Uniform Code of Military Justice describes the purpose of manifestly unlawful orders- Thank you Senator Captain Mark Kelly

To the editor of The County news in Aroostook County, Maine:

In the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Article 92), it states, “U.S. military members have a legal duty to disobey unlawful orders, those violating the constitution, U.S. law or international law.”  There is a clause in the code called “manifestly unlawful,” defined as: An order so clearly wrong that any reasonable person would recognize it as illegal. (IMO attacking unarmed fishing boats in the open ocean without cause is a violation of international law. Full stop❗🛑)

“We know you are under enormous pressure,” six members of Congress said in a video released Nov. 19, but “your vigilance is critical and know that we have your back.”

These former heroic members of the armed services and intelligence community urged their now-serving counterparts to disobey unlawful orders. That is as it should be.

Trump and too many others, however, say the video is sedition and calls for disobeying all orders. False. It is not sedition to urge disobedience to illegal orders only – the only sort the video referred to. What the members of Congress urged should not be controversial.

But it is. Vehement critics say Trump issued no unlawful orders,🤥❓ so, the warning has some ulterior motive. Wrong❗

Courts ruled illegal two National Guard deployments. The Southern Command’s top lawyer raised compelling doubts about legality of attacking unarmed boats in the Caribbean and no one at the Pentagon overruled him. 

In 2020, Donald Trump (aka "bone 🙄spurs")  asked the secretary of Defense whether protesters could be shot in the legs. Seven hundred combat-ready troops were stationed within a two-hour march of the Capitol. With bayonets. This year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement brutality happens frequently and with too little concern about curbing it. 

In October, Trump said “we’re closer than ever” to invoking the Insurrection Act. That allows him to deploy the military domestically, a power he could easily abuse. Against this backdrop, who can say there will be no unlawful orders❓

Hence, the need to remind people about their duty to disobey illegal orders and to have their backs.

Critics also claim the video sows doubt and discord, which affect morale, cohesion and willingness to follow lawful orders. 

How could people obey, when they wonder whether they’ve been ordered to act illegally❓

The video causes no new doubt or discord about legalities. Those are already with us. They’re part of the pressure the members of Congress mentioned in their video. Rather, the video just stiffens spines for doing what ought to be done.

That’s good leadership. Leading is what members of Congress are elected to do. It is their duty❗

P.S. Captain Mark Kelly, now Senator Mark Kelly is doing his duty by advising the military who are impacted by the dilemma caused when the Pentagon has issued illegal orders. 

Essay about American citizenship "I Love America"

Reflections on citizenship- Echo opinion letter published in The County, an Aroostook County newspaper, in Maine.

https://thecounty.me/2025/07/11/houlton/reflections-on-citizenship/

To the editor:  I love America.

This year I enjoyed my first Fourth of July celebration since becoming a U.S. citizen, at ceremonies help this past April. 

I have been reflecting deeply on what it means to be a citizen. 

For me, citizenship was not something simply given; it has been a journey that took 19 years. But beyond the length of time, it has been about understanding its meaning.

I was born a citizen of South Korea, which does not allow dual citizenship for males due to mandatory military service. 

I had to make a choice. After much thought and prayer, I chose to become a U.S. citizen. For me, it was not about gaining privileges, but about becoming one of the people I serve as a pastor.

As I prepared for citizenship, I reflected on two ways about belonging to a nation: nationalism and patriotism.

Nationalism is often rooted in fear of others. It elevates the concerns of “my people” at the expense of those who are not. It excludes those deemed outsiders. Patriotism, on the other hand, is love for one’s people and community. It brings people together for the common good. It celebrates what is virtuous while speaking truth about what is unhealthy or unjust.

I love America. I love its people. I celebrate its diverse cultures and ways of life. Out of love, I will speak truthfully about its failures. 

I will care for the poor and for immigrants. I will seek to be a bridge builder for social and racial justice and reconciliation. I will be a good steward of the planet. I hope to live as a patriot, not a nationalist.  May God bless America.

From SeungRi “Victor” Han, in Houlton, Maine

Republicans who are cult loyalists to Donald Trump are destroying America's economic safeguards to protect poor and middle class

Echo opinion published in The County, Maine newspaper in Aroostook County.  Help the rest of us, not billionaires

To the editor:  Don’t be fooled: Trump and his billionaire friends want to steal our money.💲

Trump and his Republican cult are making it even easier for them to pick our pockets.

How do I know❓ First, Trump closed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It was created after Wall Street caused the Great Recession. It’s returned billions to regular people who were ripped off by banks and credit card companies. Don’t get me wrong: Washington should do more to fight financial predators. But, Trump and his Republican cult are making it even easier for them to pick our pockets.

Second, he’s fired thousands of IRS employees. Some might say, “Isn’t that a good thing❓” But it turns out that with more IRS workers, the more they go after rich people. The rich are by far the biggest tax-evaders, but they have armies of accountants and lawyers hiding their crimes. Every $1 spent at the IRS gets us $5 to $9 back. Again, don’t get me wrong: Washington should tax the rich much more, like we did back in the ‘50s. But Trump is making it even easier for billionaires to avoid paying their fair share, and now Republicans in Congress are hard at work trying to lower billionaires’ taxes.

Trump says his biggest donor Elon Musk is cutting government waste. But, he isn’t. Musk is handing himself government contracts while firing the regulators investigating his companies. This administration is gutting healthcare for the elderly, firing people who keep airplanes flying and keep nuclear bombs secure. These workers’ jobs made America a better place to live; Trump is putting them on unemployment. Now he and Musk are using money from these layoffs to enrich themselves.

Trump wants us to believe he has the magic power to make our lives better. Why hasn’t he used it❓ Why is the price of eggs higher than ever when he said he’d fix it❓ Because he lied. He is a con man, and he is laughing at us.

There is a small group who don’t care: “As long as minorities get hurt, Trump can rule us like a king.”

But to everyone else: We need new, accountable leaders who will help poor and working-class people, not billionaires.

From Rob Kipp in Presque Isle

Illegal takeover of Greenland raises a memorny about an alternative: Re-Open Loring Air Force Base instead!

Viewing aurora borealis in Aroostook County, Maine
Echo opinion letter published in The County.
https://thecounty.me/2025/03/26/caribou/greenland-or-loring/

To the editor:  As Donald Trump blusters about illegally seizing Greenland for America’s national defense, maybe every resident in Aroostook County, Maine can call the White House and remind them about the Loring Air Force Base*.

In 1993, they deployed the Base Realignment and Closure [Commission], which was originally meant to decrease the defense budget. But what happened❓ They closed down Loring, which was a major economic driver for this region of the state of Maine, besides a strategic location for national defense. They moved all the planes and staff and money to the southern states of Alabama and Mississippi and left Aroostook barren without any federal economic driver to build up and maintain the region.

I know the MAGA cult crowd loves to do their own research, so I invite them to look up the numbers for defense budget from 1993 to 2024. How much was each year as we get to today? All that money, not spent in Aroostook over the time period.

In 1960, Aroostook County had a population of 120,000 residents. Today, we barely scratch at 70,000 people. Granted the base was comprised of a maximum of 7,000 military personnel for its capacity. But, how many residents, working, running businesses were an offshoot supporting the base and its staff? Many.

Every resident in Aroostook County, especially the cult MAGA [proponents], should be lighting up the White House switchboards (202-456-1111) demanding the reopening of Loring Air Force Base and to STOP wasting time by going after Greenland.

Call Senators Susan Collins and Angus. Call Representative Jared Golden. Tell them that Loring base needs to reopen, period, now. Aroostook prosperity depends on it and America’s national defense requires it.

From John Orlando in Van Buren, Maine (Aroostook County)

*Limestone, Maine: 30 years after its closure, veterans share memories of Loring Air Force Base: Those who served at Loring will always remember the base for the crucial and sometimes frightening role it played at the height of the Cold War. Two veterans who were stationed at the base and still live near it recently shared stories of their service and the base’s history.

In 1947, the U.S. Air Force chose Aroostook County to host one of the new Strategic Air Command bases, meant to house and possibly deploy nuclear weapons. The move came when the U.S. was engaging in a nuclear weapons arms race against the former Soviet Union, now Russia.

Donald Trump turns his back on the people who voted for him because he wants more tax cuts for billionaire

Don’t be fooled: Trump and his billionaire friends want to steal our money. Echo opinion letter from Maine published in The County newspaper

How do I know? First, Trump closed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It was created after Wall Street caused the Great Recession. It returned billions 💲 to regular people who were ripped off by banks and credit card companies. 

Don’t get me wrong: Washington should do more to fight financial predators. But Trump is making it even easier for them to pick our pockets.

Second, Trump and Musk fired thousands of IRS employees. Some might say, “Isn’t that a good thing?” But it turns out that with more IRS workers, the more they go after rich people. The rich are by far the biggest tax-evaders, but they have armies of accountants and lawyers hiding their crimes. Every $1 spent at the IRS gets us $5 to $9 back. 

Again, don’t get me wrong: Washington should tax the rich much more, like we did back in the ‘50s. But Trump is making it even easier for billionaires to avoid paying their fair share, and now Republicans in Congress are hard at work trying to lower billionaires’ taxes.

Trump says his donor Elon Musk is cutting government waste. He isn’t. Musk is handing himself government contracts while firing the regulators investigating his companies. This administration is gutting healthcare for the elderly, firing people who keep airplanes flying and keep nuclear bombs secure. These workers’ jobs made America a better place to live; Trump is putting them on unemployment. Now he and Musk are using money from these layoffs to enrich themselves.

Trump wants us to somehow believe he has the magic power to make our lives better. Why hasn’t he used it❓ Why is the price of eggs higher than ever when he said he’d fix it❓ Because he lied. 🤥He is a con man, and he is laughing at us.

There is a small group who don’t care: “As long as minorities get hurt, Trump can rule us like a king.”

But to everyone else: We need new, accountable leaders who will help poor and working-class people, not billionaires. 

From: Rob Kipp in Presque Isle, Maine

Postscript Maine Writer note: Donald Trump has thumbed his nose to the people who voted for him. For the life of me, I cannot understand how his cult cannot see his greed and avarice.