TheLCN Letters to the Editor

As anyone old enough to remember the Watergate scandal knows, Richard “I am not a crook” Nixon has long been thought of as the quintessential example of presidential corruption.

Not any more.

Walton Transporting parked two large semis along the road, effectively blocking the sidewalk and making our lawful assembly invisible to passing traffic.

There is a direct correlation between the increase in the National Debt and the Republican drive to REDUCE taxes on the very wealthy.

President Reagan, for example, slashed the tax rate on the highest wage-earners from 70% to 28%. Consequently, the National Debt nearly tripled. In his first term in office, Trump reduced the tax rate on the very rich from 39.6% to 35%. He increased the National Debt by $7.8 Trillion.

It just keeps getting worse.

For next year’s budget, President Trump wants 40% more for the Department of War. Presently our military budget already EXCEEDS the military spending of the next NINE highest spending countries COMBINED! That includes Russia and China, by the way. Is there anyone except Trump and his sycophants who can justify such an obscene increase?

According to our own Pentagon, it is estimated that the war in Iran cost American taxpayers over $11.3 billion in the first six days alone. That’s close to $2 billion per day for the cost of munitions, operational expenses, and other losses like the three F-15E fighter jets worth about $250 million, mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses. And, the costs are expected to only rise higher as the war drags on.

The SAVE Act was designed to eliminate a bogus problem…stopping illegal immigrants from voting.

As a payer of town and county taxes, I was enraged to discover that my town supervisor voted “FOR” Local Law No. B-2026. Under this law, Livingston County supervisors can agree to sell or lease county-owned real property (i.e. real estate) WITHOUT public advertisement and WITHOUT competitive bidding.

I want transparency in my local government and I want to know that Livingston County is being financially responsible, i.e. by selling or leasing county property at the highest price, which is achieved through competitive bidding. If you agree in transparency and financial responsibility, let your town supervisor know AND consider signing a petition to force a public vote on this irresponsible (shady?) law.

Non-citizens voting is simply not a problem.

So, why add this extra hurdle? This is just another example of Trump and his Republicans creating chaos to further their immigrant bashing myths.

Now what is a problem is that over 30% of registered voters don’t vote! The number of poor, infirm and elderly Americans who will be severely challenged by these unnecessary restrictions will be measured in millions not hundreds. Instead of making voting more difficult, we should be making it easier. If it ain’t broke, don’t “fix” it.

Yes, Trump tightened up border security, but he accomplished this goal by violating the constitution and using ICE in ways that, like it or not, are akin to the Gestapo.

Undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants and even some citizens ended up in jails across the country, often without due process. Brutal ICE agents physically overreacted far too many times and the scenes of their thuggery are portrayed across the internet and news stations. Regrettably, these shameful scenes are also indelibly imprinted unto the memories of young and old. This year, overzealous ICE agents have started to use guns on civilians.