Dishonesty is part of Trump’s character
President Trump was elected, in spite of his long list of misdeeds, bankruptcies, sexual harassment accusations and his intolerance of racial diversity. Some voters thought he would bring about needed changes. But after three disastrous years, you can’t help but wonder if his supporters are paying attention, at all (to anything other than Fox News).
After his tax give-away to the rich, like himself, and excessive spending, our Federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2020 is projected to rise by $1.1 trillion. This, after his screaming about the horrible deficit during his campaign. Now, he shows a lack of concern about the ballooning National debt by saying; “I won’t be here.” His “America First” philosophy is a short-sighted and selfish desire to shirk all our global responsibilities and commitments. The shameful decision to be the only country in the world to drop out of the Paris climate accord and now actively work against it, is beyond the pale. How could anyone, especially young people, vote for Trump understanding that he couldn’t care less about saving the planet that they’ll inherit. He denies there is a problem and belittles people who are at the forefront of finding solutions, like Greta Thunberg. His dismantling of so many essential safeguards to protect the planet and the rights of normal citizens to help rich corporations (like his own) become richer is a disgrace. It will take decades to regain all the protections he’s eliminating.
But, perhaps, the saddest part of his legacy is how he is normalizing conduct and attitudes that we as a country have always rejected. Dishonesty is part of his character; he has lied so many times that it’s being taken for granted without anyone from his party willing to say “enough.” His recent attack and insult of a distinguished, deceased congressman and his wife, was disgusting and we heard barely a murmur from those associated with him. The “moral majority” is losing any claim to morality. And you can’t help but wonder how the family values party and the religious right justify their continued support for him.
Jerry Krebs,
Glenwood Springs
Smackdown on Beautification Street
Maybe it was just me… but the “Festival Street” on New Year’s Eve looked more like a scene from a WWE Friday Night Smackdown episode. Was there a cage fight planned for that night?
The entire “Beautification Street” was contained with 8-foot fencing. It looked more like a refugee area than a Festival Street. It certainly wasn’t beautiful. Not even close. And certainly not festive. In addition, they fenced off the area in such a way that it was very difficult for them to “get out of the cage” and perhaps support Restaurant Row by going inside for warmth and a drink.
I did not attend the party due to age and weather. But I do love this town. And if this is how the town is going to throw festivals on said Beautification Street, then the City gets an F- grade.
City of Glenwood: have your party planner go to Breckenridge and see how they do it. Then go to Durango and see how they do it. Then apply the knowledge gained to all future Festival Street events. Neither of these tourist towns cage in their patrons.
If the cage was all due to beer sales, then chuck the beer sales out the window and allow the people who want to drink support the downtown businesses – instead of putting up a wall like The Donald.
All the drawings and interpretations of the Festival Street presented in the PI shows trees, people milling about, fun, freedom. But none of these renderings showed an 8-foot cage. What up w/ that?
Dave Heyliger,
Glenwood Springs
Community should have a voice in determining who fills mayor position
I applaud Glenwood Springs City Council’s interest in re-visiting the City Charter with regard to elections. While I do not feel that the issue regarding a runoff for individual seats that do not attain a majority of votes is of significant importance, I feel strongly that the time has come for a change that would empower Glenwood’s citizens to directly elect the mayor.
I had the privilege of being selected to serve as Glenwood’s mayor three times and considered my service to have been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. However, leaving this selection up to as few as four council members does not necessarily serve the greater interests of the community.
Although, the powers of the mayor are somewhat limited, he or she does represent the community as a whole and it seems appropriate that the citizens of the entire community have a voice in determining who fills the position.
Bruce Christensen,
Grand Junction
Chacos negates the 2nd Amendment for everyone
Andrea Chacos reveals her anti-gun agenda in the last sentence of her diatribe: “The right to own a gun is simply an American privilege we choose to tolerate in today’s society. (“Guns: Freedom is never really free,” Post Independent, Jan. 2)
With that inane statement, Andrea negates the 2nd Amendment for everyone. According to Andrea, you have no right to own a gun, you can only own a gun if Andrea decides you deserve one.
The day some liberal decides whether or not I can have a gun, is the day hell freezes over! And we all know global warming will never allow that to happen, don’t we?
Bruno Kirchenwitz,
Rifle
Democrats are either criminal or clueless … or both
Hal Sundin raises valid points in his latest column, (“The bad news is, there’s so little good news,” Post Independent, Jan. 1) It’s just sad to see that the 2020 Democrats can’t see them in the same light. Kind of an oxymoron when the year and the party are compared.
What’s disturbing is the loudest champions of truth and fact don’t have any problem with ignoring or bending the facts themselves. It would make them better people if they weren’t afraid of Trump to raise real, relevant issues like Hal. Their problem is that they have too much to hide at the top. Sorry Hal, the Democrats are neither for you or against you. They’re either criminal or clueless … or both.
Fred Stewart,
Grand Junction