Copyright Boulder Daily Camera
I just want one day without Trump During the night Monday last, I woke up and realized that the daily, relentless onslaught to my sensibilities of right and wrong plus reason is reaching a fill point! The culprit? Our current president! Can I just have one day without Trump in it as I make my way through a typical one? Why must he weigh in on everything, all the time? His outsized need to shape the news with lies, belittle/demean perceived enemies with 5th grade adjectives, exaggerate in the extreme, foster constant adversarial fear, make statements re: current issues that have no basis in fact, rant repeatedly about perceived slights, etc. — all tell me clearly that Trump not only is the most insecure person in all of politics, but also that he truly does not do his homework/research before “popping off” in public. So, where does all of this leave him? Angry! Well, so am I! The collective “we” are better than this! Tuesday’s election results, combined with Wednesday’s Supreme Court grilling re: the possible overreach by Trump on tariffs, are positive signs that a change is coming. Finally! May it be sooner than not. I know fully that historically it never ends well for leaders operating like Trump (and his primary henchmen, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought). The question is, “How much damage will be done, and can we come back from it over time?” What say you? Bob Sullivan, Erie Republicans must stand up to Trump on Gaza The Republicans in the Senate are finally showing some spine. Donald Trump has told them to get rid of the filibuster. But they refuse. Majority Leader John Thune said, “It’s just not happening.” So Trump is learning that his words cannot always magically make things happen. Now that the GOP Senators have shown they can act independently, why don’t they take a good, hard look at what’s happening in Gaza? If they do, they’ll see that Trump claimed he could create peace just by magically saying the word. But it’s just not happening. In the first four weeks of Trump’s fantasized peace, Israeli military action killed at least 241 Palestinians. As usual, most of them were innocent civilians. The Israeli government claims that it can keep on killing Palestinians, and stop humanitarian relief, because Hamas has violated the Trump-dictated truce. Even if that’s true — and there is no clear evidence to prove it — the Israeli actions are far out of proportion to any Hamas infractions. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wants the killing to go on to save his political skin. He is placating the right-wingers, who were angry that he knuckled under to Trump. But Trump only required Netanyahu to act out the charade of a “peace agreement.” After that, Trump gave Netanyahu a free hand and even supported Israel’s justifications for the continuing slaughter. Now that we know Senate Republicans will act independently when they want to, it’s time to ask them: Will you stand idly by and see more Palestinians killed, often by weapons from the U.S.? Or will you stand up to your party’s leader and tell him it’s time for real peace in Gaza? Because in Israel, Trump’s words can create a new reality, if he really means them. Ira Chernus, Longmont
