Donald Trump and maga Republican enablers desecrating America's heritage: Trump was not elected to be a dictator!

This message will probably be a surprise to Donald Trump, but, just so he knows, no one hired him to be a despot decorator in chief. 

Echo opinion letter published in the Reading Eagle in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump is a convicted felon guilty of 34 felony counts❗

Trump's takeover of that position has had disastrous results: examples include paving the iconic Rose Garden to hold umbrella tables, gilding the Oval Office to imitate a Russian palace, tearing down the East Wing of the White House to add a billion-dollar Louis XIV ballroom, painting the once-elegant Reflecting Pool a swimming pool blue so it will no longer reflect and now wanting to put a coat of white paint on the historic, granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building. (Painting stone now means painting it forever.) We don’t yet know what he intends to accomplish in the Kennedy Center, but past performance indicates it will likely be supremely garish and outrageously costly.

After stealing health care and feeding programs from Americans and people around the world, he’s spending billions of taxpayer 💲dollars on a war of choice and hideous vanity projects.

Remaking our nation’s capital into his own image will remind future generations of what happens when unchecked narcissism reigns, truly a gut-wrenching prospect.

From Fred Opalinski in Reading Pennsylvania

Republicans have zero economic policy and history proves it

Echo opinion letter to the Editor of the Reading Eagle, a Pennsylvania newspaper:

Republicans are misleading people about what the federal debt ceiling means.

Hard-right Republicans in Congress are demanding tax cuts and no debt ceiling increase. Don’t they know the national deficit went down under every Democratic president, and up under every Republican, since 1980?

President Ronald Reagan’s trickle-down (aka "trickster-down) tax policy was a trick that increased the gap between rich and poor. According to information compiled on Wikipedia, the economy had been better under Democratic presidents than Republicans since the Depression, including jobs, gross domestic product, stock market returns, corporate profits and personal income.

Since the Truman administration, unemployment was down under Democratic presidents and up under Republicans. Since 1945, the S&P 500 gained an average of 11.2% under Democrats, 6.9% under Republicans. Every Republican president since 1900, had a recession in his first term.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, a Trump administration appointee, said there could be $1 trillion in tax fraud annually. The Inflation Reduction Act gives $80 billion to the IRS, across 10 years, for more phones, modern computers and more agents replacing retirees. The increased ability to audit big-time cheaters would pay for itself many times over and slash the deficit.

Bloomberg says America’s economy improved more in President Joe Biden’s first year than any president in the last 50 years. The deficit is $1 trillion lower. Unemployment is lowest in 50 years. Inflation caused by COVID-19, especially the supply chain snafus, is easing. Corporate profits are at a 70-year high. Wages aren’t.

Congressional Republicans are weaponizing economic ignorance about the results of tax cuts on deficits.

Jane Beck in Brecknock Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Republicans are an evil cult of QAnon influencers - opinion

Echo opinion letter published in the Reading Eagle, a Pennsylvania newspaper: 

QAnon is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on false claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as “Q”. Those claims have been relayed, developed and supplemented by numerous communities and (evil) influencers associated with the movement.

The core QAnon theory is that a cabal of satanic, cannibalistic sexual abusers of children operating a global child sex trafficking ring conspired against former President Donald Trump during his term in office.

The group calls for the public execution of many current political leaders. A 2021 poll found that 15% of the U.S. population believes in QAnon. Trump has retweeted QAnon. He has been seen wearing a “Q” pin and at a recent rally a QAnon tune was played, and members of the audience gave the group’s one finger salute.

‘Trump Is a Messianic Figure in the QAnon Calls’

Trump’s embrace of the conspiracy theory is growing stronger. (Politico) 

"Trump has made a decision to cozy up further to the QAnon movement in a simple bid to boost his political fortunes — and perhaps partly out of desperation. 'There’s pretty much nothing weirder than QAnon out there in the world'," Heidi Beirich.

QAnon says the storm is coming. The storm is a violent overthrow of the U.S. government when public executions of the group’s enemies will be killed and Trump placed back in power. Trump has been hinting that violence would occur if he is charged with a crime.

QAnon is a threat to our democracy. Those who would use violence to achieve their political agenda must be stopped and their support by the MAGA Republican party must be called out.

Protect America. Vote Democratic.
Michael Babb  Fleetwood, Pennsylvania 

Enforce Constitution Section III in the 14th Amendment - January 6th sedition punishment

Capitol riot participants must be punished.
Courts need to send a message that deters insurrectionists.

Jan. 6, 2021, violent insurrectionists loyal to The Former Guy hold on to a police barrier at the U.S. Capitol. 

Editor opinion letter published in the Reading Eagle, a Pennsylvania newspaper:

After the Civil War, members of Congress realized that tens of thousands of U.S. citizens had taken seditious, rebellious acts of insurrection against the United States of America. 

Large numbers of Confederates had previously taken an oath of allegiance to the United States when elected to state and federal offices or by serving in the military.

To prevent them from ever holding office again, Section III of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was written and adopted by the states*.

In the near future numerous individuals fitting the aforementioned parameters will have been identified as Jan. 6 insurrectionists through the scrutiny of a House special committee and the testimony of witnesses.

Should Congress convict any or all of them, they should be held to the stipulated penalties of the 14th Amendment. These could include a former chief executive of the U.S., members of Congress, state legislators, law enforcement officers and others.

Whether or not the historic document that has guided our constitutional republic since before George Washington’s election is worth the paper it is written on will be determined by how any punishment is meted out against the insurrectionists.

The likelihood of a future coup d’etat should be greatly diminished by effective application of the 14th Amendment.

Gary Coller
Spring Township

* Section Three of the 14th amendment, gave Congress the authority to bar public officials, who took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, from holding office if they "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the Constitution. The intent was to prevent the president from allowing former leaders of the Confederacy to regain power within the U.S. government after securing a presidential pardon. It states that a two-thirds majority vote in Congress is required to allow public officials who had engaged in rebellion to regain the rights of American citizenship and hold government or military office.

It states that: "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

Fight Antisemitism - engage in acts of friendship: a Pennsylvania echo editorial

Be free to pray in peace....

This editorial echo was published in the Reading Eagle, a Pennsylvania newspaper:

Hanukkah was usually a time when newspapers wrote editorials in the spirit of celebration. Unfortunately, this year’s Hanukkah festivities took place amid troubling developments.

The nation and world are in the midst of an alarming stretch of open anti-Semitism, often expressed with shocking violence. In a little over a year there have been deadly shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Southern California and the recent attack on a kosher market in Jersey City, N.J., part of a shooting spree that left three civilians and one policeman dead.

Meanwhile there’s been a steady series of incidents involving crimes such as harassment and vandalism that don’t get the same amount of attention as shootings but greatly increase anxiety among Jewish communities.

The Anti-Defamation League recorded 1,879 anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. in 2018, the third-highest year on record. The organization said there were 780 such cases during the first six months of this year. The worst year for anti-Semitic acts was 2017, with nearly 2000 cases of assaults, vandalism, bomb threats and other incidents, according to the ADL.

Hanukkah

One might think that the New York metropolitan area, home to some 1.7 million Jews, would be seen as a safe harbor from anti-Semitism. The Jersey City violence reminds us that is hardly the case. And New York City police reported 163 anti-Semitic incidents in the five boroughs in the first nine months of the year. That’s a 50 percent increase over the same period in 2018.

People whose clothing or personal appearance make them readily identifiable as Jews are particularly susceptible to harassment or worse.

Hanukkah has great relevance to these current troubles.

The eight-day Hannakhah celebration tells the story about Jews in ancient times. They fought back against their persecutors. It celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Maccabees, after a three-year rebellion resulted in their victory over the Syrians in 170 BC.

Jews rebelled because they had been prohibited from practicing their religion and were being forced to worship Greek gods. The Syrians defiled the sacred Temple, calling for an altar to Zeus to be constructed there and for pigs to be slaughtered on the site in violation of Jewish law.

During Hanukkah, Jews express joy at their ancestors’ victory but understand that the conflict itself was the result of the kind of persecution the Jewish people have endured for thousands of years.

Recent events remind us that though Jews have become accustomed to acceptance in America, vigilance on the part of Jews and their friends in the larger community is essential if we are to keep things that way. That means engaging in acts of friendship and refusing to tolerate hateful acts or commentary on the part of others.

We are fortunate that interfaith relations are strong in our communities. Jews here are involved in activities with people of other religions and practice their faith openly. That’s an important part of Hanukkah. Part of the holiday’s tradition calls on Jews to place menorahs in their windows so the lights may be seen by passers-by. It’s an expression of pride in one’s faith and defiance against bigots. It also symbolizes the desire to bring light into a world all too often afflicted by darkness

Many Jewish communities take the tradition a step further by holding menorah lightings in popular public places. One takes place annually at the Berkshire Mall, attracting the attention of plenty of Christmas shoppers and adding to the holiday festivities. It reinforces the idea that American Jews will not give in to fear or let recent events interfere with a time of celebration.

May people of all faiths unite behind the idea that we should all be free to pray in peace. And may the Hanukkah candles help to bring lasting light and enlightenment to the world.

Mental Health policy research - Donald Trump should be the first trial patient

Letter: President needs help with mental health:Echo
Perhaps "red-flag" laws should apply to Donald Trump.

Blaming the mentally ill for America's deadly gun violence epidemic is wrong minded public policy. A better idea is to require all people who want to be president of the United States to pass a mental health background check!

Republicans wrongly believe that, somehow, blaming the mentally ill will cure America's problem with mass shootings and gun related moralities. Instead of allocating more money and community support resources to help improve care for the mentally ill, they want to blame gun violence on an already very vulnerable group of people, who cannot advocate for themselves. If a national policy is created whereby a mental health assessment will be required before a person is authorized to buy a gun, then Donald Trump, himself, should be the first trial patient.

This echo opinion letter was published in the Reading Eagle, a Pennsylvania newspaper:

To the Editor - I wholeheartedly support Donald Trump's mental health initiative (“Trump might try to add new health agency,” Reading Eagle, Aug. 23).

Once this program is implemented, a team of psychiatrists should immediately be dispatched to the White House. They would surely see that Trump displays dangerous attributes: a strong sense of resentment; desire for notoriety; obsession with aggressive individuals (in his case, foreign dictators); and narcissism.

According to this standard, Trump should be red-flagged, declared mentally incompetent and committed to treatment without delay. He should not be given access to firearms.

Steve Gruber from Robeson Township, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania echo opinion letter "World laughing at America"

Letter: Donald Trump speaks, and the world laughs

Trump's false bravado hurts our nation's image.

Opinion letter to the Pennsylvania newspaper, Editor of the Reading Eagle:

It is sad to realize how far the prestige of the United States has fallen since President Donald Trump took office. He recently bragged at the United Nations that he "has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country." His remarks were met with murmurs and laughter.

Addressing the General Assembly, Trump made inaccurate claims about his own record by rattling off a list of statements on the economy, tax cuts, military spending, and the border wall with Mexico. Many of his "facts" were cherry-picked, exaggerated or outright false.

Trump never mentioned Russia's extraordinary and continuing interference in our elections. The president remains determined to coddle Russia to the detriment of our national security. He persisted in giving the false impression that he has addressed the grave threat from North Korea. In fact, we are no closer to the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. Without a shred of evidence, Trump accused China of attempting to interfere in this year's elections. He also claimed to be the first president to challenge China on trade. He underestimates China and assumes their leaders will take such public vilification lying down.

The world burst out laughing at our president, whose false bravado no longer induces shock but invites derision.

Richard A. Weiherer Wyomissing, Pennsylvania