Trump oxymoron - an emergency "I did not have to declare"!

Classic oxymoron double speak*

What is an emergency the president says he did not have to declare? Opinion echo published in The Lincoln Journal Star newspaper, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Links the ACLU lawsuit are posted at the end of this letter, written to the editor of The Lincoln Journal Star.  Congress must remove Donald Trump for violating his oath of office, when he created an illegal emergency declaration.

Executive power amok - an emergency when there is none!

An emergency he said was an emergency because he wanted his wall faster.

The majority of America does not believe a border wall will stop drugs or illegal immigration. I don’t recall pictures of all those immigrants carrying drugs and guns as they swim rivers and climb walls.

Facts and history confirm that. Perhaps not the propaganda and fear-mongering that get ratings and money from pitting Americas against each other.

The Cato Institute, a libertarian political institution, published an opinion piece in 2017 that noted: “The reason President Trump’s wall would be a mammoth expenditure (is) that (it) would have little impact on illegal immigration. But perhaps that’s not the point. The campaign’s goal was to plant an image in voters’ minds of what making America great again would look like. The president’s goal may now be to create a symbol, an illustration of a nationalism that says to the world that although people of all kinds may want to come here, America was created by and for Americans.”

Trump is using a declaration of an emergency for his campaign, pure and simple. He is not getting his way with votes. Imagine the coming declarations if he succeeds.

Will we get to vote out Congress members who support this? In these dangerous times, will our congressional representatives support fear or the future of America?

Herbert Abrams, Lincoln Nebraska

*A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction- Example: CNN reported: Lawsuits challenging Donald Trump's bogus national emergency declaration use his words against him.

• Donald Trump's words are already being used against him in a slew of lawsuits challenging his declaration of a national emergency at the southern border.
• In at least three lawsuits filed in federal court, lawyers seized on Trump's remark during his Friday's press conference announcing the declaration that he "didn't need to" declare a national emergency.
• The American Civil Liberties Union, which has said it will file a lawsuit against the administration this week, has featured the comment in news releases.
• There Is No ‘National Emergency’ at the Border, and Trump’s Declaration Is Illegal by Cecillia Wang

Opinion letter: The "Gunshine State"- from "worried" in Nebraska

All gun violence is preventable!

An echo opinion published in the Nebraska, the Lincoln Journal Star 

In regards to the latest gun violence in Florida (“Shooting leaves three dead in Jacksonville,” Aug. 27), although from Canada originally, I have moved to Lincoln and just recently and proudly received my U.S. citizenship.

Canada has very different gun laws from the U.S., and no powerful gun lobbies providing funds to Canadian politicians and lawmakers.

According to recent data released by Statistics Canada, the number of gun violence deaths per 100,000 persons (per year) in that country is less than 1; whereas, in the United States (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the number is approximately 12.6 deaths per 100,000 persons.

Of course, Canada is not immune to gun violence, and several recent tragedies underline this fact. But, in my opinion, some of the worst U.S. incidents in the last year may be linked to the vast difference in gun sales between the two countries, and in the case of Florida, the state. My daughter currently lives in the "Gunshine State," and I worry about her safety every day.

I hope that readers will get out and show the power of this wonderful democracy by supporting those November candidates that will take a stand against gun laws that are designed primarily to protect profits and politicians, not citizens.

Louise Bauck, Lincoln