Letters to the Editor
The rhetoric needs to be toned down on both sides
What happened in Washington D.C. on Wednesday was abhorrent and needs to be condemned by everyone in the strongest possible terms, as does the key role that President Trump played in stirring up the rioters to march on the nation’s Congressional building. What he did was inexcusable. But if that is all we take away from what happened on Wednesday, then I think we are missing the context in which this riot took place and the lessons that we might take away from this scary event in our nation’s Capitol.
Since the day that President Trump took office, the opposing political party has tried every conceivable way to remove him; therefore, is it any wonder that millions and millions of his supporters felt there was major fraud in the Presidential election? Consider for a moment that lawyers for the Democratic Party filed over 380 lawsuits against states in the last 18 months to remove voting safeguards that were in place to ensure honest elections (voter ID, signature verifications, timely mailed ballots, ballot harvesting, ballots mailed to every name on the election rolls, etc.). Combined with the huge push for people to vote by mail, this helped to set the stage for legitimate questions about the honesty of the elections in key states, some of which were very closely contested.
Undoubtedly the disturbing general trend in the past few years of not holding people accountable for their illegal actions factored into the Washington D.C. events. Sanctuary sites allow people in this country illegally to commit crimes and then not be held accountable through prosecution or deportation. For months this summer there were illegal riots in many cities where police were attacked, police cars and government buildings were set on fire, public property was confiscated by rioters, private property was damaged or burned and law-abiding people attacked and hurt. After a few arrests, the rioters were back on the streets the next day. All the while, the media portrayed this thug behavior as understandable because it was done in the name of a good cause – social justice.
The rhetoric from elected members of Congress, state and local governments from both parties just added stress to a nation seeking answers but getting division instead. Undoubtedly President Trump lighted the match that set off Wednesday’s riot, but there are lots of us guilty of contributing to building the bonfire piece by piece. I believe one of the lessons to be learned from all of this is that demonizing anyone, or any political party or those party’s followers adds to the “us versus them” mentality that is so destructive in political discourse, as in personal relationships. The media has a huge role to play here. Politicians are forever telling us that “we need to have a national discourse” on certain issues, but that never takes place because they themselves are unwilling to listen to the other side and try to see issues in the way that opposing viewers do. Open-minded political discourse seems to be dead among our politicians and our media outlets.
In conclusion, a big lesson to be learned is that many, many people contributed to set the stage for the riot on Wednesday on both sides of the political spectrum and unless we tone down the rhetoric and seek to find some commonality with each other and the other political party, things will just get worse in this country and we will be doomed to repeat this tragic and inexcusable blight on our nation. To paraphrase from a beautiful song, “Let there be political peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
Homer Bludau
Former City Manager
City of Newport Beach
There are reasons why we’ve gotten to this point
I have been a lifelong Republican, conservative, capitalist and law-and-order person and a proud third generation native of Orange County. More importantly, my patriotism and love for the USA runs deep and is unwavering!
That said, I voted for Donald Trump, not because of his personality, but because of what he stood for. I no longer support him as a person, which was difficult to do in the first place, and his recent rhetoric and actions have certainly been deplorable and despicable, to say the least and I’m sure that most, if not all of previous Trump supporters are in the same “camp” after what happened the other day. I personally think that he should take the “high road,” if that’s possible for the man, and resign, NOW!
I want to be clear, voting for Trump was NOT a vote for the person, it was a vote for what he and the majority of the Republican Party stand for. To name a few of these: capitalism, free enterprise, law and order, control of our borders, honest and true reporting by the press and online media, and free, transparent and honest control of the voting machine by the States, respect for a person’s property and their businesses.
Conversely, it is deplorable and inexcusable that the Democratic Party never saw fit to condemn the rioting and civil unrest that happened this past summer and that continues to go on in our cities today, among other un-American activities, until just a few days ago. I guess it suits them now. What’s more, the tearing down of monuments to our history, the BLM movement, which actually should be renamed the ALM movement, as in All Lives Matter, and don’t they, is equally concerning and unnecessary. Why do we rarely hear of the killings of non-blacks or the killings of blacks by blacks? Where has the respect for our police gone? And the list of these things goes on and on and on.
With the results of the election behind us, I’m afraid that our beloved Country is more at risk of collapsing than since the Civil War and hopefully, we won’t have another one of those. Hopefully, we can find a way to turn the coming tide of socialism, liberalism and the loss of our freedoms, as in the second amendment, away!
Hopefully, Trump will be gone soon and hopefully, we can begin to rebuild the ideals of the Republican Party based upon law and order, conservatism, freedom and love of Country, all of which are now at risk!
God Bless!
Charlie Foss
Newport Beach
Now is the time to reflect back on four years
You have a great site, and it provides relevant news to our community. Part of the nation’s problem is that the media gives credibility to anonymous sources. People leaking information, false information and opinions disguised as fact are little people that hide behind others and won’t stand up for their cause. Stew has no name, therefore no value.
Many citizens of Newport Beach are older veterans that served and saw action. After this Presidential election they get to see half the population voting for a Democrat march toward socialism. They are not deplorable.
Four years of constant attack on President Trump is not a theory. Four years of Democrat focus on their power rather than serving the American people is self-serving behavior. Exposing our corrupt leaders is not an attack on the institutions of democracy.
Stew is correct about one important thing. Now is the time for all of us to reflect on the last four years and continue to fight against socialism and the nameless cowards that promote it.
Doug Robinson
Newport Beach
The deck has been stacked against our President for four years
Dear Stew,
This will be a political mess if we don’t recognize that a Pigeon’s personality calls for Loyal, Honest and Friendly, but in the same overview of a Pigeon it also says that Pigeons need Direction, Guidance and Instruction, so here is your first lesson on instruction along with a few other comments.
Stay out of politics and go back to eating seeds, fruits and plants like all your other political nuts. Your insight is short-necked and liberal. For months, movements have raised hell, protested at the cost of American lives, looted with no regard for business owners’ hard work, caused millions of hardships and insightful destruction of the American fabric and constitution. Trump may not be a politician, nor does he have a filter, but he has opened the eyes of America in a way that squarely places the use of power in the eyesight of the Republican watch. For four years we have endured lies, deceit and attempts by every means possible to eliminate his movement and him but as sad as the D.C. event is, and the loss of life unforgivable, so is every other event that has been supported as “ok” because you’re black, white or some other color.
Use of every event as a means to gain power is in itself disgusting. Not placing America first is disgusting. Standing as a politician and insisting like Maxine Waters that we should get in their faces, yell at them at dinner, make them feel uncomfortable, be loud, abrupt and mean, seems to go without any resistance yet when it happens to them (politicians on the left), they shutter and run like animals, hide behind the guns most of them hate and behave cowardly like scared rats. Her comments along with other liberal movie and music moguls should be held responsible for the many deaths that occurred.
If they would have allowed those peaceful protestors to speak and if they were prepared for the movement that they knew was approaching, none of this would have happened. So, where are the movements for the people who were shot at the capitol? Why is it politically we want to be right instead of all of us disgusted with the directions of our country? Why do we support and pay other countries to not hurt us and by doing this we destroy ourselves? Why is everything free to others but not our own “legal” citizens? Trump saved lives through his policies and strength. No one recognizes his accomplishments, that in the face of adversity and his stupid tweets he secured our borders and stopped radical terrorism physically, financial and economically. For the first time I can remember, conservatives are crying out. Because he woke up the sleeping giant. Stay on your perch Stew…Don’t step in your own poop.
As long as we allow our leadership to continue to separate our American freedoms, we will not have peace within. As long as we allow ourselves to accept that direction, we will be forever indebted to others. As long as we teach that everything is free, we will always lack industrial growth. What kind of country do you want to fly around Pigeon? Everyone gets a trophy? Everyone gets a car? Everyone gets a house? Keep America high on pot and some day they will wake up and the world will be a real sight to see the real Reality. Happy New Year. Let’s hope and pray for calm.
Tom Iovenitti
Newport Beach
This is what WE remember…
The last 4+ years, the Democrats have scorched the earth.
You have salted the fields and now you want to grow crops.
The problem is we have memories longer than a hamster.
We remember the protests the day of/after inauguration.
We remember the four years of personal attacks.
We remember “not our president” and the “Resistance…”
We remember being called racist and evil.
We remember Maxine Walters telling followers to harass Trump supporters in department stores and gas stations.
We remember the President’s press secretary being chased out of a restaurant.
We remember hundreds of Trump supporters being physically attacked.
We remember Trump supporters getting Doxed and fired from jobs.
We remember riots, and looting.
We remember a liberal “comedian” holding up the President’s severed head.
We remember a play in Central Park paid with public funding, showing the killing of President Trump.
We remember Robert de Niro yelling “F**k Trump” at the Tony’s and getting a standing ovation.
We remember Trump being accused of being a Russian spy and the media going with it.
We remember Nancy Pelosi tearing up the State of the Union Address.
We remember how totally in the tank the mainstream media was in opposition.
We remember the non-stop and live fact checking on our President and his supporters.
We remember non-stop, in-your-face lies and open cover-ups from the media.
We remember the partisan impeachment.
We remember the President and his staff being spied on.
We remember a Republican congressman shot on a ball field.
We remember every so-called comedy show turn into nothing but a Trump hate fest.
We remember 95 percent negative coverage in the news.
We remember the state governors asking for and getting everything they wanted to address COVID then blaming Trump.
We remember leftists threatening outside the homes of prominent Republicans.
We remember the attempted destruction of Brett Kavanaugh.
We remember people pounding on the Supreme Court doors.
We remember that we were called every name in the book for supporting President Trump.
We remember that many in Hollywood said they would leave after Trump was elected, but they stayed anyway.
Ron Yeo
Newport Beach
That narcissist Stew needs to “Man Up”
Your Friday article speaks of a “voice” dubbed Stew Pigeon who wants to share his/her thoughts about the chaos in America. It further states they can’t write what they want to say, and to openly sign their name would cause too much backlash, he/she are too “prominent” in the community!
Really? And you are buying this load of crap? Trump, at his heart may well be a narcissist, self-centered and conceited. Hmmm…most successful businessmen I know fit that description as well. You have to possess a certain amount of these qualities to achieve lofty goals.
Tell Stew he is not so great or so renowned in this community that he/she will encounter that kind of backlash. He/she sounds arrogant, narcissistic and self-serving. Why should his/her opinion count more than any other Newport Beach resident?
And he/she has the gall to call Trump a narcissist? Tell him/her to “Man up.”
The best advice I ever received was “stand for your principles and your principles will stand for you.”
Maybe good ole Stew can learn something from that.
My sense is that you are being used by a local gutless wonder who wants a platform and forum to say what he/she lacks the courage to say publicly.
Again, I say tell Stew to…Man Up!
Sign me,
Ina Stew (Their anonymous request)