Four years ago, Mr. Trump was mesmerizing millions of people with his outrageous tweets, silly name-calling and thousands of ridiculous lies. Former CIA Director John Brennan sensed the turmoil brewing on the horizon and he felt obliged to reply: “When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You will not destroy America. America will triumph over you.” And judging from what I’ve seen lately in the news, Mr. Brennan’s prediction seems to be reaching fruition.
Millions of Americans believed a Trump presidency would be “bad” for America. Millions more believed it would be “good.” Trump won the first time but his bid for re-election failed. Even though the dark side of Trump’s demeanor has been revealed in various ways, some of his supporters still cling to his illusion.
What is it about the human brain that makes us see the same things so differently? Do mind-sets have anything to do with it? One mind-set is bigoted and intolerant and the other is liberal and tolerant. You’d think it would be pretty much impossible for these two to work together. But is it?
Is this a problem that can only be fixed by our creator? How? By wiping all of us out and starting all over again? Uh-uh, that’s not an option.
Well-paid legislators should be able to communicate, organize and compromise. They should be able to get their crap together and get things done! This juvenile bickering has got to stop. Grow up, people! Our children deserve better! America deserves better! Compromise! This is America, God Bless it! Lead, follow, or get out of the way!
Italo J. Zarate
Brownsville
Commentary
spurs comment
Yes Ruben Navarrette, we right-wingers also grieve immensely for the slain Uvalde students. We grieve every time there is an unjustified death.
Lawful gun owners do not have issues with sensible gun laws and have no problem with vigorous background checks when it comes to firearms. While we’re at it, let’s do the same when it comes to immigration, voter ID and candidates running for office.
Strict gun control laws only serve to disarm law-abiding citizens, resulting in losing their ability to protect themselves. Criminals do not like to follow the laws. Remember: “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.”
The government banned some drugs and made them illegal, but they are readily available at most street corners. After 9/11, we didn’t ban airplanes. We secured the cockpits. We should be doing the same with schools.
Now Navarrette (“Save our law enforcement officers. Disband the NRA,” June 16) states that somehow the NRA is responsible for police officers losing their lives. How about this: The NRA gets zero dollars from the government. Planned Parenthood receives more than $500 million annually from government funding and performs more than 300,000 abortions per year. If Navarrette wants to save lives, he should be writing about the evils of Planned Parenthood.
Let’s be sensible of the new laws that politicians try to enact after any tragedy. But please don’t make it harder for me to protect my family.
Joel Ramirez
Edinburg
Caring
enough?
There couldn’t be a more important time than now, our nation’s most uncertain hour. We’re not powerless, unless succumbing to apathy, an insatiable political pathogen devouring the foundation of structures designed to safeguard our well-being.
The cause, alienation, nurses a sense of powerlessness. Plain-wrong is “I/We can’t do anything. It’s bigger than me/us.”
The Constitution’s preamble proclaims “We the People …, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, ….” Our citizenship responsibilities necessitate being better informed, engaged and caring.
Caring enough for the “rule of law-due process.” Caring enough to be among those standing tall for the Constitution. Caring enough to deserve the blessings of self-government.
If not, King George III’s present-day arbitrary, authoritarian despots — sheep in wolves’ clothing — advance nefarious intentions pursuing narrow self-interests. Jan. 6 almost succeeded, providing a dress rehearsal, adherents to Trump’s “Big Lie” more ferociously determined to shred constitutional rule-of-law values.
Hundreds already won GOP primaries, placing themselves in positions to overturn elections not going their way. The next call to burn the Reichstag is merely their “legal” cover.
Such is 180 degrees antithetical to the Founding Fathers and much to the mortification of the Greatest Generation defeating authoritarianism in World War II. Caring enough?
Inoculate against political apathy. Be mindful. Vote blue!
Rev. Barry Abraham Zavah
Alpine
Vote
change
Melvin Thompson touts Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott (Letters, June 20). Trump is nothing more than a liar. Cruz left for Cancun when those of us in Texas were freezing in our houses with no power for four days. And Abbott? He got rich because of a huge jury award, and now has introduced and passed laws that strictly limit awards for others in similar circumstances.
If a tree falls on me while I’m out in a park, so be it. I don’t know who tops this list for “most disgusting elected official.”
At one time, I was a Goldwater Republican. Now I am voting Democrat all the way.
Debra Bolin
Mission
Response
to letter
Regarding Mr. Melvin L. Thompson’s letter about the rude Beto O’Rourke listening to Abbott talk about mental health at the news conference about Uvalde got me screaming at the TV (June 20), it’s the guns.
Then here comes Beto to save the day, stating that it is Abbott’s gun policy allowing 18-year-olds to buy an AR-15.
Mary Hogan
Mission
Don’t
secede
Texas cannot secede from the nation.
They’re just saying that to deflect. Attacks on the LGBTQ community, secession from the nation and even taxes are all stupid ways that the GOP deflect their voters from the truth; they don’t care about them. Period.
Phil Garcia
McAllen
Editorial
criticized
Just a few comments in reference to a recent editorial published by The Monitor and The Brownsville Herald after the election of Myra Flores to Congressional District 34 (June 17). First, I applaud both publications for providing equal time/space to opposing viewpoints on a wide variety of issues. However, I have to characterize the editorial as nothing more than a smear job.
First, I find it reprehensible that the editorial tries to link a campaign whose slogan was “God, Family, Country” to the fringe extremist group QAnon without supporting evidence.
Second, Ms. Flores is portrayed as having echoed former President Trump’s positions on immigration. She has voiced support for Trump’s efforts to curb illegal immigration and secure our Southern border. Ms. Flores has clearly stated that she supports legal immigration.
Given the above ridiculous characterizations of Ms. Flores, I was a bit surprised that the editorial did not accuse Ms. Flores of being a white supremacist. That, however, would be too much of a stretch, given the fact that Ms. Flores was born in Mexico and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
It is very disappointing that your publication(s) would resort to making wild and unsubstantiated claims/accusations for obvious political reasons.
Ben Castillo
Harlingen
