TheLCN Letters to the Editor features opinion pieces submitted by readers and community members, offering diverse perspectives on local and national issues.
Guidelines for writing a Letter to the Editor A ‘Letter to the Editor’ (sometimes abbreviated as LTTE) is a way of writing to a newspaper, magazine, or other regularly printed publication. It is a means for informing or persuading the public regarding an issue, using a combination of facts and emotions to convey your message….
The painful truth is that global warming is already impacting us and it will just get worse as Republicans push for Americans to accept fossil fuels as panacea for economic problems they created by giving tax breaks to the very rich. Droughts are already impacting lakes across the country. Harmful algal blooms that erupt in very warm water can be dangerous to humans and animals, causing illness and even death. These blooms used to appear for short times in the middle of August.
If the immigrant working in the fields or the activist protesting in the streets or the governor of a state can be used as pawns in this autocratic take-over of democracy, then even citizens like you or me can be denied rights.
The pledge of allegiance ends with “liberty and justice for all”. Not anymore.
Liberties are being denied to the non-white, the Muslim, the immigrant, the protestor. Due process is too often denied just because Trump doesn’t like some group or person.
Be afraid, America. Be very afraid. This is not law and order. It’s denying rights and due process to ALL the people.
It’s doubtful that we will soon forget what happened in Kerr County, Texas on Independence Day, 2025. Massive flooding overwhelming the area quickly with deep sludge, leaving 135 dead, at least 37 of which were children. And there are 3 still missing. What are we to make of such a horrific event? Was it just a random event that happens every once in a while? Or was it an event that is bound to happen more regularly? Scientists are warning that global warming (i.e., a climate change component) is causing rising sea levels and more intense rainfall, both of which increase the risk and severity of flooding.
Government is not a business, nor should it be. It is a service organization. Government does not produce a product you purchase. Government is not meant to turn a profit. The money to run a government includes income, property and sales taxes, fees, sometimes loans, sometimes grants. We pay those to governments in return for services. Those services include keeping us safe, protecting our air, water and food from contamination, keeping roads and bridges repaired, educational opportunities, loans to businesses, grants for medical and other research, ensuring travel is safe, consumers are protected, Veterans are cared for, your Social Security is there at retirement, providing health care in the form of Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid or through the Affordable Care Act.
An important question.
IS TRUMP A DICTATOR?
To answer that important question let’s first consider some common characteristics of dictators.
Dictators malign the free press. Trump has done more to undermine the press than most dictators. He drummed into his followers that ABC, CBS, NBC and NPR were “fake news”. When news sources called out his lies and actions, he responded with “Crazed and Dishonest” and “Enemy of the people”. Now, as president he has attacked reputable news organizations like ABC and CBS with lawsuits and threats to take away their licenses.
Representative Claudia Tenney (24th District, Republican) has asserted she is in favor of preserving Western civilization, but her Defund Government Sponsored Propaganda Act to withdraw federal support for National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service’s television (PBS) gives the lie to her stance.
Senator Helming’s characterization of the bills as vehicles for “some of the most dangerous individuals in our state to walk free” is disingenuous, invoking an apocryphal scare just as Trump did.
A worrisome truth: Since 1970, Republicans have put our nation in debt far more than Democrats. Reagan increased the National Debt by 161%! How? By lowering taxes on the very rich from 70% to 50%. Republican presidents, one after the other, kept lowering the taxes on the very rich. In total, this was the main…
The Republican SAFE act will require voters to provide specific proof of their US citizenship. Why? Because illegal immigrants are allegedly threatening our election process. At least that’s what President Trump and Republicans claim. Ironically, the SAVE act is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. In other words, illegal immigrants don’t vote in…
