Letters to the
E ditor An update on making Colby cheese official
To the editor: It has, and continues to be, a tremulous time not just in our state but also at our capital in Madison.
But with all the upheavals and disruption to the political ebb-and-flows in the marbled halls, the Colby Cheese Bill of Assembly 572 is waiting, and poised to make a run into legislation.
Yes, it has not been forgotten, and the work has continued on since last year. At this time no committee assignments have been made, the capital remains closed, and some familiar faces are gone (Rep. Bob Kulp for instance), but work is set to commence on future legislation in January.
It is then that this bill will be introduced, and when it is, Senator Bernier and other backers of this bill want us to be ready. The importance of Colby cheese to be a state symbol is simple; it is our original, native product that came from Wisconsin’s dairy farmer country. It is what Wisconsin is made of.
And, in a time of political and COVID fatigue, painting a richer picture of what it means to be a Wisconsinite means a revival of our state, a revival of ourselves.
It is time to begin planning, to get the word out to rally support, to prepare this bill to roar out of the starting gates in January. So I am asking you: if you are a teacher, plan Colby Cheese projects, something to share with legislators when the time comes; if you are a farmer, share your sentiment of having a symbol represent your hard work; if you are a business or community leader, think of ways to network and showcase the heritage of Colby cheese...because when the time comes in January I want us to be ready. I want us to be ready so that we can one day have a symbol that represents our rural communities, and small hometowns like mine.
Any questions? Please feel free to contact Sen. Bernier’s office at Zachary.Stollfus@ legis.wisconsin.gov or me at matt. shortlane@gmail.com.
Matt Oehmichen
Colby
Trump was not a great ‘mechanic’ for our nation
To the editor: I would like to respond to Ron Gosse’s letter.
Gosse tells the fairy tale of two mechanics. The first mechanic has 47 years of experience but now is suffering from age related mental impairment. The second mechanic has four years of experience but “he fixes it and it stays fixed.”
Gosse spends the next three paragraphs implementing the McCarthy/ Trump tactic of telling a lie and then repeating it over and over again as if it were true.
Anyone who viewed the debates could easily discern who was suffering from incongruent thinking and childish behavior. The other debater was the adult and the future president.
On Nov. 3, Biden accumulated 78,664,837 popular votes and 306 electoral votes. The loser and soon to be ex-president got 5.5 million less popular votes and 232 electoral votes. In 2016, Trump was defeated by over 2.9 million in the popular vote and it was the only outdated Electoral College who gave him the win.
Gosse praises Trump: “he fixes it, it stays fixed.” He must have been referring to fixing things with non-disclosure agreements. He used these to bury abortions, numerous adulterous affairs and other inappropriate activities.
He demands loyalty to him over the ability to do the job. If you break numerous laws, he’ll pardon you like he did Roger Stone.
Gosse continues, “If you voted for Biden/Harris...you didn’t weigh the good with the bad work that has been done or is being done by each of them.”
Trump inherited a strong, growing economy, unlike in 2008, when the Republicans left us with the Great Recession. Trump championed a trillion dollar plus tax cut, which mostly went to corporations and the wealthiest Americans. As he said to a group of wealthy donors, “You had better applaud me, I made you a lot richer.” And the deficit soared.
His other failures included not dealing with climate change, easing of environmental regulations, falling in love with Kim from Korea, taking the word of Putin over his own intelligence agencies, not making Mexico pay for the failed wall, showing his racism by supporting racist militia groups, turning a blind eye to murder by Saudi Arabia, attacking the free press and attacking knowledge and science.
He used race and unjustified fear of those not like him as a wedge issue and to incite his core group. What Trump didn’t admit to was that his racism was not patriotism.
But topping all of these failures by a gargantuan margin is his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He told the truth to Bob Woodward who, with Trump’s approval, taped the conversations. But to all Americans he lied. “It’s all a hoax.” “It will be gone with warm weather.” “I am not responsible” and hundreds of other lies.
He named his son-in-law to head the COVID-19 task force when he had no experience in public health administration, viral infections or handling pandemics. He failed to provide leadership to ensure there was not price inflation when states, cities and hospitals had to compete for needed medical supplies. Even today, eight months later, our brave frontline workers are undersupplied, understaffed and overworked. Our hospitals will soon be full.
Ted Cruz said earlier this week, “The first responsibility of the president of the United States is to keep people safe.” Trump has been a monumental failure. His rallies have led to over 700 deaths.
As of Sunday, over 245,000 Americans have died, 2,748 have died in Wisconsin and 106 here in Marathon County. Even today, he continues to stymie the Biden COVID-19 task force by denying them access to vital information. Each day, more Americans died because of his refusal to help fight COVID-19. He has been too busy playing golf.
Trump should be tried and convicted of negligent homicide.
Gary Fergot
Wien
