Letters to the Editor
To the editor:
By a wonderful coincidence, the letter to the editor from Dorathy and Bob Johnson (telling Patrick Hommerding and me to get a life for our remarks about Donald Trump) was in the Foto News just as the March issue of The Sun magazine appeared in my mailbox.
On the last page of the magazine there are (as usual) two columns of pithy quotations. Here’s one, by H.L. Menchen, that made me laugh out loud: “As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
Paul Gilk
Merrill
Editor,
I would like to thank Dorathy and Bob Johnson of Merrill for their short note calling out myself and Mr. Paul Gilk asking us to “Get a Life.” But I must remind them that we were utilizing our right to Free Speech because this is the United States of America, not Russia.
They stated that President Trump won. That is only half right because he did win the electoral vote but he did not win the popular vote. I am part of the popular vote.
I would also like to thank Mr. Johnson for his service to our country during WWII. Although I did not serve our country, even though I attempted to enlist during the Vietnam War but failed to pass the physical. But my Father, Lawrence Hommerding, was an Army veteran who served in WWII and was wounded during that war. He spent 18 months being paralyzed as a result of his gunshot wound. My Father told me I could express myself whenever I wanted to because that is what he fought and almost died for.
I wish that Dorathy and Bob could have elaborated on what they perceive as the benefits of having Mr. Trump as our President. They also asked me if I forgot that Wisconsin voted for Trump. I did not vote for Mr. Trump and I live in Wisconsin.
God Bless America!
Patrick Hommerding
Merrill
Dear editor,
After the Johnson’s oh-so-eloquent letter last week, I decided after all, to write about the GOP. My statement will be controversial but, here it goes. The establishment GOP is, presently, the greatest existing threat to our nation today.
I can hear copies of the Foto News sailing across living rooms now. But my claim is backed by the actions of the Republican party itself. For example; the Iowa GOP legislature proposed a bill to make party affiliation, not ability or education, a mejor factor in hiring educators at their universities. The North Dakota legislature is considering a GOP bill to decriminalize vehicular homicide if the driver runs down a protestor. Arizona is considering a GOP bill that would make it legal for authorities to take your property and finances if you are involved in a protest where someone else throws a rock. The organizers could also be arrested and charged if someone else becomes violent. The Texas GOP has tried several times to change their school history books to eliminate references to the civil rights fights that brought about great positive change. In Wisconsin, as in many GOP controlled states, we have seen voting rights eliminated and the Voting Rights bill gutted, gerrymandered voting districts, and “Right to work for less” laws passed that reduce wages and job safety. Our right to health care is constantly under attack by the GOP who wish to eliminate the ACA and Medicaid. The chairman of the House Energy subcommittee, Michael Burgess, has even stated that reducing the number of people covered is a “good thing.” The single most important factor in a free Democracy, the First Amendment, is under attack wherever the GOP holds a majority while the President bans news organizations that don’t say what he wants. The list goes on and on. No increase in the minimum wage, cuts to welfare and disability benefits, privatizing of Veterans health care, massive tax breaks for contributors, cuts for school funding, elimination of regulations that keep greedy corporations from poisoning us all, and a reduction of all programs in the public sphere. The draft of the GOP health care bill will create massive increases in premiums, tax your health care if it is a good plan, and protect insurance companies from having to pay for little things like maternity care.
None of these things help. If all these initiatives remain unchallenged, our children will go hungry, our students will continue to fall behind the world, and our women, elderly and poor will die from lack of health care. They all hurt our nation and they are GOP initiatives. GOP support stems from their support of Second Amendment rights, hatred of immigrants, minorities, and of those whose lifestyles offend them. They wish to inflict their personal morals on others through legislation. IS can commit acts of terrorism but they cannot take away our Rights guaranteed by the constitution. The GOP is doing just that. They try to hide what they are doing by discrediting the media while spewing lies which are easily shown to be false. The GOP still remains popular in the face of facts and proven lies. As long as there is an (R) behind their name, it’s ok. Rational arguments don’t work with Republicans. Otherwise there would be no Republicans.
Now we are watching the dismantling of the government agencies that help keep us safe. The courts are being loaded with judges that will support these things against the interests of the citizens. We are under attack. The fact that it is being done by supposed “representatives of the people” just makes the attack more insidious. The statement has been made, “Get a life.” I would respond, “Get an education.” It will help us all.
Doug Curtis
Gleason