Letters to the Editor 10/31/2018

To the Editor:

I simply can't stomach the thought of last week's guest columnist assertion that Trump is the "right person for the job" standing unanswered.

Lee Iacocca was much more than just "blunt-spoken." He was a creative, well-read, thoughtful, tactful, yet compromising leader.

Donald Trump is none of those things, other than blunt to a fault. Any comparison between the tactics, knowledge and skill of these two businessmen makes far more sense as a study in contrasts, not similarities.

There is no shame in modest, sustainable economic growth that we saw under the eight years of articulate and trustworthy leadership by former President Obama, who, if you follow history was dealt a dismal economic starting hand thanks in large part to the corporate greed of business CEOs trumpeted in last week's page 2 column.

Trump taking credit for a robust but overheated economy in less than two years reminds me of the roofer on the job saying he built "the whole house - it was all done by me." Well good neighbors, the roof this "right person for the job" is installing is full of holes and the house is now structurally compromised due to rot from the top.

It is easy to live high on the hog short-term while borrowing/stealing from our children's future with ballooning deficits and environmental degradation-accelerated so hypocritically by Trump and his "conservative" Republican Congress.

Lee Iacocca was not a compulsive bald-faced liar, nor did he incite violence against those who disagreed with him. Really, would you follow this president into battle while he calls out from the far (very far) back lines that this is a worthy, ethically obligatory fight based on a comprehensive understanding of history? Is history not doomed to repeat itself by those who are blissfully ignorant of actual history and lack an ethical compass? How many patently obvious screw-ups does this "right person for the job" need to make on both the domestic and international scene before a shocking number of voters get a grip and realize the emperor has no clothes? Respect? Give me a break.

Finally, (immediate action item) Rep. Walden has had more than enough time in office to come up with a solution to national healthcare. It is time for new blood to tackle this difficult but critically important problem. Please vote to boot this Trumpian mouthpiece out of office. And, in two years, if not sooner via impeachment, do the same with the Emperor of Swampland.

Kris Calvin

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To the Editor:

We would like to extend our deep gratitude to the many people who served us over the past weeks following the loss of our son Galen. Our Vast Church family made sure our physical needs were met by supplying food, donating funds, cleaning our house, bringing flowers and covering us in prayer. Galen has been deeply honored by the outpouring of love toward our family.

We would also like to thank the hundreds of people who honored Galen by attending his memorial. The opportunity for everyone to gather, see who he was as a small child up to his most recent antics was very important to us. We were touched by the amount of support that was present.

We want to acknowledge and extend our deep gratitude to the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department, first responders and the chaplain who tended to us along with officers from Deschutes County Sheriff's office. Their professionalism was outstanding and the compassion they extended toward us in the immediate aftermath made an impossible situation less traumatic.

Kent, Cara and Hannah Boles

Sarah and Ryder Hansen

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To the Editor:

On the same day The Nugget published Mr. Mackey's fact-free screed styled as an opinion piece lauding his hero Donald Trump, law enforcement personnel found bombs that were mailed to several individuals, including former President Obama, former Vice President Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Representative Maxine Waters and the news organization CNN, among others.

As I write this, 10 such bombs have been intercepted. All of the targets have in common the fact that they are either public critics of Trump or subjects of his vitriol, in some cases, both. Trump has called for the jailing of a political opponent, Clinton, without trial. For years, Trump claimed (without evidence) that the elected President was not eligible to serve because he was born in a foreign country and committed fraud. Trump picked on Representative Waters, an African-American from Florida and called her "very low I.Q."

He has called the major media "the enemy of the people" and directed much of his ire against CNN. He has encouraged supporters to beat up protesters, lauded the actions of the Montana Representative who pled guilty to assault of a journalist who dared to ask a question about healthcare and recently was willing to turn a blind eye to the murder of a U.S. resident and journalist in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey because large financial interests were at stake (some of which may be his or his son-in-law's personal interests).

Reread Mr. Mackey's piece. You will note that several of those he specifically named and criticized were targets of the bomber.

President Trump is a threat to our national security and to our democracy. He is unfit to be the President of this country, and congressional Republicans have done nothing but enable him. Vote.

Michael Wells

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To the Editor:

On October 23, The Nugget published an opinion piece about Donald Trump titled "The right person for the job" written by Jeff Mackey. Unfortunately, I think the job that Mackey has in mind stokes hatred, increases racial division, and legitimizes white supremacy.

In his previous letters to The Nugget, Mackey has ranted against yard signs that exclaim, "In our America, diversity is celebrated" and echoed Trump's attacks on the media.

In Matthew 22:39, we learn from Jesus that "Love thy Neighbor" is the second most important commandment. Preventing people that you hate from becoming your neighbor, so that the remaining neighbors are more like you, is not what Jesus teaches and not what God commands. By his example, Trump has signaled it is acceptable in America to openly hate people who are not white and Christian. And this last week that hate turned into violence by the first of Trump's supporters most likely to act on their hate.

If you have laughed at or applauded or simply agreed with Trump's lies, hate, and racism, delivered by Twitter and during his rallies, you are on one end of a continuum that leads to the coward in Florida who sent pipe bombs to leading Democrats and Trump critics, the coward in Pittsburgh who shot and killed 11 Jewish people while they prayed in their synagogue, and the coward in Kentucky who shot and killed two African-Americans in a grocery store.

However, you have a chance in these midterm elections to separate yourself from the evil that has been unleashed by Trump and his followers, by not voting for any candidate who supports Trump.

John Mapes