Trump gives us dysfunction
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor: I am very concerned about the current state and future of our country, and I offer my expertise as a physician committed to the public good to help offer some meager insights.
I work with and treat people with personality disorders all the time. About 0.5 to 1 percent of the population suffer from a narcissist personality disorder. As a family physician, I often know these patients better than anyone. I am usually the only one left having continuity over time with the person. Most specialists, family and friends will disengage with these patients because they are “difficult,” exhibiting a warped reality centering in self-gratification, attention and apathy.
Controversy is how Trump became president when the majority of Republicans thought his campaign was dead. Public controversy is the vulnerability we collectively have that gives Trump power. He incites the very problems that he promises to fix. He has manipulated the media at this fragmented and vulnerable time in our country’s history. There is nothing in place to stop our divide from widening with stereotypes blanketed to both sides from the extreme behaviors of just a few. This is deeply disturbing. With fake and sensationalized news selling 24-hours a day, propaganda has been targeted to segments of the populace.
Trump has tweeted about having the power to pardon his family and even himself, which seals America’s future with him. He has taken advantage of our vulnerability as a nation; controversy is what Trump sells professionally.
From experience, I can tell you working with a narcissist can often be loselose; this is the hallmark of narcissistic personality disorder. The best way to handle them is to set guide-rails of disengagement, shaping what is acceptable and what is not, and thus far, that has not happened to any significant extent by the Republican-led Senate and minimally by the Supreme Court, as the president continues to disobey our election laws while claiming to be “Law and Order.” Trump may be a well-intentioned individual not meaning harm, but his actions consistently suggest he does not care — he does not understand his implication in harms.
The combination of our national crises, unrest, and the mismanaged pandemic will escalate our country’s political dividestomoreviolence.Towhatend? We live in a country that is resource-rich, not resource-limited; there is more than enough room for all Americans in this melting pot. It is difficult to look past the day’s roller-coaster of “breaking news,” but the future transition of power with the next president has to happen without controversy, whether that ultimately is the general election or another impeachment.
Trump has served his purpose of “shaking things up” in Washington. Are we really better off as a country compared to 3.5 years ago coming out of an administration with record low controversy, violence and job growth? I don’t think we can unify our country with four more years of this dysfunction.
Zachary Baeseman Waupaca
To the Editor: If we do not pay attention to what is happening in our country, we could lose our freedoms guaranteed by the Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America.
The First Amendment guarantees every American citizen that the government will not establish a religion that we all have to follow, but that the government cannot prohibit our right to follow a certain religion. This means the government is not allowed to put restrictions on our choice of religion and is not allowed to prohibit our religion’s rules and regulations.
However, it is happening right now in our country and everyone who loves the Lord our God should be aware of what is going on. The Democratic platform for 2020 states that religious freedom is a “fundamental human right” that nevertheless cannot be used “as a cover for discrimination.”
Please think about what you just read.
Their proposed legislation, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, would limit our religious-freedom protections. The RFRA states objections to the contraceptive mandate, healthcare workers declining to participate in abortions, and religious adoption agencies placing children only with married opposite-sex couples will not be allowed.
In other words, if you are a doctor formed by your Christian heritage and do not want to give out contraceptives or perform an abortion, you would be in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Your belief isn’t valid here. If you are a religious organization that does not want to pay for contraceptives, you are in violation of the RFRA. If you are a nurse and don’t believe in abortion, you must perform the duties or be in violation of the Act. Companies, hospitals, doctors, nurses, adoption agencies and more are not allowed to follow their religious right.
Our religious freedom is in jeopardy. Christian faith in union with St. Paul’s Revelation in the Bible does not recognize homosexual marriage as valid; however, we do not discriminate against homosexuals. Marriage of a man and a woman, a heterosexual relationship, can provide the gift of life. According to the Democrats, the Christian religion would be a “cover for discrimination.” I hope I have explained some of what the Democrats platform is so you can vote your “faith” this November.
Susan SuBois Dorchester
Biden has no morality
To the Editor: Eighty-eight days is the time Joe Biden remained silent. Joe Biden, hiding in his basement, said nothing; he did not condemn the people that burned dozens of cities. Countless small businesses burned to the ground. Countless innocent people assaulted. Countless police officers assaulted. Rampant mayhem and he said nothing.
For 88 days, Joe Biden, who thinks he is qualified to be president, was silent and hid in his basement. The supposed leader of one of our two major political parties said nothing. It should be expected because the Democrats now embrace political violence. They see it as a tool to forward their socialist agenda. Therefore, Joe Biden sat in his basement and said nothing for 88 days while the country he says he can lead burned.
Not a word was said as violence broke out in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Fayetteville, Atlanta, New York, Seattle, Nashville, Philadelphia, Chicago, Portland, Milwaukee, Salt Lake, Detroit, Washington DC, San Francisco, and now Kenosha.
Sorry, he did say stuff that encouraged the violence. He called the criminals that assaulted people, looted small businesses, burned buildings to the ground “protesters.” He assured them as president he stood with them against law and order.
Even as people lost everything to the criminals, Joe Biden sided with and encouraged their behavior. The man that wants to be president did not have the courage to condemn the burning of police stations and courthouses that were paid for by the American citizens.
94072
We now have a man running for president who condemns police. Joe Biden sides with the criminals, who burn, steal, and assault the American Citizen. And when he finally condemns the rioting, it is because the polls told him he should.
Joe Biden is a spineless individual. He has no moral character. His entire life has been about getting re-elected.
Rick Weber Colby
Don’t rush COVID vaccine
To the Editor: Last week, President Trump announced the Food and Drug Administration had approved the use of convalescent plasma for treating patients with COVID-19, stating that it cut mortality rates by 35 percent. The Center for Disease Control issued a statement saying people exposed to COVID-19 did not need to be tested if they do not have symptoms. Both statements were wrong and had to be corrected, and both statements decreased the credibility of agencies we depend on for unbiased, scientific information.
The agencies denied any political pressure, but documents show heavy infl uence on the CDC by the Trump campaign, and the FDA approval came less than a day following a tweet by Trump suggesting “deep state operatives in the FDA were slowing drug development.”
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn fired agency spokeswoman Emily Miller over the incident. She had been on the job for only 11 days with no medical background, but is a Republican political operative that has expressed skepticism about the coronavirus.
Hahn had earlier authorized the emergency use of two malaria drugs, then withdrew approval when the drugs were shown to be potentially harmful and not helpful. Both had been pushed for approval by Trump. With 190,000 deaths due to COVID-19, many due to his own bungling, Trump is desperate for some good news before Election Day. He has repeatedly said the coronavirus “will simply disappear,” but it continues to kill over a thousand people a day. His urgency has placed the importance of his own re-election above the job of guaranteeing a methodical process to develop a reliable vaccine.
People will not take the vaccine if they do not trust the process. Pressuring agencies to relax restrictions and rush approvals of medication and vaccines does not instill trust. Narcissistic behavior is not leadership and, in this case, it is dangerous.
Mary Luchterhand Unity
Trump doesn’t keep promises
To the Editor: Remember the promise about “draining the swamp and getting Wall Street money out of government”? “The swamp” got deeper and thicker on Trump’s watch.
When Sonny Perdue was nominated to be secretary of agriculture, an environmental watchdog group said, “This isn’t like draining the swamp, this is like putting the original swamp monster in charge.” Perdue is an agribusiness tycoon and is infamous among struggling Wisconsin dairy farmers for offering the encouraging words, “In America, the big get bigger and the small go out.”
Betsy DeVoss, Trump’s secretary of education, is a billionaire with six yachts scattered around the world. She has no teaching degree or teaching experience, has never attended a public school, did not send her children to public school and supports funding for for-profit private schools over public schools. She donated $9.5 million to Trump’s campaign.
Andrew Wheeler, secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency, was a lobbyist for the coal industry. He recently approved plans to drill for gas and oil in the Arctic National Wild Life Refuge, a move worth billions of dollars to special interest groups and a promise of irreparable harm to the environment his agency is supposed to protect.
Most recently, Louis DeJoy was appointed as Postmaster General after contributing $1.2 million to the Trump campaign, managing fundraising for the GOP National Convention, and donating millions of dollars to Republican campaigns. DeJoy was heavily invested in XPO and Amazon, both large contractors with the U.S. Postal Service. He is allowed to keep $30 million in XPO stock. He was ordered to sell his Amazon stock, then given an option to buy it back at half its current value. These glaring conflicts of interest were ignored.
Trump’s entire cabinet is occupied by “swamp monsters” and is a classic example of promises not kept. Trump is a proven leader for your readers that are multi-millionaires, but he does not represent the rest of us.
Tom Harnisch Neillsville
Vote early to make it count
To the Editor: As the wife of a deceased dedicated rural mail carrier, I am concerned about the politicization and sabotage of the United States Postal Service by the Trump administration.
The new Postmaster, Louis DeJoy, a major Trump donor and Republican fundraiser, has reassigned 23 Postal Service senior managers, two who oversaw day-to-day operations. He then restricted overtime, froze rehiring, and removed 671 sorting and processing machines from many states. This has slowed mail delivery already and caused chaos in the Postal Service during the COVID-19 epidemic. DeJoy has stated he does not plan to reverse any controversial changes.
It is no secret Trump doesn’t like the U.S. Postal Service and would privatize it if he could. Postal workers process 425 million pieces of mail a day. Thirty-three million people voted (by mail)in the last presidential election. That number will explode this election. This is done without hardly any cases of voter fraud, contrary to Trump accusations.
The Post Office was established by the Constitution in 1775 to serve the American people. It’s a service, not a business. Benjamin Franklin was our first postmaster. It receives no tax dollars for operating expenses.
Rural America is dependent on the Postal Service. Rural routes average 98 miles and 300 patrons.
Congress should investigate the actions of DeJoy and allocate more money to the Postal Service for election assistance. Voters, get your ballots early, sign both ballot and envelope, return them quickly. Don’t wait. Democracy must prevail.
Erline Vandeberg Neillsville
Responsibility is required
To the Editor: The following is an excerpt from a book written in 1960 by Eleanor Roosevelt. The title is “You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys For A More Fulfilling Life.”“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”
True then. True now.
Kathy Anderson Town of Marathon
Tiffany is no conservationist
To the Editor: Tom Tiffany, the representative from the Wisconsin 7th Congressional District, voted no on the Great American Outdoors Act. It still passed both the House and the Senate with over-whelming bipartisan support and was signed into law. Since the funding will come from offshore oil and gas leasing revenues, income taxes will not be increased.
This legislation will benefit both conservation and the economy.
Thus, Tiffany voted against funding deferred maintenance projects at national parks, national forests, and national wildlife refuges and other conservation projects like parks, trails and boating access sites.
He voted against a $22 billion tourism industry. Tourists spent nearly $14 billion in Wisconsin in 2019, generated $1.6 billion in state and local revenue taxes, and supported 200,000 jobs.
Tiffany voted against the interests of thousands of small businesses like resorts, motels, sporting goods stores, bait shops, ski and bike shops, gas stations, cafes, supper clubs, grocery stores, and others who provide services to residents and tourists alike pursuing outdoor recreation.
Tiffany voted against those of us who use our public lakes, waterways, wildlife refuges, forests, trails, and parks for fishing, boating, swimming, hunting, skiing, snowmobiling, biking, hiking, bird watching, and just relaxing in the great outdoors.
Once again, Tiffany voted in agreement with the mining industry, which strongly opposed this legislation. He also had a history of voting against conservation and in support of mining interests while a Wisconsin state senator.
The Wisconsin Conservation Voters writes of his voting record, in part, “he worked in concert with out-of-state and foreign mining corporations to bring metallic sulfide mining, America’s most toxic industry, back to Wisconsin with his Industrial Acid Mining Bill. In the process, Sen. Tiffany divided and misrepresented conservation groups and misled local governments. Despite saying the bill would not take away local control, Tiffany has actively threatened local governments with future legislation that would remove their ability to pass strong local protections.”
As an independent voter, I am writing this letter in the interest of transparency in government. I am retired from a 42 year career in fisheries, wildlife and water quality research and management.
Everett “Bud” Fuchs Hudson
We need to look after others
To the Editor: We keep on driving our cars even though many people die in traffic accidents. So why can’t we party when we want to, even though lots of people are dead because of COVID-19?
That’s a very good analogy. They really are quite the same.
Why are there so many car accidents? Some are caused by animals or the weather, but most are caused by disregarding laws, common sense and courtesy. Driving too fast or too fast for conditions is a common cause. When I’m going the speed limit, I’m usually the slowest car on the road. The other most common cause is driving while under the influence. Plan your drinking so you won’t be driving after.
There are a few rules that we follow if we want to get rid of the virus. Wash your hands, wear a face covering and keep your physical distance. And stay home if at all possible. The sooner we make up our minds to do this, the sooner we will be free, but we really need 100 percent participation. If we keep going to parties now, it may be years before it is really safe to party the way we used to. This will not be easy, but we need to keep others in mind. It’s not only ourselves that are involved.
Our freedom comes with responsibilities. We need to obey the laws. We need to do what is suggested by the people who are knowledgeable about the subject. That’s common sense. We look out for each other and try to help others, not thinking only of ourselves. That’s courtesy.
Mavis Wood Abbotsford
Vote for your postal system
To the Editor: The administration has recently temporarily put on hold, but has refused to reverse, its reductions of postal service. The Postmaster General says it is to decrease costs and improve profits of the USPS. If that is true it is understandable but, if so, why are other government services — NASA, NOAA, air traffic control, public highways and practically every other service — not expected to be profitable? The USPS is a core service of the U.S. government but politicians have created the belief that it must be profitable.
The president at the same time has said he is against needed COVID-related funding for USPS because he wants to discourage mail-in/absentee voting even though that is how he votes. The Democrats have requested additional funds to make sure every mailed vote can be counted. But, as one of the president’s senior advisors said, “So much of the Democratic asks are really liberal left wish lists, voting rights,....that’s not our game.” So if you are one of many who should not or cannot go to the polls – he doesn’t want your vote counted. That is voter suppression.
If the Republican attack on the USPS is able to continue after the election – good luck with your bill payments, your prescriptions, and your cards and packages getting there on time. Good luck with keeping your local post office and its services. Vote to protect the post office. If you don’t vote you are voting to decrease your postal service.
For now, make sure you are registered to vote, get a ballot, fill it in, have your signature witnessed and mail it early or drop it off at your clerk’s office. Make sure you have read all the instructions and then check at myvote.wi.gov/en-US/ MyVoterInfo to make sure your vote was received.
Vote against voter suppression. Vote for your postal service.
Douglas Lee Marshfield Trump has no plan for USA
To the Editor: Believe it or not, President Trump is going to focus on the economy as the stellar achievement of his presidency.
He gave a speech in Warren, Mich., on January 30, 2020, just before the economy collapsed. He bragged, “No administration has done what we’ve done in the first three years of an administration.” It was typical Trump bluster and it was not true.
The US gained 6.6 million jobs during Trump’s first 36 months in office. Lyndon Johnson added 7.8 million jobs when the nation’s labor force was less than half of what it is today. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton both added more jobs during their first 36 months in office.
Trump went on to say, “We are producing jobs in this country like you have never seen.” Another lie. The 6.6 million jobs produced under Trump were actually less than the previous 36 months under Obama, when 8.1 million jobs were created. Trump inherited vigorous job growth that actually slowed under his administration.
COVID-19 stopped all job growth and, due in large part to Trump’s mismanagement and failed leadership, America’s economy collapsed. It remains in desperate straits today. 50 million people have lost their jobs, 30 million claim unemployment benefits, millions of families are looking for food and millions more are being evicted from their homes.
It is easy to understand why Trump does not accept responsibility for the condition this country is in, but what has he achieved? He cannot point to a plan for the nation to recover because he has no plan. He has no plan to defeat COVID-19 and no plan for economic recovery, much less a plan to sustain Social Security, provide affordable health care, provide affordable education, or to fix a failing infrastructure.
Trump has no plan and the country is suffering for it. This country needs a leader.
Bryce Luchterhand Unity
The two parties are different
To the Editor: The difference between President Trump and Joe Biden is stark.
Some examples: Biden says climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the planet while Trump says it doesn’t exist. Biden wants to expand the Affordable Health Care Plan while Trump wants to end it. Biden would like to make voting easier and faster while Trump attempts to make voting more difficult, slower, and more cumbersome.
With COVID-19 killing over a thousand Americans a day, Biden is calling for a nationwide, coordinated effort to defeat it, while Trump calls it a hoax and says it will “just disappear.” Biden believes in science and supports programs based in scientific research while Trump does not believe in science, relying on disparaged medical doctors and offering debased methods of combating disease.
Biden believes “Dreamers” should be given a path to citizenship and continue to contribute to this nation. Republicans want to throw them out of the country. Democrats believe in treating people humanely, even when they come into this country illegally. Republicans believe it is okay to separate children from their parents, lock them in cells resembling cages, and to fail to reunite families.
Democrats believe the nation must end racial injustice, provide equal opportunity to everyone and bring the country together, united as a stronger, better nation. Republicans welcome white supremacists, use racially charged language and are divisive in their actions.
President Trump leads the party and is described as narcissistic, chauvinistic and xenophobic. These are characteristics the Republican Party has never openly embraced, until now, when it offers its full support of President Trump. Biden has a history of inclusion, uniting, healing, and hope. There is a difference between the two men and the two parties.
Linda Osegard Neillsville
Trump critics are answered
To the Editor: President Trump started talking about a “rigged” election back in June. Since then, he and Republicans across the country have taken steps to do exactly that, to rig the election.
The effort actually began in earnest when Republicans selected their voters with gerrymandered voting districts. Just a glance at the map of Wisconsin legislative districts reveals the convoluted logic employed when drawing district boundaries.
Then came purging names from lists of voters. A total of 17 million names have been removed from voter lists around the nation since 2016.
Concerned about increased voter participation through mail-in voting, Trump has taken steps to make it as diffi cult as possible for the post office to get the ballots in on time to be counted. He became directly involved in voter suppression by refusing additional funding for the post office and supporting a major campaign donor, Louis DeJoy, as postmaster general.
Slowing the mail puts seniors and veterans depending on Social Security, VA benefits and prescription drugs at risk. It is a sad day when the president of the United States makes an unabashed attempt to suppress the vote of American citizens in addition to sabotaging one of America’s premier institutions.
Anita Sloane Neillsville
