Letters to the Editor
Edited and compiled by Jim Buckley
The Great Unease Illustrated
Firstly, Santa Barbara Current editors want to thank Nancy Freeman, J. Livingston, Dale Lowdermilk, Earl Brown, Poornima Wagh, Kelly Grifton, Will, George Russell, Steve, Celeste Barber, Sheryl Schroeder, Andy Rosenberger, Lou Segal, Pat Fish, DL Dawson, Calla J. Corner, John Richards, Derek Hanley, Paul Aijian MD, and Susie T, all of whom contributed to the nearly 70 (67 and counting) comments to “The Great Unease.”
The conversation that ensued after publication of that column is everything we could have hoped for before launching Santa Barbara Current a mere three months ago. With well over 5,000 subscribers to date, the Current has become the voice of common sense on the Central Coast of California. The feedback the column generated provides an illuminating look at what we who wish to both rid ourselves of the dysfunctional Biden administration and to also change the direction of the country are up against.
It won’t be easy.
We apologize that we are only printing Ms. Freeman’s input so that we can help set the record straight. However, you are invited to go back to the column on www.sbcurrent.com and read the entire set of comments at the end of the piece. We hope you’ll do exactly that.
Here we go (my Editor’s notes are in italic and in parentheses):
What President Trump did for America.
Why don’t you list specifics: did Trump solve border issue? NO. NO. NO.
(Editor’s note: Well, yes, yes, yes, he tried and nearly succeeded. He managed to scrape together a few billion allocated defense dollars – Congress refused to earmark any money for it – and constructed over 500 miles of border wall before he left office. The very first day of the Biden administration, President Biden opened the flood gates and invited any and all to “surge the border.” They did, to the tune of nearly 10 million, mostly young men, from around the world.)
Did he help the economy for the poor-middle class? NO.
(Editor’s note: Yes, he did, just before President Trump was forced to shut down the economy upon the arrival of Covid-19 from Wuhan, China, his policies produced the lowest unemployment numbers for the entire work force, particularly for those without a college education. The economy took off after his tax-reduction bill took hold.)
Did he do anything for health issues except to try to take away insurance from millions. NO.
(Editor’s note: He tried, but failed, to replace what is called Obama Care with a more equitable health care program but lost the chance by one vote: that of Senator John McCain.)
False energy policies? Name them. Be specific. Try not to lie.
(Editor’s note: “False” energy policies? President Trump won approval to drill for oil in Alaska’s Anwar oil formation; he okayed construction of the 2,687-mile Keystone pipeline, which was to deliver oil from Canadian and U.S. oil fields to the Gulf Coast; he slashed regulations and restrictions on energy producers, approved slant-drilling and fracking proposals and encouraged the export of Liquified Natural Gas. He also campaigned against the Russian Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany. As president, Biden reversed all that.)
ALL THESE VAGUE REFERENCES YOU REPUBLICANS MAKE ME SICK. Yes, I am passionate about our Democracy. I want to keep it.
(Editor’s note: If you want to “keep our Democracy,” you should vote for the Republican candidate, who looks to be former President Donald Trump. The massive collusion among U.S. intelligence agencies, social media sites, and the press over the past six years spells the end of a true democracy if it is allowed to continue, which it will be if Biden is reelected.)
Who is MSM? And what did they “lie” about. Saying is easy, but demonstrating means being specific. Only an utterly evil-delusional person would NOT hate Trump. He has broken every rule of ethics, decency, morality.
(Editor’s note: MSM is shorthand for Mainstream Media and what they “lied” about was everything that hindered Mr. Trump’s programs: the Russia, Russia, Russia, hoax; denying the validity of Hunter Biden’s laptop, suppressing and eliminating the distribution of information from conservative websites on Twitter, Facebook, Google, and virtually all social media. I’d say too that you’ve got the wrong president when you accuse him of breaking every rule of “ethics, decency, morality.”)
He has not paid his U.S. taxes.
(Editor’s note: After the unethical and illegal exposure of President Trump’s tax records, we learned that he did indeed pay all the U.S. taxes he was required to pay.)
He has lied and cheated (fraudulent “university”)
(Editor’s note: Trump University failed, but hey, you can’t punish a guy for trying.)
He has abused women (fined $83.3 million in one of 16 cases).
(Editor’s note: His fling with Stormy Daniels was an embarrassment, but there’s no charge that he “abused” her. As for the $83.3 million Ms. E. Jean Carroll was awarded in a lawsuit, I do believe the verdict and judgement will be overturned on appeal.)
He is accused of instigating an insurrection against U.S. including urging others to hang Mike Pence.
(Editor’s note: This is such a ridiculous claim that it’s almost not worth responding to, and anyone with a fair mind will conclude that, while holding a rally outside the Capitol building on the day Congress was to count the Electoral Votes was a really bad idea, but that President Trump did appeal to the crowd to protest “peacefully and patriotically.” There were some who didn’t heed the appeal – including a number of undercover intelligence agents – and they continue to pay the price, even those who had no part in the violence that ensued. The charge that he urged anyone to “hang Mike Pence” is absurd.)
He has made false claims about value of property to avoid paying Federal Taxes.
(Editor’s note: There are always competing claims about the value of real estate when anyone is negotiating with a bank for a loan. Seems like business as usual to me.)
He has claimed he wants to be Dictator, a la Putin, 26 years and counting.
Editor’s note: President Trump joked when asked by Sean Hannity during an interview to disclaim the rumor that he would be a “dictator.” Trump smiled and said, “I’ll be a dictator, but only for one day,” adding that his very first action as president would be to “Close the border and drill, baby, drill. After that” he smiled, “I wouldn’t be a dictator.” Anyone who could take this seriously would be, well, misinformed.)
He lied about his having won the last election (tons of evidence to that effect).
(Editor’s note: He, and many of us, believe he was cheated out of his reelection by a group of Democrat lawyers who quickly and successfully changed voting laws in several states to facilitate cheating by using mass mailings of ballots, unsupervised drop boxes, loosening signature requirements and other methods. He and we are probably right about that but will never be able to prove it. In any case, Mr. Trump isn’t lying about it, any more than Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, or Stacey Abrams are “lying” when they claim they really won their respective elections.
End of story.
We’ll be back next week with more Letters to the Editor!
Excellent reply to those wanting to promote selfish agendas. It is so hard to get the truth out without the biased media sabotaging the truth and the talking heads spewing scripted lies . I only pray that it is not too late to save our once great country.
5000 subscribers already! Job well done. Thanks for opening this alternative and interactive forum within our "progressive central coast". And bringing back the former, well-regarded opinion piece writers from the now departed SB NewsPress.
There was also a short-lived forum on Next Door titled "I am a conservative in a liberal city", which was also slowly growing every day. But the anonymous originator soon felt forced to close it down, since it was not set to "private" and allowed anyone to post.
Thus it apparently got quickly inundated by other posters, who were less than sympathetic being exposed to input from across a wider political spectrum. The need to express and share "conservative" points of view in this community did not go away. May the constructive dialogue continue.