The Valley Chronicle - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - Feb. 9, 2017ng

Times of uncertainty

[caption id="attachment_1520" align="alignright" width="300"] By KIRK
CARTOON OF THE WEEK[/caption] Dear Editor: President Donald Trump indisputably has done more in 2 weeks to divide the citizens of this country since the most contentious event in recent American history – the Vietnam War - which waged on for 20 years. His divisive rhetoric appears not to matter to him even after an avalanche of protests from all corners of the country have swept the nation. The President is unfeeling and unwilling to alter his course of conduct notwithstanding the public clamor against his policies. What can we expect from him when his reckless conduct in national and foreign affairs negatively affects all of us? The President has surrounded himself with like-minded staff handpicked to build a wall between him and every opposing voice, no matter the professional and moral stature of those voices. The person designated as a member of the National Security Council and trusted advisor to the President has little or no experience in the field of national security. The U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations made her debut by threatening the rest of the world that their conduct with respect to the U. S. will be monitored. The recently named Trade Advisor to the President has been ridiculed by his colleagues as not knowing what he’s talking about and the controversial nominee to the Supreme Court is certain to create a distracting senatorial circus in the ratification process to the amazement of everyone watching. In a world rife with complex challenges where amicable interaction with other countries is indispensable, it is evident that this administration wishes to alienate everyone that does not “toe the line” and thus wind up with an isolated United States. The risks are enormous in not counting on the collaboration for our security of all those countries that have been our allies for decades. For starters, our neighbors to the north and neighboring countries to the south would be of diminished disposition to shield the U. S. from its many dangers originating there and from elsewhere in the world – wall or no wall. On the other side of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, our military and trading partners will feel abandoned by the U. S. and left to transfer their alliances to rival economic and military powers. The members of a majority Republican Congress, with few exceptions, have demonstrated their willingness to rubber stamp Trump’s legislative initiatives and stand by his executive orders no matter how unconstitutional and illegal they are, thus turning the U. S. Congress into a sham not unlike the legislative bodies of totalitarian regimes. Now is the time for the millions of American citizens who didn’t vote for Donald Trump to stand up for the truth, and this country’s values, heretofore admired worldwide by confronting the enemies within that threaten our way of life. A vigorous and direct opposition is needed to the mean spirited and bigoted advocates of these irresponsible and shortsighted policies before it is too late. Emmett Campbell Hemet

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U.S. Constitution protects us from enemies foreign AND domestic

Dear Editor: Before people write Letters to the Editor here questioning the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s election to the presidency, they would do well to read the U.S. Constitution that protects “we the people” from enemies foreign and domestic. Here are some questions that these people need to ask themselves concerning the consequences of the actions of any individual that wins the popular vote and even wins the Electoral College as well, but wins the presidency by fraud and deceit. Are any of that individual’s appointments legal and valid? Are the documents that this individual signed legal and valid? Are any pardons that this individual granted legal and valid? It would certainly take a Supreme Court justice like Mr. Gorsuch to unravel such a complicated mess. The U.S. Constitution is the most perfect document ever written by the hand of man. We live at a historical point in time that American generations will be discussing for the next 50 to 100 years and even longer. Jim Welker, Hemet

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Governing a spoiled brat

Dear Editor, Our government is like a spoiled child. When a child has a set of rules given to them and they know that they will never be held accountable for violating the rules, they will continue to misbehave. When the parents of a disobedient child do not enforce the rules they actually encourage their children to misbehave. Do you think it would be a good idea to give your irresponsible teenage son your credit card and expect him not to abuse the privilege? Giving Congress the authority to spend your money is like giving access to your bank account to a thirsty alcoholic. Is the out of control child to blame or is it is the negligent parent who refuses to hold their child accountable? Our government officials, like children cannot resist temptation and both need to be supervised by responsible parents. The Constitution is not a suggestion, it is the rulebook for government officials to follow. Only when the Constitution is strictly obeyed and enforced can government officials be prevented from abusing the power given to them in the Constitution. Keith Broaders

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Donald Trump’s immediate impact on liberty

Dear Editor, In response to the president’s Immigration Executive Order, the City of Los Angeles is drafting a law to decriminalize street vending, which I find interesting. They are doing it to protect illegal aliens, which you may or may not agree with. The reason this is interesting is that this is actually a loosening of government control (more liberty) and a broadening of capitalism. These are ideas that are directly in line with principles I can get behind. Of course the brick and mortar store owners are not thrilled and spoke out against it because it could create competition, but that is good for the consumers in the area. Regardless if you like (insert name of president here) or not, if you are honest with yourself you will look at all the issues and actions of the person and analyze them. I would find it hard to believe that most of us are so tied to political party ideology that we are unable to do this simple exercise. For example, I did not care for our last president, yet I can still point out at least three things that he did that I agree with: The Credit Card Accountability and Disclosure Act of 2009. This limited some of the shenanigans that banks were pulling to squeeze money out of consumers. I agree with his decision to not sign the law allowing US Citizens to sue Saudi Arabia over the September 11 attacks. (His veto was overturned by congress.) Although the Affordable Care Act is a sham designed to destroy our existing medical system, there are portions I think are acceptable, such as pre-existing conditions. One last thought: if you stop voting for people willing to give their power away, you would not need to fear any president. For the past 24 years I have seen states and Congress filter power and responsibility to the Executive Branch of the federal government. This is a far cry from the ideals laid out in the Constitution, the ultimate law of our country. U.S. Rep Mary Bono Mack and now U.S. Rep. Dr. Raul Ruiz both gave more power to the president, since they were of the same party. We need to tell Congressman Ruiz no matter who the president is, do your job and get control of lawmaking back into the Legislative branch of the government. Even locally, we should force our city leadership to do as much as possible without relying on state and federal grants. The more dependent we all are on a large federal government, the less liberty and opportunity to pursue happiness we all have. Galen Hammerle, Hemet, CA

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The 15 million

Dear Editor, I have had some Wisconsin friends recently ask me how we can continue to live here in CA., and so I sent out a picture of our setting and explained we caved to the weather after having explored 38 states over an 18 month period, and now as Paul Harvey would say, “here is the rest of the story.” California has a population of approximately 40 million, and most folks I know after living here 25+ years would tell you about 15 million of those folks are what you and I would call “grounded”, i.e., decent, and normal. Explanation ( The 15 million) 1- Dress for the most part like civilians, as opposed to a Doberman, or someone trying out for a play in an R, or X rated film, who forgot to dress. 2- Spend some of their waking time, trying to do good things in the community for the good of the community - they participate in life, they give back, they help, they share, it is not all about me, me, me. 3- They are not inclined to be at gatherings, burning, yelling, looting, destroying public property, as an activity to replace working and actually supporting their own food, shelter, clothing, grooming, medical requirements. 4- When behind the wheel of a vehicle, their main goal is not to run you off the road, so as to get to the next light, next fast food , next bar, or wherever, a couple minutes quicker, everyone’s safety be damned! 5- They do not believe the sun’s rising and setting, is contingent on the new found wisdom of Rhode Scholars, like the all omnipotent Ashley Judd, Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, which begs the question, of how did this great Nation ever get built, prior to their genius? 6- They do stop when they see an injured dog lying on the road, and rush the animal to the vet, without a second’s consideration for anything except, what is the right thing to do. 7- When invited to help, give, work, contribute, they are inclined to say yes, then figure out how, not ponder all the details. 8- They do understand, they are here for a very short time, to treasure every hour, and they are not their own deity. I could go on, but for those of us 15 million, the portion we are blessed to know and have as friends, the best climate on the globe, overshadows the less fortunate 25 million. Does that help? Bob Haunschild Hemet, CA 92545