Donald Trump puts American strategic oil reserves at risk of depletion just to support his illegal Iran war policy that drove up energy costs

Echo opinion letter published in The Mercury News, a California newspaper.

Consequences will outlast Trump’s illegal Iran war
Re: “How the war in Iran is complicating Trump’s agenda at home” (Aug. 8).

America is burning through its oil insurance policy. 

For the first time since 1983, America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve have fallen below 300 million barrels. 

That should be a flashing warning⚠ light, not another statistic to shrug off. In fact, the corrupt Trump administration repeatedly tapped the reserve to soften the consequences of an energy crisis intensified by its own policies and confrontation with Iran. That may provide temporary relief, but it exposes a troubling inability to understand second-order effects: actions abroad disrupt supply, disrupted supply raises prices and Washington responds by draining the emergency stockpile meant to protect us from the next crisis.

The SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) is national insurance, not an endless political pressure valve. With oil above 💲80 and gasoline above 💲4 a gallon (💲6 in California), America now has less strategic cushion precisely when geopolitical risk is elevated.

Trump's failed policies have consequences. Eventually, the reserve runs out before the consequences do.

From Akeem Mostamandy in San Jose, California

Donald Trump and maga Republicans misusing our tax money to pay for wasteful media propaganda

Los Angeles Times opinion to the editor: The Trump administration appears to have forgotten that the U.S. Treasury is not a limitless money pot to spend on anything it pleases. It is at best unethical to use the weight of the federal government to support a political campaign, and it may be illegal too (“Call it propaganda or a PSA, Trump’s latest ad blitz is paid for by you,” Sept. 26). 

Would anyone in the Trump administration approve of a theoretical Newsom administration using our tax money in this way❓I think not — it would rightly be called corrupt and problematic.

If this qualifies as an apolitical “public service announcement” just because Trump is not on the ballot, then I suppose no issue advocacy ads are political, either, even though we can always discern which party they are intended to support.

Donald Trump, it is a dangerous game to play the American people for fools (and to waste their money), especially when your majority is on the line in November. You can start to make amends by pulling this ad off the air and doing one of the things you do best — firing the person who came up with this abysmal idea.

From Charlie Henry in Palm Desert, California

Donald Trump and maga Republicans ignore arithmetic: $5,000 bribe per adult will bankrupt the U.S. drive up taxes

Makes no sense for the ignorant Donald Trump  to promise a bribe of 💲5,000 per adult.  This his empty fake promise will be paid for with higher taxes and drive up inflation.  This terrible Trump campaign gimmick is fiscally irresponsible.  Donald Trump acts like the clown in the circus who diverts the audience with gimmicks while the ground crew cleans up the elephants' dung.

Echo opinion letter published in Mercury News, a California newspaper:
Our country is now 💲40 trillion💰 in debt. That’s 💲40,000,000,000,000. That has doubled from the 💲20 trillion range in the last 10 years (including COVID costs). Annual interest on that exceeds 💲1 trillion (💲1,000,000,000,000). Let’s all think seriously about the hows and whys of this increased debt. Who is benefiting❓

How is this 💲40T debt being repaid By borrowing more❓ By printing money❓❓ By our taxpayer dollars❓ Not at all❓

In the meantime, let’s not even get started on the increased cost of living that we all are facing (gas, groceries, insurance, medical, health care, etc.).

Is this what we want❓ Where is it heading❓

From Jim Hensler in Point Richmond, Californnia

Donald Trump and maga Republicans continue to carelessly botch up America. IOW Donald Trump is a failed leader

 Trump goes 0-for-3 on recent leadership (In other words, a failing grade. Who knew😟😨❓)

Echo opinion letter published in The Mercury News, a Califonia newspaper.

More Trump Failures❗

Donald Trump is squarely responsible for the botched repair job of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. 

Trump’s original claim that the cost would be $1.5 to $2 million has mushroomed to $16 million. He personally selected a contractor he worked with at his private clubs and bypassed the competitive bidding process. Refusing any accountability, he shifted blame for the repair failure to a former (innocent) Olympic medalist, charging him criminally with vandalism.

Typical of Trump's incompetence is reflected in his other big building project that destroyed the White House East Wing to build a gold-plated ballroom, which will likely cost taxpayers millions more than he first claimed. 

Far more revealing of Trump’s inept leadership and malfeasance is his mishandling of the Iran war, which he is solely responsible for starting and could have serious long-term economic and national security consequences.

From Warren Seifert in Gilroy, California

Republicans obsessed trying to discredit public health hero Dr. Anthony Fauci but do nothing to challenge ignorant Donald Trump

Senate GOP witch hunt ignores the Constitution. Protect Dr. Fauc!

Dr. Anthony Fauci is a hero❗

Echo opinion published in The Mercury News
Re: “Senate panel OKs plan to charge Fauci”
Frankly, IMO, I believe Dr. (Senator) Rand Paul, Rep. Kentucky,  is jealous about Dr. Anthony Fauci. Although Dr. Rand Paul has a medical degree, he has very little understanding about public health or about the prevention of infectious diseases.  

Also, obviously, Senator Rad Paul does not understand the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which clearly states that “No person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” Since Paul had repeatedly said he believes Dr. Fauci should end up “behind bars,” is it any surprise that Fauci, on the advice of his attorney, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at the July 29,  Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing examining his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic❓

And now, Paul and his fellow Republicans on the committee have decided to hold the 85-year-old Fauci, who is a public health hero, in contempt of Congress for exercising his legal rights under the Fifth Amendment. You have to wonder what happened to due process in this administration. 

Are they merely grandstanding or just looking for someone to blame❓

From Judy Hammon in Orinda, California

Defunding USAID humanitarian aid by selfish Donald Trump and maga Republicans is reckless destruction of American reputation for compassion

After just attending the Maine State Music Theater excellent production of the show "Come From Away", is a reminder about how there was a time in American history when the world stood by us during the September 11, 2001 attacks on our nation. 

Letters to the Editor: Defunding USAID is the worst thing the Trump administration has done.

To the editor of the Los Angeles Times: There are so many horrible and reckless things the Trump administration has done to our country and the world, it’s hard to pick which one is the worst. For me, it is the defunding of USAID (“Shame on Trump, Rubio and Musk, who’ve enabled needless deaths around the world,” Aug. 2).

The fact that Elon Musk, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump and other high-level officials did not foresee or care that millions of lives would be lost from the massive cuts they made is unconscionable. In addition, they allowed millions of dollars in medical supplies that we all paid for to rot in warehouses rather than be distributed to those who desperately needed them.

USAID was one of the things that we Americans could be most proud of and it definitely enhanced our standing as a great country.

All of this for less than 1% of the federal budget. Although we 😥sadly can’t repair all of the damage done, I think we each have a role to play by living our lives in a way that recognizes the value and interconnectedness of all of us who share this Earth.

From: Joanna Ryder, in Hermosa Beach, California

Donald Trump and his failed maga stinking reflecting pool

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/story/2026-08-04/jeanine-pirro-reflecting-pool#:~:text=Readers%20fault%20President,to%20act%20independently.

Echo opinion letters published in the Los Angeles Times:

Cleaning up Donald Trump's stinking ugly "reflecting pool".
This story refuses to go away because it has become a metaphor about Donald Trump's stinking administration.

• Readers fault Donald Trump for insisting the Washington Reflecting Pool was sabotaged by left-wing vandals even after U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro blamed construction flaws, not criminal damage.
  
  
• Letters highlight Trump’s 💲14-million, no-bid contract to a Mar-a-Lago associate whose shoddy work allegedly led to false vandalism accusations and the arrest of an ultimately exonerated suspect.
• Correspondents question whether Trump will apologize, cover the accused man’s legal costs and explain his false claims, while challenging whether the Justice Department can be trusted to act independently.

To the editor: U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro dropped charges against a man who was accused of vandalism to the Washington DC Reflecting Pool, saying the damage was caused by shoddy workmanship, not by vandalism (“Trump blasts Pirro after she refutes his claim that Reflecting Pool was damaged by vandals,” Aug. 1). But, Donald Trump, defending his renovation, is angry at Pirro, insisting without evidence that the damage was caused by left-wing vandals.

Pirro is in big trouble. Doesn’t she realize that, in Trump’s world, 2+2=5❓

From: Richard Merel, in Hermosa Beach, California

To the editor: So Trump awarded a 💲14-million, no-bid Reflecting Pool contract to his Mar-a-Lago buddy, who botched that contract’s work. Then, in an attempt to deflect responsibility, Trump and his cult minions claimed that the contractor’s work was good but that vandals had subsequently sabotaged it. David Hearn was arrested and charged with vandalism. Finally, Trump’s Department of Justice dropped that vandalism charge when it became apparent that it wouldn’t survive trial discovery.

Will Trump apologize to Mr. Hearn and reimburse his legal expenses❓ Will Trump explain to everyone why he wildly claimed Reflecting Pool sabotage❓ Can America trust Trump’s DOJ when it clearly acts in personal fealty to him❓

Frankly, I’m afraid that we already know those answers.

From Brian Roberts, in Covina, California

Donald Trump and maga Republicans created a dangerous and scary precedent for multiple unjustified mass killings

Echo Letters to the Editor published in the Los Angeles Times and in Yahoo.com: Trump isn't making life more affordable, but he is making it scarier.

After making the pathetic the lame excuse of mistakenly killing at least 175 Iranians, mostly children, with a Tomahawk missile, Donald Trump blithely responds, "Some mistakes are made" ("The Trump administration continues killing without answers," June 29). Really❓ Puh-leeze❗😡

The footage of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti's killings is already forever seared into my brain. And the cavalier attitude afterward of the trigger-happy agents who shot them signals to us they knew in advance they wouldn't face any consequences.

And we see these same familiar patterns in how this administration operates in the Caribbean, where at least 210 people 😔😨😥are now confirmed dead by air strikes because they were allegedly bringing illicit drugs to America in small motorboats, seeming hardly seaworthy enough to reach our shores.

Trump does not know how to make life more affordable in America, but he has shown a rather, uh, killer aptitude for instilling abject terror in the hearts of the citizenry as well as the rest of the world.

From Robert Archerd, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Donald Trump cannot respond to "truth" so on national TV Meet the Press he behaved like a spoiled toddler

Echo editorial board opinion published in the Dallas Texas News:

Our expectations for Donald Trump’s sense of decorum have never been high, but even by his standard, he’s outdone himself  by hitting even a new low in his public persona. 

In an interview with NBC journalist Ms. Kristen Welker on Meet the Press that aired June 7, 2026, the Trump managed to distort the facts of record, sling insults and throw a spectacular temper tantrum unfitting of his office.

Much of the first half of the interview danced as reasonably close to the edge of normal as Trump is likely to get, with Ms. Welker pressing the president on the Iran war. As politicians are likely to do, he dodged around and only sometimes answered questions directly, infusing his responses with his trademark, pugnacious style.

As the interview progressed, though, thinks went thoroughly off rail.

Trump defended his 💲1.8 billion slush fund intended to cover legal costs for people deemed victims of "weaponization of lawfare" and said he wanted to get it approved. 

That led to a conversation about rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and whether Trump thought they should be able to get a tax payer funded payout, which he seemed totally open to.

Trump went on to claim how, "People were destroyed by dirty cops and by weaponization. Many of those people should be compensated". 😡

Trump claimed those who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers only did so because they were frightened into it.

To pretend that the violence at the Capitol was a figment of the national imagination and that those who perpetrated it were, in fact, the real victims, is as insulting as it is insane. Sadly, it's not an unusual line to take in today's GOP (a.k.a. "Growing Old Party").

Later in the interview, Trump claimed the currently ongoing California elections were "rigged". Ms. Welker then asked Trump if he had proof❓ "All I have to do is to look and listen," Trump responded.

It was shortly after that Trump went into his immature temper  tantrum by railing against the "crooked" press and all the negative treatment he gets from it.

Trump went on to make wild claims accusing Ms. Welker's network knows all about the election rigging and he insulted her straight out.

"You're either crooked or stupid," Trump said. 

He cut the interview off shortly thereafter.  In a sarcastic tone, he said "Thank you darling," and walked off the set.  

In delusional Trump's cult world, everyone is wrong if they do not agree with him and corrupt if they do not coddle him. Facts are irrelevant to him, truth is a profanity in his mind and history is how he tells it.

Somehow, we have reached a point where it is not unreasonable to expect a toddler to behave with more decorum than the leader of the free world.  From the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board

Donald Trump created an ugly mess in Washington DC making his 80th aging birthday and the nation's 250th looks like graffiti on steroids

Los Angeles Times columnist Jackie Calmes nails it (“As we approach July 4, the capital is, fittingly, a mess,” June 4, 2026). 

This piece reminded me of the “Great Gatsby”* party some months ago, where the president entertained guests amid giant martini glasses brimming with scantily clad women. 

But here’s what F. Scott Fitzgerald had to say about these sorts of gatherings and people:

“They were careless people … they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money 💲💰,or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

Thanks to your columnist for ringing this 🔔bell.

From David Lester, in Santa Ynez, California

*Donald Trump hosted a lavish "Great Gatsby"-themed Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. It featured scantily-clad women dancing inside giant martini glasses. The event, complete with flappers and showgirls, drew significant media attention and political criticism for its opulent optics.

Sites central to the pilgrimages that millions of Americans make each year to Washington D.C., especially the White House, are a mess. The once-verdant park remains a construction site, with makeshift fencing only partly obscuring the vast scar that was once the East Wing and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. Cranes sway in place of the felled trees, to build President Trump’s billion-dollar ballroom despite court orders and overwhelming public opinion against it. The South Lawn has been replaced with a gargantuan circus-tent-like arena for Ultimate Fighting Championship cage matches and a Trump-picked audience of thousands. Yes, cage matches. To mark not the nation’s birthday but the president’s 80th aging on June 14.

Because it’s all about Trump.

Nearby, the Reflecting Pool sweeping from the Lincoln Memorial to the World War II Memorial and Washington Monument remains dry, its water replaced with crews painting the basin “American Flag Blue” — another Trump vanity project that’s millions over budget and behind schedule. Cross over Independence Avenue and the grounds near the Martin Luther King Jr. and Jefferson Memorials are also fenced off, obscuring more construction-related structures for Trump’s unauthorized, possibly illegal “National Garden of American Heroes” for 250 statues of folks as varied as John Adams and Kobe Bryant. Another jarring sight: National Guard troops still needlessly patrol the areas.

At the adjacent Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River, four bronze equestrian statues are getting a $5 million coat of 24-carat gold leaf. But there’s worse: For nearly a century, the bridge has offered one of the most beautiful vantages in Washington, an unbroken scenic stretch from the Lincoln Memorial on the Washington side to Arlington National Cemetery and its historic, hilltop Custis-Lee Mansion on the Virginia side.

Every time I drive the route, I’m awed. Trump, however, sees only a site for narcissistic self-glorification: Work is underway at a small traffic circle in the middle — again, despite pending litigation from veterans and Democrats — for a massive 250-foot triumphal arch dedicated, Trump has said, to “me.”

What triumph justifies such a tribute? Certainly not the war in Iran.

Visitors going up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol see massive banners of Trump hanging from the departments of Labor, Agriculture and, most obscene of all, Justice. They pass the U.S. Mint, charged lately with devising a $250 bill and a $1 coin featuring Trump’s mug.

The banners, the currency and all the rest — it’s hardly the adulatory message appropriate to a people who, by the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago, renounced a king and went on to create a democratic republic.

As usual in springtime Washington, aka school-trip season, this week I’ve seen dozens of buses disgorging students, many in their identical T-shirts advertising farflung hometowns and schools. I’ve felt somewhat sorry for those young people seeing monumental Washington now, for what might be the only visit of their lives.

Still, this semiquincentennial can be a teaching moment, for all Americans.

The capital’s scars are a metaphor for Trump’s selfish, anti-democratic destructiveness. He contrives his projects one after the other, designs them, picks the architects, contractors and even materials, and lets out the opaque, no-bid contracts, all without consulting Congress or honoring its constitutional power of the purse — until he needs more money, like for the ballroom that he’s said wouldn’t require a dime from taxpayers. 

When sued, he all but defies the courts, calling for the impeachment of federal judges who rule against his tributes to himself.

Look on the bright side: But for Trump’s abuses, Americans wouldn’t be giving so much thought on this 250th birthday to the words of the declaration and the Constitution, to the founders’ courage and the framers’ careful balance of powers, and the ways in which those protections need shoring up.

It’s not just Washington that’s suffered Trump’s damaging (ugly) touch. In Philadelphia, where the declaration was drafted and signed at Independence Hall, the nearby site where George Washington lived as president was horribly marred by the teardown of plaques that had described the founders’ enslavement of people at their properties. Trump is in court, fighting to whitewash that bit of history, instead of allowing it to stand as a testimony to America’s long-running struggle to live by the declaration’s aspirational words: “all men are created equal.”

Fifty years ago, the July 4 bicentennial was all the more resonant because it came soon after the Watergate scandal. “The system worked” was the common refrain then. The system hasn’t been working to curb Trump’s lawless reign; Congress and the Supreme Court instead have been enablers. Yet just in time for the semiquincentennial come signs that the system is working, but from the bottom up: Voters are showing a spirit of ’26 against the worst, most monarchical president in U.S. history.

And it’s their local celebrations that give the Fourth its meaning, just as John Adams hoped for in a letter 250 years ago to wife, Abigail. The day, he wrote, should be marked ever after by “Shews, Games, Sport, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”

Had Trump simply honored Adams’ words, he would have been content to simply be the presider in chief amid the country’s semiquincentennial festivities. And he’d be more popular for it. But that’s not Trump: He’s chosen to play the king in his court of controversy, dividing when unity is wanted.

So it is that seven of nine performers canceled their scheduled appearances at Trump’s planned festivities on the National Mall from June 25 through July 10. That, together with last Friday’s judicial order that he take his name off the Kennedy Center, prompted a 206-word tantrum on social media Saturday night. Trump now threatens to celebrate with a MAGA rally on the Mall instead.

But, he’s not reading the room, or his dismal unpopularity polls.

"like telling Albert Einstein he doesn’t know physics", "Hillbilly" JD Vance a former Marine Corps corporal is saying whaaaaa?

Donald "Dump" Trump, "Hillbilly" JD Vance, His Holiness Pope Leo and the midterm elections.  Published in the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, California.

Echo opinion letter to the editor: Donald Trump presides over a U.S. population of 348 million people. Pope Leo has a world following of more than 1.4 billion people. 

Trump’s approval rating is under 40%. Leo’s approval rating is around 84%.  Obviously, Donald Trump is jealous, so what does he do❓ He goes after the pope and tells him he’s “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” (Maine Writer,🙄 laughable if it were not also pathetic, spoken by a man who thinks he is like god. Lucifer had 👿this same problem. (Book of Revelation 12:7-9 -war in heaven.)

In reality, it would be an understatement to say Trump is not only a convicted criminal, but he’s also terrible for foreign policy. 

Then "Hillbilly" JD Vance, who was also a Marine Corps corporal,  tells the pope that he doesn’t know the gospel❓ That’s like telling Albert Einstein he doesn’t know physics. 

And the "do nothing" Republicans, like Maine's Senator Susan Collins,  in Congress are saying and doing nothing about this Trump incoherence. We’re doomed if the Democrats can’t take over the House and Senate in November.

From Bill Krumbein, in Santa Rosa, California

Donald Trump and maga Republicans are hypocritical to point fingers at Iran when Trumpisn is enabling war crimes

Letters to the Editor: After accusing Iran of extortion, Donald Trump needs to look in the mirror.  Echo opinion letter published in the Los Angeles Times. 

To the editor: Donald Trump, speaking about Iran: “We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world because that’s what they’re doing” (“Trump says U.S. military has blockaded Iranian ports to pressure Tehran,” April 13).

Trump either won’t admit to or is unable to recognize the blatant hypocrisy of his statement. Since at least the beginning of his second term, Trump has been blackmailing and extorting the world, both allies and adversaries, through his tariffs and other policies, to an extent never before seen from an American president.

As we’ve witnessed, Trump has one set of morals and ethics for everyone else, and a second standard for himself. Trump’s immorality and “decision-making” has been a disaster for the United States and the world.

Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran is just the latest example of his incompetence.

From Ray McKown, in Torrance California

Donald Trump and maga Republican giving cult followers multiple choice fake reasons for the Iran World War

Echo opinion letter published in the Los Angeles Times:

Iran isn’t going to give Trump the unconditional surrender he wants.

Is Donald Trump's World War with Iran a war to end Iran's nuclear capabilities forever, or is it a war to liberate the Iranian people, or is it a religious war meant to finish what the crusades failed to do❓  Multiple choice.

To the editor: Donald Trump is demanding that Iran give up its sovereignty, and surrender unconditionally, to the United States (“Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender,’ role in picking Iran’s next leader,” March 6). 

Unfortunately, that will not be an option for Iranian leadership.

Trump’s war is costing American taxpayers nearly $900 million per day. Donald Trump ordered the attack on Iran while peace talks were ongoing. We attacked Iran before it attacked us. (Maine Writer, IMO, "Peace talks" were a ruse.)

Trump’s unilateral decision to attack Iran was a planned coordinated action, in collaboration with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and was done without notifying the Congress of the United States.

Trump’s unilateral decisions are affecting more than 300 million Americans and the lives of millions of men, women and children in the Middle East. Imagine that: one man having unilateral decision-making power satisfying his ego with the idea that he can attack sovereign nations with impunity, replace their leaders and appoint leaders who will bend the knee, allowing Trump to control that country’s destiny.

Just so Trump knows, if anybody is brave enough to tell him, how Iranians are warriors, and many would die before surrendering. 

Donald Trump has only created a war that our grandchildren and their grandchildren will likely be fighting for years to come.

From Donald Peppars, in Pomona, California

A War Still in Search of a Mission

Donald Trump and maga Republicans are sending American young people into war without a purpose

Echo opinion letter published in Bakersfield.com:

egomaniacal old man

On Saturday morning (February 28, 2026) we listened as Donald Trump tell us how our military took out leaders of Iran's military regime. This is from a president who promised no more foreign wars if he was elected. Then came Venezuela. Now Iran. Iran retaliated. Three American servicemen died. Five more were seriously injured. Others were "slightly" injured. The next next thing we hear is the president telling us to expect more U.S. casualties. "People die in wars" were his exact words. (Pentagon now reports six military service people were killed in Kuwait but there have to be more causalities especially in Bahrain, where the Navy Supply depot was attacked by Iran.) The Pentagon identified six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from Iowa*, from the 103rd Sustainment Command killed by an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on March 1, 2026. The fallen service members are: Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Capt. Cody Khork, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, and Sgt. Declan Coady. These six young people are the victims of preventable deaths caused by Donald Trump's illegal World War III. There was no purpose or plan or warning to help them prepare for the attack that killed them.

How many of our young men and women will be asked to put their lives on the line so that this vain, egomaniacal old man can look powerful? Donald Trump couldn't care less about our national security, our welfare, or peace in our world. He only wants to be feared. He threatens the world and plots revenge against anyone he considers a political enemy (whether they are or not). And, he doesn't care how many of us are going to be asked to sacrifice our children to achieve his psychotic dream.

How long is it going to take Congress and the Senate to grow a backbone and start listening to their constituents? (Senator Susan Collins where are you ❓)


I am just so glad that l and my son are too old to wear a uniform and my grandchildren are still too young.


I ask God to protect all our fine young service people at this critical time. Hopefully someone will come to their senses before this whole debacle comes to an end.

From Michael A. Cariker, in Bakersfield, California

*Six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers killed in a March 1, 2026, drone strike at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait were all assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Donald Trump and maga Republicans must fire Attorney General Pam Bondi for her gross neglect towards Epstein victims

Echo Letter to the Editor of The New York Times :

Re “Combative Bondi Grilled Over Epstein Documents” (news article, Feb. 12):

Maine Writer question for Ms. Bondi, does she understand that child trafficking and😢rape of minors are criminally serious crimes❓

I made the mistake of watching Attorney General Pam Bondi testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, (February 11, 2026) . If I was concerned about the state of our union before, now I’m downright depressed.

I’m an independent, tired of the gridlock between the parties. While it is to be expected that Republicans will try to put the best face on a flawed administration (lipstick on a pig

❓🐷) , it is frightening 😨❗ to watch the head of our criminal justice system display such wildly sycophantic supplication to Donald Trump and unbridled animosity to any and all critics.

Loyalty is one thing. Lack of executive accountability is another. 

Am I wrong to fear that it heralds the unraveling of our democracy before our very eyes❓❓👀

From John Weaver in Lafayette, California.

P.S. Incompetent AG Pam Bondi is a disaster, she looks like a wrung out old rag or something the cat 🐈would find to drag in.  

Republicans and Democrats and Independents must call for Donald Trump to be impeached after evil racist social media pictures

The Los Angeles Times echo to the editor: Enough❗💢 Last week, the Donald Trump shared the most disgraceful, racist post possible (“Trump refuses to apologize after sharing racist image of the Obamas: ‘I didn’t make a mistake,’” 🤥😔Feb. 6). It was not a misunderstood joke. It was overt, ugly and rooted in the same kind of dehumanization that has fueled violence and division in this country for generations.

Beautiful President Obama and his wife Michelle

When someone with national power displays this kind of racism, it does real harm. It signals permission to demean, exclude and scapegoat entire communities. It tells people of color that their dignity is conditional and their safety negotiable.

Leadership requires judgment, restraint and a basic respect for humanity. Anyone who chooses to post racist rhetoric has demonstrated that they lack those qualities. That alone should disqualify them from holding public office or wielding authority over others. If he were the CEO of a major corporation, he would have been fired.

I am calling on everyone — Republicans, independents and Democrats — to denounce this immediately and call for President Trump’s resignation or impeachment and removal. This behavior should not be normalized or tolerated.

Silence is complicity. This moment demands clarity.

From Marilyn J. Green, in Malibu, California

Donald Trump and maga Republicans lied about the purpose of deportations. Instead of "worst of the worst", it is about racism.

Opinion letter to the editor published in the Press Democrat newspaper, Santa Rosa California.

ICE activities don’t square with ‘worst of the worst’.

Dear Editor: So among the extraordinary litany of Trumpzi-ism's lies, 🤥we were told (and Republican voters believed❗) that the deportations of immigrants was going after the worst of the worst, — real criminals that were in the U.S. illegally. We were told the enforcement was targeted and warrants were issued. That doesn’t square with immigrants being picked up at scheduled immigration hearings. That doesn’t square with people being randomly accosted at gas stations or store parking lots. That doesn’t square with random traffic stops based only on the driver’s skin color. That doesn’t square when off-duty Minneapolis police officers are being stopped by ICE.

I think when they say targeted, they are using a racial profile meaning anyone who looks brown. Anyone with an accent. Even if they are here legally waiting for an asylum or citizenship hearing. 

Kristi Noem, Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino and ICE. 💢 

I suggest anyone in Minnesota might find it necessary to carry proof of citizenship and even then might be at risk of detention.

From Lew Larson, in Sebastopol, California

Donald Trump and maga Republicans lack honor and cannot be trusted - Impeach Trump Now Senator Susan Collins alert!

Echo opinion letters published in the Los Angeles Times:

To the editor: (“Trump isn’t interested in being honorable — he’d rather be feared,” January 13).

Echo Los Angeles Times opinion letter

Jeffrey Goldberg's writings, particularly in The Atlantic, often criticize Donald Trump for lacking honor, focusing on ethical lapses, questionable actions, and disrespect for democratic norms, notably highlighted by his reporting on officials mishandling sensitive military info in a Signal group chat, which revealed a concerning disregard for security and accountability, despite intense pushback from Trump and his allies

Goldberg writes eloquently about the near-total absence of honor in the Trump administration’s actions, particularly in the area of foreign relations. Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland as well as his threats to the governments of Cuba, Colombia and other Latin American countries are totally lacking in honor. This is a sad time for the United States.

I am reminded of the motto of Hollywood High School (class of ‘59): “Seek honor through service.” This is a maxim that I have carried throughout my life. I think that it is certainly one to which Goldberg would subscribe. It is definitely not one to which the current evil Donald Trump administration will support.

From Richard Seligman, in Simi Valley

Echo To the editor: I began crying this morning when I read Jeffrey Goldberg’s most recent column. Goldberg’s point is that Trump associates power with respect, but that type of respect has dirty underpinnings. It is about crushing the lives of others, all for your own material advancement. How is Trump any different from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has attacked Ukraine for years now❓ Seemingly nothing will stop either leader.

So why did I cry❓ The idea of attacking Greenland hits at the debasement of human value and at the loss of regard for the sovereignty of other nations. People become bugs to be swept away. The drive for access to money sources blinds all. I feel shame. 

I feel pain for those who are losing their ability to live their lives with true respect.

We have curdled our humanity and corrupted our morality. That makes me weep.😰 (Senator Susan Collins alert❗- Where is she❓*)

From Gwen Rigby, in Santa Barbara, California

#ImpeachTrumpNow

#SenatorSusanCollins (Maine's Senator in exile) ❗

Donald Trump is seriously challenged by arithmetic! His false claims about reducing prices are mathematically impossible

Published in the Los Angeles Times and Yahoo.com

Echo letter to the editor: In the 1954 book "How to Lie With Statistics" 

by Darrell Huff, the book's author explains how graphs, samples, averages and other data can be used to mislead readers. 

Business columnist Michael Hiltzik's many examples show us how Donald Trump uses numbers as "rhetorical objects" (“Here’s how Trump gets away with using dubious ❓numbers, 🤥” Dec. 19. IOW- More lies❗). The bigger the numbers, the more overwhelmed are the people trying to digest them.

One thing in Hiltzik's piece that drew my attention was Trump's claim that he “slashed prices on drugs and pharmaceuticals by as much as 400, 500 and even 600 percent.” Perhaps I am missing something, but if you slash a price by only 100%, doesn't that bring it down to $0? Forget 400% or more. That's mathematically impossible. 

As a matter of fact, I tried some mathematical trickery while I was volunteering to help fourth graders with math. I told them I deserved to have my pay doubled. They laughed. Even the kids knew it would still be $0.  Haha!

From Jerry Lasnik, in Thousand Oaks,California

Donald Trump promised to end Russian agression in the Ukraine on day one but it is now day 323 on December 9 and nothing changed

Echo letter to the editor published in the Los Angeles Times: 

As noted in the Los Angeles Times, Europe has good reason to worry abiyt the fate of Ukraine (“Alarm grows in Europe over what is seen as Trump’s ‘betrayal’ of Ukraine,” December 6). Americans, too, should be concerned, but it seems that the (incompetent) Donald Trump administration is not.

Remember, according to Donald Trump, the war would not have happened if he had been president while President Biden was in office. We can see now that that was wrong❗Then, Trump was going to settle the war on Day 1 of his second term. Wrong again❗
(Maine Writer- As a matter of fact, it has been 323 days since Donald Trump swore to uphold the American constitution and the Russian agression continues.😥)

Trump, it readily appears, has no interest in Ukraine’s best interests nor those of Europe. To the contrary, he is willing to have Ukraine cede land so he can fuel his autocratic bent, placate the evil Russian President Vladimir Putin and falsely 🤥declare he has resolved another war.🙄

From Joseph A. Lea, in Mission Viejo, California