Letters to the Editor, Feb. 2
Council is endangering our rights
Based on what occurred at the Jan. 19, council meeting, I am sounding the alarm.
Councilor Blonna nominated Larry Honig to the Planning Board while Councilor Rola nominated Ed Issler. Larry Honig's was approved; however, Councilor Blonna objected to Ed Issler because campaign newsletters were hurtful and he could not trust him.
Surely Councilor Blonna knows the reprehensible content of Larry Honig's marcopolitics.com. The fact that he denied authorship until responding to an election complaint places Councilor Blonna's character in doubt for trusting him.
Councilor Irwin cited a lawsuit threat by Ed Issler; a review of that email references a possible appeal to the state attorney. Most troubling is our city attorney concurred with this when Councilor Brabowski inquired what Councilor Irwin was basing her assertion on. Now both Councilor Irwin and the city attorney owe Issler an apology and the other councilors an explanation for their credibility is suspect.
Chair Grifoni found the newsletters incendiary, yet he and councilors Babrowski, Blonna, and Irwin by their vote to deny Ed Issler's appointment were the ones who stroked the flames.
Do watch the video of the May 7, 2018 council meeting. It includes a "time-out provision" by Councilor Roman that proposed that no councilor leaving office be appointed to an advisory board or committee until two years had elapsed. Interestingly councilors Grifoni and Honig voted for this with Councilor Honig recommending four years. Obviously, he has changed his opinion.
Regina L. Dayton, Marco Island
Act of seditious insurrection
Here are the facts. The U.S. Constitution gives authority to conduct elections to the individual states. All 50 states certified the election and electors.
Sixty courts including the U.S. Supreme Court rejected challenges to the states elections. Donald Trump invited supporters to Washington, D.C., on the day congress was to count, not approve the electors.
Trump goaded the mob to attack the Capitol and interfere with congress’s duty. This was an act of seditious insurrection and all those that support such action are guilty of it.
Lee Oldershaw, Marco Island
Virus-linked aid and national debt
Republican lawmakers are opposing a COVID-19 relief bill because it would increase the national debt. I have news for them: During the last 40 years, budget deficits have been increased by every Republican administration and decreased by every Democratic administration.
The average annual growth in deficits by administrations from 1981 through 2020, according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget:
- Ronald Reagan, up 12%.
- George H.W. Bush, up 17%.
- Bill Clinton, down 19%; deficit became surplus.
- George W. Bush, up 150%; surplus became deficit.
- Barack Obama, down 7%.
- Donald Trump’s first three years, before the coronavirus, up 21%.
On deficit reduction and growth in jobs and wages, Obama outperformed Trump by wide margins. On GDP growth, Trump barely outperformed Obama. Trump seriously bent down Obama’s economic growth curve. Compare Trump’s first three years— before the coronavirus — with the preceding three years, which were Obama’s last three years:
- Average monthly job growth — Obama 224,000, Trump 182,000 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Average annual wage growth, adjusted for inflation — Obama 1.4%, Trump 1.15% (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Average annual GDP growth, adjusted for inflation — Obama 2.43%, Trump 2.50% (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis).
Mukhtar Ali, Marco Island
Not patriots but 'traitors, terrorists'
The mob who stormed our Capitol on Jan. 6 are the worst part of President Trump’s base. They are not American patriots, they are traitors to this country and our precious democracy.
A large number of them are from far-right hate groups, such as white supremacists, neo-Nazis, racist militia and anti-Semitics. They are domestic terrorists, brainwashed by the great con-man and liar Trump.
It is easy to brainwash people who believe in false conspiracies. These Republicans have also been misled by Fox News, far-right social media, fake news, and radio host Rush Limbaugh. What makes them so bad is they all know the truth but instead spread false conspiracies.
Trump finally has gotten his wall built, but it is around our Capitol in D.C., and the American taxpayers are footing the bill once again.
E.L. “Bud” Ruff, Naples-Marco area
‘Best way to calm and unify nation’
President Trump read (last week) from a prepared script, “In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be no violence, no lawbreaking and no vandalism of any kind.”
He continued to read, “I call on all Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”
That was read to the nation a few days after he watched a mob sack our Capitol for hours on TV while refusing to call in the National Guard to support the Capitol Police.
Instead of reading a statement like that, he and all those politicians who refused to accept the legitimacy of the election and vociferously opposed it should stand in front of the world and say, “After two and a half months of investigation and universally rejected court challenges because of lack of evidence, by judges appointed by Republicans and Democrats alike, I recognize that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won fair and square.”
This would be the honorable way out of this seditious climate. It will take honesty, courage and patriotism to do this, but it is the best way to calm and unify the nation. Let’s see if Republican politicians have these qualities.
Tom Slater, East Naples