Breaking News

Letters to the Editor

Democracy or republic?

To the editor: People in the news have referred to threats to our democracy. But the Constitution states “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government.” So are we a democracy or a republic? Or both? In Federalist Paper No. 10, “Father of the Constitution” James Madison defines democracy as a “society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person.” A republic is “a government in which the scheme of representation takes place.” For example, the legislature crafts laws, ...

Beware of propaganda

To the editor: If you don’t like being fooled, then why give any credibility to the sources that also brought you such facts as the Hunter Biden laptop being Russian disinformation (not), our southern border is closed and secure (not), Joe Biden is on top of his game and runs circles around the White House staff (not). There are many more subjects once presented by the White House and network news and social media as facts that were later proven to be false. The saying goes ”fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” So when the White House, network news and social ...

Make America truthful again

To the editor: The Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates continue to spew lies about immigrants, “after birth” abortions, FEMA, the economy, COVID -19, Jan. 6 and many others, including the big lie about the 2020 election. I encourage you to do your research on statements you hear. There is a difference between a false/misstatement and acknowledging the error compared to often repeated lies. It was very revealing during the vice presidential debate when J.D. Vance stated “Margaret, the rules were that you were not going to fact check…” Did he expect to lie ...

Support the blue

To the editor: I was so disappointed the referendum regarding the additional police personnel didn’t pass. I felt it would be an overwhelming vote in favor. I understand it was a matter of additional cost for fixed income people, but I fail to understand why one cup of coffee per month ($6.50) is going to disrupt their finances that much. The F.D. Police Department responds to over 30,000 calls per year. That is nearly 50 plus per day and these are printed in The Messenger every day - i.e., shots fired, out of control person, welfare checks, fights, person with firearms, etc. To get ...

Critical of tax proposal

To the editor: The Biden/Harris administration is positing the idea of raising revenue by taxing unrealized capital gains. This would entail taxing speculative investments the amount they appreciate even if they’re not sold and no profit is actually realized. If taxing unrealized capital gains were implemented, how long would it be before a voracious government decided to tax the unrealized gains on your 401k and IRA? Of course they say that this tax would only be on the “super wealthy,” but we must not forget that when the income tax was inflicted on Americans in 1913 a married ...

Respect to servicemen

To the editor: My older brother, Col. Warren A. Polking, is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He would have been shocked and disgusted that a politician would have the gall to use the hallowed grounds of the cemetery for a political photo op. My younger brother, Lt. Mark R. Polking, probably falls into ex-President Trump's terminology “suckers and losers” as he lost his life when his jet plane flamed out while serving his country in the U.S. Air Force. There are approximately 3,500 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Its recipients combine the values of ...