes on the insanely wealthy while throwing the smallest of bones to average working people and saving the debt for our children? And why is that acceptable to so many Republicans?
Kelly Scoles
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
Kelly Scoles wrote on June 30, "Last week, as anticipated, SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, deciding on a 6-3 vote that women's reproductive rights are not HERS but belong to States' law enforcement." Kelly thinks that abortion is a woman's reproductive right. I assume that she agrees with those who say, "my body, my choice." This raises the question: Is the fetus simply part of the woman's body? Have you ever heard of one part of a woman's body having a blood type different from that of the rest of her body? Yet an unborn child often has a blood type different from her mother's. Within a short time, she also has her own beating heart. Have you ever heard of a woman's body having two beating hearts (and also two heads)?
Kelly also stated sarcastically, "control of a zygot or fetus is far more important than the freedom of the woman ..." The little fetus is a human being with her own heart, her own blood, and her own body. Shouldn't she have the freedom to grow up to be a woman like her mother did? Is her life any less important than her mother's? The Supreme Court didn't say that women don't have freedom, including reproductive freedom. What the court said is that the Constitution doesn't give women the right to kill their unbornbabies.
Sadly, many women buy into the lie, "my body, my choice. "However, abortion is murder because it intentionally takes the life of another human being. All murder, including abortion, is against God's law. David writes in Psalm 139:13-14,"You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." And God said to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." God gives life, beginning in our mother's womb. We have no right to take it.
Mary Bennett,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
The discussion of the end of Roe v Wade has quieted down these last few days, as many protests against the decision by an ideological group do. I have no doubt as situations occur some will come out in protest again.
The query by Ms. Scoles was, “Why do so many conservative politicians rail against government interference in our lives ...?”. While she was directing her question to “woman’s healthcare”, I think the question should not be directed only to “conservative” politicians, as it seems to be a bipartisan problem. Government has a habit of interfering in virtually every aspect of our lives.
The federal government has stepped into areas which in the past were under states control - education, healthcare, welfare, as well as law enforcement. In 2021, many were forced to take an experimental vaccine in order to attend school or hold down a job. Many, like Fauci and Biden who have had the preferred four shots, still were not protected. Even when taking Paxlovid, each relapsed.
Our Constitution gave us guidelines granting us the freedom to live our lives as we see fit. It doesn’t care which party is in power. The Founders understood each would seek to push their interests at the expense of our liberty. It set out specific checks and balances for the three branches of government, and each branch was given specific powers under which it must operate thereby limiting overreach by another. Each state then has its own constitution which cannot pass any law that violates the U.S. Constitution.
The representatives in California, the majority being Democrats, are quite progressive. There are 11 bills passed or before the legislature relating to reproductive rights. Over $200 million for those rights are set out in this year’s budget. Most is going to abortion clinics, little, if any to provide support to pregnancy centers that help women and girls who chose to have their child.
Why do Democrats want to pass laws that allow for the killing of a fetus yet don’t support the death penalty for those who are convicted of murder?
Patti Walker
Fillmore
To the Editor:
I hope there is someone out there who can explain something to me. Why do so many conservative politicians rail against government interference in our lives, but endorse deep government intrusion into the most private part of a woman’s healthcare? They resent and deplore the inclusion of civil rights that are contrary to their personal Christian beliefs, but insist that it is the government’s job to be a partner in a pregnancy and other intimate issues.
A nine-year-old girl was raped and impregnated in Ohio, a state which outlaws abortion after only six weeks. The mother’s troubling defense should be investigated, but a nine- or ten-year-old cannot consent. Anyone who is acquainted with the physiology or psychology of a female child knows very well that her own body needs the nutrients required in pregnancy and her soul is in no way prepared to mother another child. Gym Jordan (R-OH) smugly declared the pregnancy claim to be a “predictable Democratic lie” designed to make anti-choice proponents look bad.
Ohio AG Yost (R-OH) said the story was a “lie.” When he proved wrong, he blamed the physician for not reporting it within the statutory period. He was wrong about that, too. Some years ago, he claimed that Science has “changed in the last years“and suggested that it has settled the question of when the body is “ensouled.” It hasn’t. Science can detect the presence of life but not of the human soul.
James Bopp, Jr., counsel for the National Right to Life, condescended that the 10-year-old should “have had the baby, and as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child.” A grown man pontificates about a female child. Do you really want to consign reproductive issues to the tender mercies of these “geniuses?”
Why do many women look past these political atrocities and conclude that Republicans give a desiccated fig about their interests? And this is just the beginning.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
In May 2021, Biden said to our service members at a Virginia military base, “America is unique. From all nations in the world, we’re the only nation organized based on an idea ” Biden said in the address. “None of you get your rights from your government; you get your rights merely because you’re a child of God. The government is there to protect those God given rights. No other government has been based on that notion. No one can defeat us except us.”
The Founding Fathers’ worked for months to stitch together a document that was the basis of that “idea” Biden mentions - limited government, checks and balances, separation of powers, republicanism (interconnection of individual freedom and civic participation with the promotion of the common good) , popular sovereignty (governmental power comes from the will of the people) , and finally, federalism (BOTH the national and state governments share power).
The Constitution is not a living document, except when amendments are added, the last, number Twenty-seven, was added in May 1992, and it took 202 years to ratify that one. As CNN pointed out in 2020, “The Supreme Court hasn’t been this conservative since the 1930's.” The appointment of Barrett, joining Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh as Constitutional originalists. This left Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, who ascribe to a judicial philosophy where they bring their own individual ideas and beliefs which shape their rulings.
The late Justice Scalia, an originalist, stated, “My burden is not to show that originalism is perfect, but that it beats the other alternatives, and that, believe me, is not difficult.” He also said, “All these questions pose enormous difficulty for non originalists, who must agonize over what the modern Constitution ought to mean with regard to each of these subjects, and then agonize over the very same questions five or 10 years later, because times change,”
As the battles are being fought over the Roe v Wade decision wage on, please ask yourself, do you want the Constitution to be built on a solid foundation of bedrock or quicksand?
Patti Walker
To the Editor:
“Projection” is a term used in psychology to describe the deflection for personal bad acts onto others to avoid censure, incrimination, or responsibility for his or her own acts. The “projector” often presents as a “victim,” of lunacy, ill-will, or frequent “unfairness.”
If you didn’t see any part of the telecast testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, you could not know how compelling the former Deputy to the Chief of Staff to the president was. From her report, Trump knew his crowd was armed, and mag check revealed that many weapons, including guns, knives and truncheons, were confiscated from many in the crowd. Trump told the Secret Service that he didn’t care if the crowd had guns, because, “they’re not here to hurt me.” When told that the crowd at the Capitol was yelling, “get Mike Pence,” and had erected a gallows on the lawn, he excused it by saying that “people are angry at Mike.”
Ms. Hutchinson, a Trump Republican until January 6 when the coup was attempted, testified that her boss Mark Meadows, Chief of Staff, declined to confront the president again as the violence escalated, because “he (Trump) doesn’t want to do anything.” Pat Cipollone, White House Counsel, urged immediate presidential call for peace (which he only got hours into the insurrection), and remarked that if Trump’s Capitol plans succeeded, “we’re going to be charged with every crime imaginable.” Jared accused the lawyer of “whining.”
But Trump determined that Ms Cassidy has “something wrong with her," he said on Wednesday…The woman is living in fantasy land. She's a social climber, if you call that social. She has serious problems. Mental problems. But for this girl to sit there and just, I think, make up stories and I, again, hardly know who she is."
Vintage Trump. Project lying, crazy, and mental problems onto another believable individual, and insist the HE is a victim of her fantasies, and the very worst sin, being a “social climber,” which has been Trump’s alter-ego all his life. He attempts to project onto her, as he has to so many, the very things of which he himself is guilty.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
Last week, as anticipated, SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, deciding on a 6-3 vote that women’s reproductive rights are not HERS but belong to States’ law enforcement.
In states like TX, it’s also the business of vigilantes who may wish to identify for prosecution their daughters, wives, sisters, friends, enemies, or complete strangers. Because control of a zygot or fetus is far more important than the freedom of the woman even if she had been forced into conception. Will doctors be required to report pregnancies to the State for monitoring? Is a woman’s reproductive health record subject to evidentiary scrutiny? Is there no longer a “doctor-patient privilege” for women?
Senators Joe Manchin (D-WVA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) were shocked and “deeply disappointed” in the votes by Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch who had assured them that Roe v. Wade was an “important precedent of the Supreme Court that has been reaffirmed many times,” and that “any good judge would treat it as precedent.” Naïve or gullible, neither senator did their job, so it was easy for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch to hoodwink them and lie. A significant problem on the highest Court in the land?
Young women today cannot know what it was like before Roe and how many women died in self-administered pregnancy termination out of sheer desperation. While Republicans demand “choice,” and “freedom” from government interference in their lives, they routinely define and deny “freedom” for others, and now justify government intrusion into women’s most private issues. Politicians do not do this out of respect for “life” (or they would show similar concern post-birth), and certainly not for women’s lives. It is not the last intrusion into private life this Court will make. When anti-choice Republicans insist that they are the Party of Freedom, they mean THEIR freedoms informed by thirst for political power or personal religious validation. This is not “democracy.”
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
So, Roe v Wade is history. We’ve known this for over a month. Yet the anger remains so intense. Why? Why are so many corporations paying their employees to travel to a state where abortions are legal? Dick’s Sporting Goods is paying up to $4,000 to cover an abortion. I’m sure it’s less expensive to cover the abortion than to pay for maternity leave, health insurance coverage and for the corporation to have to deal with the affects children can cause.
I believe that individuals when choosing to have an abortion, are facing one of their life’s most difficult decisions. One that cannot be altered. That’s why there are pregnancy centers - centers that provide counter-information to the ending of a life together with support during the pregnancy and after. Is that such a bad thing? Do those who are destroying these centers know this?
In 2006 Biden said, “I do not view abortion as a choice. I think it’s always a tragedy.” Under Clinton White House always pro-choice Counsel Elena Kagan, now Superior Court Judge, urged Clinton to ban partial birth abortions. Clinton said that abortions should be “safe, legal but rare”.
Why can’t the media just tell the truth about the decision? Many states have laws on the books pertaining to abortion, California being one. They are not illegal in all states. Planned Parenthood shows six where it is not allowed. Here in CA AB2223, cosponsored by our local Assemblymember Steve Bennett, states, “SEC. 6. Section 123466 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:123466. The state shall not deny or interfere with a pregnant person’s right to choose or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.” Keep in mind AB2223 does not define “viability”. Some say fetal viability is when the fetus can survive outside of the womb. Is this with or without medical care? If so, viability is around 23 weeks of the approximate 38 weeks for a full-term fetus. And a fetus is not a child until it reaches its 8th week after birth.
AB2223 goes on to say, “SEC. 8. Section 123468 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 123468. The performance of an abortion is unauthorized if performed by someone other than the pregnant person and if either of the following is true: ...”. So, in CA can the “pregnant person” perform an abortion on herself regardless of where she may be in the gestation period? Just wondering as that too is not discussed.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
We should be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Watergate break in as a close call for our democracy, but one which we finally discovered, acknowledged and held the perpetrators, from the president to the mad-as-a-hatter G. Gordon Liddy, accountable. Unfortunately, we have a far more threatening recent assault on our country to confront.
The bipartisan House Select Committee on the January 6, 2021, event at the Capitol is holding televised meetings to report on the on the events of that day, in a way that makes clear what happened without endless hours of testimony, for which we can be grateful. The only reason that only two constitutionally-honest Republicans serve on the Committee is that Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had a hissy fit when Pelosi exercised her power to reject his Trumpian apologists, and he refused to appoint alternate Repo House members. Take that, Pelosi! Uh oh.
It is now clearthat the events of J6 were not spontaneous. They were planned by Trump minions from the Willard Hotel in D.C. “Stop the Steal” rallying cry was a PR stuntsince Trump himself, and the rational minds around him (including Ivanka), knew that Trump had lost. But here was a chance to inflame his base and it was a sure way to beat the bushes for donations to fight the “steal.” No one has identified one cent that was used for that purpose. But hey, ka-ching!
Former AG Bill Barr finally admitted, after being placed under oath, that he knew the “stop the steal” cry was unfounded, and that Trump’s attempts tooverthrow the election were unconstitutional. Many Republicanstold colleagues that Trump was responsible for the insurrection and needed to be held accountable, only to reverse themselves when The Don yanked their chains.
I hope you have a chance to watch this exercise in democracy. Our government was very nearly overthrown from within and we must be prepared for another attempt.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
Last week my former churchgoing friend offered yet another plaintive critique of “Biden and his administration are gloating that he has been able to bring about ‘historic’ economic gains…” (Sigh.)
Fortunately, I know this author to be a caring and intelligent citizen. Let me ask one question, since I respect and also recognize her feelings of frustration and powerlessness as if they were my own: Are there any compassionate Americans who are gloating over anything political in America tonight …or for the last decade? The pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, hyperpartisanship, wage inequality, climate change, Uvalde, QAnon, racial tensions…
Homework for Fillmorites: Let’s be fearless and try trusting one another again.
Respectfully,
Tom Somers,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
The Biden and his administration are gloating that he has been able to bring about “historic” economic gains during the first 16 months of his time in office.
Last time I looked the stock market is down since he took office. Trump warned the country that the stock market would crash if Biden was elected. Seems he may be right.
Gas prices are up from July 2021, of $3.216 a gallon to today’s average price of $5.107 around the country. And you only need to go to the grocery store to feel inflation at its fullest.
Biden repeats that there is low unemployment and higher wages. As for the first, they don’t count those who are not receiving unemployment payments. Many had to leave their jobs either through resignation or retirement due to requirements to receive the COVID shots. And many didn’t return to their jobs after the lock-downs were relaxed. With 4.5 million workers quitting their jobs in November 2021, it has left over 10 million job openings across the USA. And higher wages? It’s being eaten up by the increase costs at the stores and gas stations.
When Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan, the economy was growing at 6.5%. Why pour money into the consumers pockets when they were doing it all on their own? As a result in the third quarter of 2021 the growth rate dropped to 2%. Recession is looming.
So the question is still the same one Reagan asked but worse. Are you better off today then two years ago?
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Readers of our Fillmore Gazette:
For everyone's information, there has been a misunderstanding that this year's LGBTQ+ Pride fair was cancelled. This year's LGBTQ+ Pride Fair was not cancelled by anyone. However, unlike last year, the city will not help to advertise it, co-sponsor it, nor will they pay city employees who work on the fair in any way. That is entirely up to any private group that wishes to do so. Anyone in Fillmore is free to organize, sponsor, and advertise for their own fair.
Safeguard Fillmore
To the Editor:
Local energy workers work hard to produce safe, affordable, and reliable energy for all Ventura County residents. We take tremendous pride in the work we do. But the proponents of Measures A and B are attacking local oil and gas production, and with it, thousands of good-paying local jobs. Measures A and B are a power grab by local politicians to grant themselves the power to shut down existing oil and gas production. A shutdown would jeopardize more than 2,000 jobs that support working families, including mine. Jobs are at stake, and local families can’t afford Measures A and B. Please take this into consideration and vote No this June.
Joe Benson,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
The California voter ballots are being mailed out this week. Please, please know your candidates. Become familiar with their positions on those matters that you deem important. Read the measures and propositions that may be on the ballot. You may learn too late that the fine print conflicted with your beliefs.
The decision you make will be one you’ll have to live with the entire time you live in this beautiful state. Voting is not only a right, it is a privilege that must be cherished and respected.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
***
To the editor:
With the recently leaked Supreme Court decision draft, the issue of abortion rights is again in the news. We read of demonstrations agitating against overturning Roe v. Wade and see signs displayed with the slogans, "My body, my choice," and "Bans off my body." In discussing this issue, two questions are worth asking. Question one: "If it has a beating human heart, is it a human being?" Question two: "Can one part of a woman's body have a blood type different from the rest of her body?" The answers are obvious. If it has a beating human heart, what else would it be but a human being? And, of course one part of a person's body can't have a blood type different from the rest of her body. Yet many children, including the unborn, have a blood type different from their mother's.
If you support abortion rights, I encourage you to honestly ask yourself these questions. If you're pro-life and discuss abortion rights with those who support them, I encourage you to ask them these questions. If people consider and answer these questions, hopefully they will see that abortion takes the life of an innocent human being.
Also, check out the website of "Abortiontruth.com." Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
Rev. Leslie R. Lanier,
Wayfarer's Chapel Lutheran Church,
Fillmore
Letter to The Editor:
What is the purpose of a city council proclamation? They are handed out like candy at Halloween in recognition of employees work ethics, retiring employees and council members, school championships, or annual announcements like fire prevention week, mental awareness, cancer awareness, etc., etc. It is an official statement of praise and celebration.
Last year the Fillmore City Council issued a proclamation to announce LGBTQ+ Pride Month. When asked, the city joined in to provide support for a resource fair in 2021 which was held outside City Hall. In doing so, they now find they’re being chided for not willing to support the fair in 2022.
The city did not issue a declaration, which is different from a proclamation. A declaration is an indication of an opinion or belief. Maybe not all five of the council members believe they should have the city involved to the level they found themselves in the prior year. Their desire not to continue in a yearly resource fair is not an act of discrimination or an effort to oppress any member of the community. If the non-profit in question wishes to hold the fair I hope it is successful. It is not necessary for the city to be involved for it to be so.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
The first day to vote is just around the corner. Federal, state and local offices are on the ballot. What’s happening in your life? Are you better off today than two years ago? Have the incumbents lowered your taxes? Worked to lower gas prices? Improved your child’s education? If not, this is the sixth inning and your team is losing. Maybe it’s time to replace the players on the field.
Patti Walker
Fillmore
To the Editor:
“There are only three ways to meet the unpaid bills of a nation. The first is taxation. The second is repudiation. The third is inflation.” Herbert Hoover
In review of Hoover’s quote, Biden is proposing a hike in the federal income tax rate from 37% to 39.6% in his 2023 federal budget. On top of that he’s pushing for taxing unrealized capital gains from stocks and bonds. He’s also pushing for child care credits, elder care credits and reduction in prescription prices. These last items are not bad, just costly. None of this should surprise Biden voters because in 1983 he voted to implement the first tax on social security income at 50%. In 1993 he voted to increase the tax on those benefits to 85%.
But getting back to Hoover, repudiation is next. It wasn’t Biden’s fault about Afghanistan. Nor is the border crisis. Rising gas prices were first due to oil producers now its Putin. The cost of meat was because of corporate greed. Increase in crime is due to guns not the criminal or the lack of prosecution.
Now here we are. Inflation is at everyone’s doorstep. Biden pointed his finger at the economy and blamed the slow economic recovery on the pandemic. In February 2020, before the pandemic, the CPI was 2.3% in March 2021 it ended up at 2.6%. Today it’s a whopping 8.5%.
In 1883 William G. Sumner published “What the Social Classes Owe Each Other”. Sumner said there are four interest groups one is to consider. Group A were the Progressive social planners of his time – late 19th century. Group B were the legislators and bureaucrats of the government. Group C was made up of the large majority of industrious laboring producers who work hard to support their families and improve their situations in life. Group D were the lazy and the drunken, the layabouts who are always looking for handouts.
In the end Sumner stated the A’s decide there is a moral duty to provide charity to the D’s, who they see as victims of economic forces over which they have no control. As an interest group, the A’s lobby the B’s to pass laws to institutionalize such charity, otherwise known as welfare. But here’s the rub. Where is the money to come from? Why, from the C’s of course.
I’ll end with a quote by Vladimir Lenin. “The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.”
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
VCAS
The following letter will publish in The Fillmore Gazette on April 14, 2022. Ms. Greylock and her dogs are well-known around Fillmore, and it is always fun to run into them on their walks. We have published 2 articles with pictures on her happy trio of pups. It is hard to understand why anyone would object to her friendly pets.
“Dear People of Fillmore; I need your help. I'm Birch Greyloch, the woman with the very large dogs.( Perhaps you saw the wonderful article written by Carina Monica Montoya and published in this newspaper on March 3rd.) My dogs are always with me. I need them. Forrest is my service dog and Dahlia is being trained to be a service dog. But some of my neighbors are trying to have them declared a vicious menace and take them away from me. Neither dog has ever bitten anyone, they have never even growled at anyone, but like all dogs, they have barked at people. I am doing everything in my power to keep them away from anyone that is bothered by them. But I do have to go in and out of the building and because I am on the third floor, I must use the elevator. There is no way to see who will be waiting for the elevator when we get home or who may be on the first floor when we get off. If the dogs are surprised, they may bark. Barking doesn't seem to be a sin if the dog is small, but if the dog is large...
These people who are offended by my dogs are calling Animal Control to complain. If Animal Control only hears from these complainers, it will be easy for them to assume that my dogs are a menace and take them from me. If you would please be kind enough to call or write to Animal Control about what you have seen of my dogs and their behavior, I will be eternally grateful and know that Fillmore truly is my home.
Ventura County Animal Services
600 Aviation Dr
Camarillo, CA 93010
805-388-4341
Thank you all, very much!
Birch Greyloch”
Wanda Castel de Oro
Editor, The Fillmore Gazette
805-524-2481
***
To the Editor:
“There are only three ways to meet the unpaid bills of a nation. The first is taxation. The second is repudiation. The third is inflation.” Herbert Hoover
In review of Hoover’s quote, Biden is proposing a hike in the federal income tax rate from 37% to 39.6% in his 2023 federal budget. On top of that he’s pushing for taxing unrealized capital gains from stocks and bonds. He’s also pushing for child care credits, elder care credits and reduction in prescription prices. These last items are not bad, just costly. None of this should surprise Biden voters because in 1983 he voted to implement the first tax on social security income at 50%. In 1993 he voted to increase the tax on those benefits to 85%.
But getting back to Hoover, repudiation is next. It wasn’t Biden’s fault about Afghanistan. Nor is the border crisis. Rising gas prices were first due to oil producers now its Putin. The cost of meat was because of corporate greed. Increase in crime is due to guns not the criminal or the lack of prosecution.
Now here we are. Inflation is at everyone’s doorstep. Biden pointed his finger at the economy and blamed the slow economic recovery on the pandemic. In February 2020, before the pandemic, the CPI was 2.3% in March 2021 it ended up at 2.6%. Today it’s a whopping 8.5%.
In 1883 William G. Sumner published “What the Social Classes Owe Each Other”. Sumner said there are four interest groups one is to consider. Group A were the Progressive social planners of his time – late 19th century. Group B were the legislators and bureaucrats of the government. Group C was made up of the large majority of industrious laboring producers who work hard to support their families and improve their situations in life. Group D were the lazy and the drunken, the layabouts who are always looking for handouts.
In the end Sumner stated the A’s decide there is a moral duty to provide charity to the D’s, who they see as victims of economic forces over which they have no control. As an interest group, the A’s lobby the B’s to pass laws to institutionalize such charity, otherwise known as welfare. But here’s the rub. Where is the money to come from? Why, from the C’s of course.
I’ll end with a quote by Vladimir Lenin. “The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.”
Patti Walker,
Fillmore CA
To the Editor:
Second Opinion. Conflicts of Interest and Rot
Last week’s Realities bothered me for a couple of reasons.I certainly expected the jerk-knee defense of all things Republican (Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Bork whose only problem was that he hated democracy). But I have to call you out on referring to Senator Maizie Hirono as a “Hawaiian pig.” That is beyond fair comment, IMO.
In the course of trying to revive our democratic republic in the 21st Century, we confront political rot from within and without. The spouses, children and even parents of today’s high office holders are often professionals and can have international connections. What is their obligation, and that of the office holder, to act without compromising the US from within? No law prohibits or curtails political spouses or children from having their own lives, interests, and jobs.
Ginni Thomas, wife of SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas has famously said that he and Ginni “are one,” and that there is “no daylight between them.” Justices are not legally, but only honor, -bound, to recuse themselves where their “impartiality might be reasonably questioned.”
Ginni is unique because of the extent to which her activism intersects with SCOTUS. She has been referred to as the “Forrest Gump of rightwing activism.” While her husband was consideringBush v. Gore in 2000, she was vetting resumes for a potential Bush Administration. She was lobbying against Obamacare as her husband was hearing the case. While SCOTUS was deciding whether Congress could subpoena some January 6 records (which later revealed her active participation in sedition), she accused Congress of “harassing private citizens who have done nothing wrong.” SCOTUS decided the case with one“No” vote, Thomas.
How would Republicans react if the Thomases were similarly disposed, but as Democrats?
The Washington Postrecently published a lengthy updated analysis of presidential son Hunter Biden and his international activities. If accurate, and there’s no reason to believe it isn’t after investigation, it ain’t a pretty picture. The younger Biden sounds like a troubled soul taking refuge in drugs and visions of glory in thoughtlessand trashy ways. Arguments that Hunter had no prior experience that would justify hisforeign compensation are well-founded. The DOJ investigation continues and will determine if his activities were illegal.
Many Republicans agitate themselves over Hunter, though the entire Trump Administration provided asmorgasbord of self-aggrandizement. But, to be fair, when it came to the president’s “kids,” there were three actors plus Jared at work. And, of course, the president himself.Tiny examples:
Trump declined to place his business interests in a blind trust, but“ceded” management of Trump Enterprises to sons Eric and Donnie who don’t breathe without “Dad’s” approval. Trump made547visits to his ownposh propertiesand often brought other officeholders or dignitaries, for whose accommodations, meals and golf carts, he charged the government (us) at market rate, as hedid for the Secret Service personnel who were required to protect him.
Jared and Ivanka who, like Hunter Biden, had no experience in government or in the fields for which they were hired, constantly promoted their financial interests while working in the WH.Their Financial Reports indicate that the two of them made millions in their brand side jobs during the administration. Ivanka received highly unusual and remunerativemultiple Chinese patents once her father took office. Jared’s family met with one of China’s largest finance firms and highlighted Jared’s WH role in pitches to investors. Jared met with mortgage finance executives in the White House, and his father met with Qatar’s finance minister about an investment.
Meanwhile, Donnie and Eric continually glad-handed Trump businesses worldwide, despite ethics warnings.
I am not sure that any of the instances cited here are illegal, but they are sordid and have the appearance of wrong doing. We need laws to prevent this rot and the legal teeth to enforce them.If someone wants to serve in high office, their families need to know that their activities are limited.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
“We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, but they are still lying” Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
MDM is whatever those in power say it is. What is MDM? It’s mis-, dis-, and mal-information. Who gets to say what’s MDM? Frankly, it’s whoever those in power are pushing.
Dept Homeland Security (DHS) uses the label to identify those who deviate from the approved narratives relating to COVID or the 2020 election for instance. If you question or have a difference of opinion, you are at risk of becoming a part of the “foreign and domestic threat of actors”. And what are “treat actors”? Well, they believe you are one if you “exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence.”
Take a look at the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) website. They say MDM “is based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.”
At no time has an example of any such attack been given. Could they use criticism against the government to imprison someone?
Will the DHS/CISA go after Twitter, Facebook or Instagram for their misleading narratives and coverup regarding the Hunter Biden laptop? Or will they go after Fox News because their factual stories ended up sowing discord and undermining the public trust in our government?
The use of MDM by anyone allows for the control of thought and speech. The use of MDM by the DHS and CISA puts them in the position to tell you what is true or false but they also get to determine whether the information is good or harmful for your consumption.
We’ve got the LGBTQ, BLM, CDC and FDA, among others, who are controlling the language yet failing to disseminate the facts. Why? Could it be because they then loose control over the information and therefore the outcome?
By going down this path we are at risk of losing our ability to be tolerant of others, to have a dialogue on the issues, and in the end allow each to walk away without capitulation of their beliefs. That is democracy. That is freedom of speech. That is what the America I live in should be for all.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore
To the Editor:
Second Opinion. SCOTUS and Jackassery.
A few weeks ago, Martin deemed it unworthy to consider“theater” in serious political debate. My point was that if theater were removed from politics, at least half of our current Congress would be in Cancun, “searchin’ for their lost shaker of salt.”
Example: Senate Judiciary hearings on the SCOTUS nomination of Kentanji Brown Jackson. Judge Jackson is deemed “Well-Qualified” by unanimous vote of the Standing Committee of the ABA and has been vetted and confirmed by the Committee for three prior federal judicial appointments. She graduated from Harvard magna cum laude, and Harvard Law School cum laude. She has a broad spectrum of legal experience.
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) sanctimoniously declared that President Biden picked the “wrongblack woman” (it’s “your Honor” to you, buddy), and that Judge Jackson is an “activist” (as opposed to the current flaming-reactionary SCOTUS majority). He became borderline-hysterical and ordered Jackson to weigh in on the Kavanaugh hearings, shouting over her when she tried to respond. At one point he became so overwrought in his lip-quivering concern for some unintelligible menace, he got teary-eyed and stalked out of the hearing room. Very emotional little guy.
Josh Hawley (R-MO) betrayed his Harvard/Yale education by puckering up for a QAnon-inspired dog whistle that liberals support pedophiles, and asserted that some of Judge Jackson’s sentences for sex-related crimes indicate she is an apologist for child pornographers. The mother of two pointed out that while she has some discretion in sentencing, Congress sets sentencing guidelines for judges, noting that she is not in Congress.
The hearing room hushed for the queries of TX Senator Ted “Daddy” Cruz (just keepin’ the legend alive).He so ridiculously grandstanded that fellow-Republican Ben Sasse (NE) commented, “I think we should recognize that the jackasserywe often see around here is partly because of people mugging for short-term camera opportunities” as Daddy checked his Twitter comments.
It wounds me to withhold my award for “jackassery” from Cruz, but it has to go to Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Also whistling toQAnonreveries of liberal support for pedophilia, she demanded that Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) provide, for her inspection and evaluation, the sealed sentencing documents for a couple of rapists sentenced by Judge Jackson. He refused for privacy considerations of the victims. So, she asked the Judge to define “woman.” Judge Jacksonadmitted that she lacks the expertise to definebiological sex in terms of chromosomes, genes, hormones, and organs.Blackburn really wanted a simpler, more helpfuldefinition involving secondary sex characteristicsat birth. Which has nothing to do with an appointment to SCOTUS.
These political thespians know they can inspire and motivate the base by conjuring abortion, liberal plots, and pedophile rings. While Hawley showed an unusually keen interest in the details of rapes and molestations, Blackburn stated, “The Constitution grants us rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – not abortions.” The relevant quote is, of course, from the Declaration of Independence and not the Constitution. Apparently, you don’t have to take a course in American History to get a BA in Home Ec. from Mississippi State or be a Senator from Tennessee. Someone on Twitter recommended that she “put down the Aquanet and read a book once in a while.”
Senate Leader McConnell urged Republicans to reject her nomination because she “declined to address critically important questions and ameliorate real concerns. Judge Jackson was the court-packers pick.” We’re still at 9, Lady Whistledog. Don’t hold it against Jackson that she hasn’t been credibly accused of sexual assault, didn’t snivel, or announce her passion for any particular adult beverage.
I cannot predict whether Judge Jackson will be confirmed, but clearly, she should be.We will see whether Republicans want a two-Party democratic political system or it’s their way or the highway. What you getwith a one-Party system is a dictatorship.Check out Putin to see what that means.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore
***
To the Editor:
There’s so much talk about the gaffes and bloopers coming from our President and Vice President.
So Kamala hasn’t been to the southern border, she hasn’t “been to Europe.” And maybe she has trouble thinking on her feet, like when she said “It is time for us to do what we have been doing. And that time is every day. Every day it is time for us to agree that there are things and tools that are available to us to slow this thing down.” It’s also possible she believes adults need to be talked to as if they have a third-grade level of education when she spoke about Ukraine. Her comment, “Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine.”
And Biden is pushing 80. I’m sure he was just confused when he spoke to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and told them “You’re going to see when you’re there, and some of you have been there, you’re gonna see — you’re gonna see women, young people standing in the middle in front of a damned tank just saying, ‘I’m not leaving, I’m holding my ground.’”. And maybe his hearing was off when asked about the comment from Russia using chemical weapons, he stated we can “respond in kind”. And he did sound like Reagan this week, at least until he said about Putin, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power."
But the best quote is from Harris when she said, “Because as we all know, elections matter. And when folks vote, they order what they want, and in this case they got what they asked for.”
Patti Walker,
Fillmore