Letters to the editor for Aug. 31

Trump has done nothing wrong to be impeached for

Frankie Seaberry, thank you for what you said; however, you and I will have to agree to disagree, as there are two sides to every story. Just because you are a Democrat doesn’t mean others like me have to be. You have mentioned a few times that people who are not Democrat are being brainwashed just because we don’t agree with you.

I don’t understand just because we don’t agree why you think we are being brainwashed? I think Donald Trump is doing a fine job, and I don’t agree completely with Democrats. While Barack Obama was in office he and pretty much all Democrats would claim that Republicans where doing nothing, that we were holding things up and such, which was never true. We may not have been doing what he and the Democrats wanted, but that doesn’t mean we were not doing anything.

Do you believe there should only be Democrats out there and that’s it? I didn’t trust Hillary Clinton, which is why I voted the way I did, and I believe Trump is doing a pretty good job.

Kathy Callahan, instead of griping about impeachment already, give Trump the chance he deserves; after all, he’s doing just as good a job as Clinton would have done.

Trump has done nothing wrong to be impeached for, but I know many have been saying that since he took office. What would you do if we were calling for Clinton to be impeached now if she had won instead?

Readers can judge motivations of political action groups themselves

There is nothing wrong with opposing an incumbent politician. However, describing Indivisible 12 as a small group of citizens sitting around Aunt Bea’s kitchen table in Mayberry strategizing how to oppose Congressman Mike Bost is disingenuous. Research shows that Indivisible is a group of local and state organizations across the nation that use The Advocacy Fund for funding and advice. Their website shows how to organize under the “Indivisible” structure. The Advocacy Fund (TAF) reports they are partially funded by the Tides Foundation which is George Soros’ organization. A Mr. Padilla is a key TAF official with direct ties to Soros. The site shows Black Lives Matter and other progressive/liberal groups demonstrating and advising how to go to Town Halls to “aggressively oppose the Trump agenda and elected officials who support him.” There is nothing wrong with this; the Tea Party was similar, but let’s be open about it. Making readers believe Indivisible 12 is like a Red Hats dining club or a sewing circle is unfair when it has ties to a national organization to engage in “aggressive” opposition. Readers can judge for themselves the motivations and funding of all political action groups.

History will still remain without the statues

Regarding those who think the removal of Confederate monuments to rebel traitors to America as being akin to removing history, you could not be more wrong.

Those statues and monuments to the men of the South, who fired first on Fort Sumter, and then tried to break our Nation, all while attempting to preserve and expand the unholy institution of slavery have no right to a place on the Public Square.

Removing statues on public property that were erected to glorify those people who attacked America and spent the best part of five years trying to destroy the Union will not remove from our history what happened in the Civil War.

Our history books, our museums, with the proper context of who and what were the Confederates will remain. That is the venue and the method for remembering their treasons.

Proud of your “southern heritage”? Fine. Hang a Confederate battle flag from your garage door; I don’t care. Mount a statue of General Robert E. Lee in your rose bed, more power to you. Just do not incorrectly think your heroes and symbols of the rebellion belong on public property.

Native Americans co-existed with others

In the Aug. 19 BND, Brent Rains asked who the Native Americans “ripped off” to steal and conquer North America. Well, golly gee Mr. Raines, you musta not got learned U.S. History in school. (Am I talking your vernacular?)

The Native Americans came to this uninhabited wilderness from Asia over the land bridge that existed when the Aleutian Islands still were connected to what is now Russia. They killed only to protect themselves and for food. They had no private property to fight over but co-existed with others. Even in fights over animals or hunting grounds, they most often “counted coup” (merely touched the opponents) to keep score. They prospered and multiplied, and about a thousand years ago they lived near you in Cahokia, which was 10 times bigger than London.

They may have been here when Adam and Eve ate the apple, but they did not participate and had no original sin. The Great Spirit led them, and their fellowship still follows them now.

You can help foreign exchange students

After reading Derek Huffaker’s letter today on O’Fallon Township High School’s policy of accepting only two foreign exchange students, I hope to channel his enthusiasm towards a more productive outcome. I won’t attempt to speak for OTHS, but schools are generally not the limiting factor. Hosting any foreign exchange student has many constraints. Hosting levies financial obligations on the sponsoring organizations, the host families, the student’s family, and schools. Other constraints are levied by the U.S. State Department for having systems in place to ensure the safety of the foreign teenager while here in the U.S. Rotary has that.

Rotary District 6510 manages Rotary Youth Exchange in Southern Illinois. It coordinates hosting requirements for inbound foreign exchange students and also negotiates with foreign countries that want to host outbound U.S. students. The U.S. State Department and the school districts in southern Illinois are aware of the general processes employed by the Rotary organization to meet hosting requirements.

Rotary Youth Exchange is always looking for families who will generously open their homes and hearts for about four months to provide a good cultural experience for a teenage foreign exchange student. If that is something you’d like to do, please contact a member of your local Rotary club and ask to be put into contact with members who work with Youth Exchange. I’d also like to invite Huffaker to bring his enthusiasm to Rotary by joining one of the three O’Fallon clubs.

Prescriptions need larger print

I recently received a prescription as ordered by my doctor (an MD, not a doctor in mental disorders).

As I was attempting to read the instructions, reading glasses were necessary in order to see them.

Being so expensive, you would think this would be in larger print so you do not overdose, or under dose.

The same with the pills for my vision, I had to almost use a magnifying glass in an attempt to begin to read the instructions.

Until they decide to make the print larger, all I can say it is a good thing I am not on a long plane flight, and unable to read the print on my Gas-X or bowel movement medicine.

This story was originally published August 30, 2017 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor for Aug. 31."