Letters to the Editor

Reader responds to letter writers’ criticisms of views

The recent letters to the PVT criticizing me is just another example of people not hearing what is said. I never once supported or encourage socialism, yet David Jaronik and Linda Delamare kept stating that I did. What I did do was explain the difference between socialism and democratic socialism. But, oh no, they need to try to defeat me by the only way they can: mis-state what I said.

For David, our helping those countries is helping us. We need them to have a strong defense to thwart off the aggression of countries like Putin’s Russia. By helping them do that we protect democracy in Europe and the whole world. Again, it is the richer helping the poorer, a philosophy of democratic socialism. Please hear that I said, “democratic socialism” NOT “socialism.” So, yes, we are helping the economies of their countries which, in turn, helps us.

David took my comments about packing the courts totally out of context. It was a reply to a prior letter which blamed the Democrats for court packing, when, as I pointed out, it is being packed by the Republicans. Please stop twisting my words to your advantage.

As for energy independence, we were 86% to 91% self-sufficient in 2016, BEFORE Trump took office, and moving towards 100%. So, to give Trump credit for us being energy independent is just plain wrong. As for the tax revenues at record levels, that is normal. Revenues go up every year just as salaries, home prices, cost of goods, etc. go up every year, with a few exceptions. I am not sure what your point is. Surely, it cannot be that it should be credited to Trump. Yet, you failed to mention something that we CAN give credit to Trump: the national debt rose by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. And the deficit under Trump was the third biggest, relative to the size of the economy, than any other president (Bush and Lincoln being the other who were paying for a civil war and two foreign conflicts). Yet you say I was omitting facts?

To Linda Delamare, democrat socialism has nothing to do with altering our Constitution. In fact, our government is already applying the principles of democratic socialism, ones that you probably enjoy and are taking advantage of. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public education, food assistance, energy and utilities subsidies for low income and seniors, childcare assistance, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and many more are just a few examples. Did you accept your “Covid” checks from the government? Then you participated in democratic socialism: the government helping people during these hard times. Democratic socialists also believe in a strong democracy and are against authoritarian government systems that you and many other Americans associate with socialism (something Trump trumped up to give you another excuse to hate Democrats). Hear this: Democratic socialists do not want to create an all-powerful government bureaucracy. But we do not want big corporate bureaucracies to control our society either. Maybe that better explains it to you. Nowhere did I suggest we live under socialism – in fact, I am totally against it. Stop fighting it and learn about it instead of shaping it into something that fits your needs rather than tells the truth. Period!!

Finally, Dave Thomas: Democracy is NOT leading us to Socialism. You need to stop drinking the Fox Kool-Aid. But then again, all of you are just helping the implosion of the Republican party. Fractured, failing and being lead down a rabbit hole. Cheney gets the boot because she tells the truth but Marjorie Taylor Greene is OK? Really? It is clear and it is being led by the Republican leadership: we don’t want to hear the truth; we just want to kiss Trump’s ring – at any cost.

CJ Stevens

Reader responds to critic

Now I am a redneck and a school dropout. Jim Ferrell, you just get better and better. As I stated in my May 2 letter, say all this … to my face! But no, you go on and on and on with more B.S. every time you write in. Save time Ferrell, we can watch CNN, MSNBC or the regular channels for all that crap.

Linda Delamare hit the nail squarely on the head in her excellent letter in the May 1st edition, relaying, “Liberals can no longer make a cogent argument. They resort to name-calling.”

And as usual you spout off about something … you know nothing about.

Now, because I was in the military for 21 years, it was a socialist organization. The privates and the generals share the same doctor? All pay grades basically get the same pay? What color is the sky in your world? Any VFW and American Legion members getting a hold of this?

And by the way, I pay taxes also, so I am paying into my pension! And for what it’s worth, I also retired from the private sector. Not bad for your “so-called” redneck and school dropout!

Mr. Ferrell, you still have not responded to my original letter – no guts! For your sake, this is my final letter. I had and still do not intend to get into a debate with a liberal with the attention span and reasoning of an eight-year-old.

By the way, the Navy has seamen and generals can be referred to as “tars.”

I’d like to thank Mr. Meehan for allowing me to submit my letters.

Dave Thomas

Some states are using unconstitutional red flag laws

Just as many of us were having grave doubts about the integrity and standing of the Supreme Court, due to the side stepping of election laws being changed by unconstitutional authority in some states, we get great news that they are back in business! Gun grabbers and major funders like Bloomberg, the Biden administration, and their ilk received a giant setback on April 17th by a unanimous decision to rebuff warrantless searches and seizures of guns under the red flag laws using the “community caretaking doctrine” to justify gun confiscations.

The Fourth Amendment means that in order for a police officer to search and arrest someone, he or she will need to get permission or a warrant to do so from a judge,yet confiscations have continued taking place in every jurisdiction.

We have all wondered how so many states were able to use the unconstitutional red flag laws to seize thousands of guns. Today there are 19 states and the District of Columbia that enacted some form of red-flag law.

Hopefully, they will now take a different view of their gun confiscation agendas.

Aileen Fisher

Double-digit inflation hurts the poor most of all

We’re being told inflation is low and there’s nothing the FED can’t handle, and even some financial institutions are minimizing inflation as a serious problem, like the Bank of America saying “we may experience hyperinflation, but it will only be transitional”.

Some facts look different, like a year ago the average house framer could frame and sheet about 14.2 houses for about $50,000 worth of lumber and sheeting, today they’re lucky to do two houses for that same $50,000.

Anyone who’s bought fuel for vehicles has seen double-digit inflation there. Many grocery items have jumped and even if the prices are the same, the quantities have decreased.

Make no mistake, inflation is a government tax. It relies on workers making more money, which in turn gives them a greater tax burden and may put them in a higher bracket without actual legislative increases. They represent the greatest pool of money with the least politically organized influence of the government.

The people who are hurt the worst by inflation are the very poor (particularly when the government can no longer afford to provide for them and those on fixed incomes that have little opportunity to increase their incomes. And those who claim businesses pay their fair share are B.S., smaller businesses are competitive and if they can’t pass their costs (including taxes) on to their customers, they will go out of business.

For all the real “big boys” who are also big political donors, there will always be ways they will get protections. The only question is how long can this house of cards stand?

David Jaronik

Another possible lesson to be learned from the past

I recently read from a reader of the PV Times about a message from 60 years ago that seems to depict where we are headed today. I would like to expand on that with a warning from 1919, over 100 years ago.

1. Corrupt the young, get them away from religion, get them interested in sex. Make them superficial, destroy their ruggedness.

2. Get control of all means of publicity, and hereby get people’s minds off their government by refocusing their attention on athletics, sexy books, plays and other trivialities.

3. Divide people into hostile groups by constantly harping on controversial matters of no importance.

4. Destroy people’s faith in their natural leaders by holding the latter up to contempt, ridicule, and obloquy.

5. Always preach true democracy but seize power as fast and as ruthlessly as possible.

6. By encouraging government extravagance, destroy its credit, produce fear of inflation, rising prices and general discontent.

7. Ferment strikes in vital industries, encourage civil disorder, and foster a lenient and soft attitude on the part of the government toward these disorders.

8. By specious argument cause a breakdown of the old moral virtues, honesty, sobriety, continence, faith in the pledged word, ruggedness.

9. Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext with a view of confiscation of them, leaving the population helpless.

Where did these words of wisdom come from? Who was able to predict in 1919 what is seemingly going on now in our nation?

These nine rules were seized in a raid in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1919. The seized files were marked “Communist Rules For Revolution.”

Every one of these rules are happening to some extent. Much of our government and citizens are no longer concerned about the country. We see marches in the street and are bombarded by the news media to support their agenda, which is not necessarily in the best interest of the country overall.

George Cross