Letters: CDT readers react to Trump vs. Biden presidential debate, and more

Refusal to condemn white supremacy horrifying

The most horrifying moment in Tuesday’s debate was the president’s refusal to condemn white supremacists, including a clear message to The Proud Boys, “Stand back and stand by.” To make things worse, the president also urged his supporters, as he has done before, “to go into the polls and watch very carefully.” There are nonpartisan officials who poll watch. What he is suggesting is illegal.

The Proud Boys (TPB) heard him. News outlets including the BBC, Financial Times and Washington Post all report that group members are celebrating online. The president knows who TPB are. The group helped plan The Unite the Right Rally and marched in Charlottesville, VA, along with Klansmen, antisemites, Southern racists, and militias. That Rally ended in the murder of Heather Heyer by a Unite the Right protester who also injured several others when he drove into a crowd of peaceful counter-protesters. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) considers the Proud Boys a hate group.

“Their disavowals of bigotry are belied by their actions: rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists,” the SPLC’s website states. “They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric.” Are The Proud Boys among the people this proud president proudly summons? Will The Proud Boys show up at our polls?

Trump’s behavior humiliating

Donald Trump’s boorish and rude behavior at the so-called debate continues to illustrate why such a man should not be president of anything, let alone this country. The constant interruptions of both his opponent and the moderator, despite being asked numerous times to abide by the rules of the debate, were painful and embarrassing. His conduct would not be tolerated by the parents of a fourth-grade student nor committed by any reasonable adult.

Such public displays of a lack of control can only hint at his private behavior and why our country’s relations with our allies and former allies are in the distressed state that they are in today. Such public humiliation for the United States can only be ended with the end of the political career of Donald Trump.

Electoral College ensures all are represented

I don’t understand and find it disturbing that some people only support using the popular voting method opposed to the Electoral College method. By using popular vote method, two, maybe three, states (New York/California/Illinois) could and would most likely elect the president strictly due to population.

People need to realize remaining states from all four corners of this country contribute to this country via some means. Example: auto, rail, coal, steel, farms, industrial, etc. therefore deserve to have their votes heard in selecting our presidents.

Just like radio fictional character Earl Pitts back in the ‘60’s would say after his two minute commentary, “Wake Up America”

We need a president who will act on climate crisis

We need to stop need the climate crisis and enact a Green New Deal to:

• Move to renewable energy, electric vehicles, public transport;
• End new fossil fuel infrastructure and phaseout fossil fuels;
• Create an industrial carbon sequestration system;
• Protect nature;
• Make buildings more efficient, resilience and decarbonize them;
• Break up big agricultural corporations, expand and protect regenerative agriculture and the family farmer, implement precision agriculture and feed additives, while remembering vulnerable communities;
• Create a system of dikes, levees, increasing funding for emergency services
• Create stockpiles of food and supplies and using adaptation measures and resiliency measures including universal health care, and a broader social safety net to protect people from climate challenges.

To do this, we first have to get rid of the climate denier in the White House, who not only calls the climate crisis a “Chinese hoax” and appoints fossil fuel executives and lobbyists as the head of environmental agencies, but also stops even climate research and adaptation measures. This past week he appointed a new director of NOAA’s climate and weather predictions centers who denies basic climate and meteorological science including that the climate crisis exists. Its time for a new president who will actually act on this crisis

Forgotten Facts in George Floyd letter

I agree: George Floyd was not a stellar pillar of society. This still did not give the police the “right“ to kneel on his neck for over eight minutes. This did not give them the right to mistreat him and cause his air passage to become blocked and induce him to have a heart attack.

The reason there are scholarships named in dedication for him is because society wants people to know of his mistreatment by the police. They want to honor the sacrifice of his life at the hands of a few disrespectful police officers to bring awareness of the plight of many minorities. Mr. Edmunds’ letter only shows the narrow-minded thinking of so many Americans. Why did he totally forget to mention the kneeling on the neck at all in his letter?

People writing letters to a newspaper and omitting facts about police misconduct only shows their own true feelings on the subject of the racial divide in this country. Mr. Floyd may not have been perfect but no one deserves to be mistreated by any police person when they are arrested, period!

How ‘safe’ is Trump?

This letter is in response to the letter published Tuesday (9/30/2020) that declared: ”Trump has a track record of good work. He has not hurt us. Trump is safe.”

Considering that I feel like a survivor of a four-year-long train wreck, I am seriously having difficulty comprehending this statement. So let’s count some of the ways Trump’s actions have led to no harm.

Trump has separated immigrant children from their families and has even locked them in cages. Several have died in captivity. But, of course, no children were harmed by his actions.

Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accord, opened up protected federal lands to drilling and exploitation, as well as relaxed air/water environmental protections. But, of course, no harm was done to the environment.

Trump’s incompetent response to the pandemic is well-documented and while the US accounts for 4% of the world’s population, it has 22% of the world’s confirmed deaths. But, of course, even as an additional 1,000 US citizens die daily, no one has been harmed by his continued science-denying ineptness.

Trump is currently trying to repeal Obamacare via a lawsuit. But, of course, none of the millions of people who will lose their insurance coverage, die, or go bankrupt will be harmed in any way.

This list could go on and on, but unfortunately my 250 words are up.

So, in conclusion, I guess it’s all good … as long as you live in the right-wing bubble of denial. Vote Biden.