Letters to the editor for Sept. 5

Awakening the ‘sleeping giant’

We are going to go about our business until we can’t. Racists will march; Donald Trump will tweet and hack at the government, insult our allies; rightwing demagogues will belch their ire. The American people will shrug it all off and keep doing what they do. We aren’t going to stop our lives just because some twerps are misbehaving. That would take away enormously from our time, which is already crowded. No, we are going to wait until something tangibly interferes with us.

Before World War II, Americans were “isolationists.” Much of the world was ablaze with war. Nazis were running rampant over democracies; innocent people were being brutalized. Japan was persecuting China. But America stayed apart. Only when Pearl Harbor was attacked did Americans set down their ordinary lives to act.

The most prescient comment came from Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto on the day of Pearl Harbor: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”

Someday soon Trump and his rightwing miscreant allies, the Republican Party desperate for domination, the Nazi wannabes, the self-righteous “conservatives” who know it all, the “patriot” racists, the gun nuts and the “militias” and all our national dirt, they are going to finally do something to awaken the “sleeping giant.”

The great American people are then going to rise up and with “terrible resolve” and sweep away all of the filth that has accumulated in our great country.

I trust law enforcement more than the media

Here in Southern Illinois, we can tell when the liberal media is trying to pull one over on us. Their latest attempt was to tell us Gov. Bruce Rauner wants to make Illinois a sanctuary state. You mean to tell me that Rauner wants to stick it to Donald Trump and endanger the federal money we get? I didn’t believe it either, so I did a little research. If the media was right, you can bet the governor was going to hear it from me.

Turns out the bill Rauner is signing is called the TRUST Act, and while it was originally proposed by Chicago Democrats as a sanctuary bill, Rauner and law enforcement totally rewrote the bill from 40 pages down to two. A sanctuary bill would create “safe” or “sanctuary” zones for illegals like hospitals and schools, and it would prohibit communication between law enforcement and federal agents. The TRUST Act does none of those things. It allows local police to communicate with federal law enforcement. It does not conflict with the U.S. Department of Justice actions aimed at sanctuary cities.

The TRUST Act was rewritten by law enforcement and renegotiated by Rauner to prevent Illinois from being a sanctuary state. The bill’s intent now is to protect police officers as they work to stop crime in Hispanic communities up north. That’s why the Illinois chiefs of police, sheriffs, and state’s attorneys all supported it. I don’t know about you, but I trust them more than the mainstream media.

See why they want to stay in government as long as possible?

O, how can a man from Southern Illinois suddenly be worth millions?

Sept. 18, 2008, Sen. Dick Durbin attended a briefing on Capitol Hill and was told of the coming financial crisis and bailout of certain banks. He then went out, sold his stocks, and with the knowledge of which banks were going to receive bailouts, took that money and bought shares of Berkshire Hathaway. With the money he has made with this info, he could give each resident of his hometown $10,000 and help the city.

See why they want to stay in government as long as possible?

A lesson from the universe

If you are the type of person who takes things and people for granted and if you saw the recent solar eclipse you should now realize that the old saying “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” is absolutely true. If you realize that if the dropping temperatures and the darkness continued forever there would be no life to cherish. People who have short memories and tend to remember the bad and overlook the good in our lives often tend to miss so much in life.

This wondrous lesson from our universe should teach all of us to appreciate our families and friends and celebrate those who are there for us in times of trouble and illness before they are no longer available to us. The value of their help and support should far outweigh the errors and frailties of being human.

In the frantic pace of our lives we tend to overlook the benefits others would get from a little of our time. We don’t have time to visit family and friends, but if they pass away we can find time to visit a non-responsive corpse that won’t be benefited at all.

Especially the elderly and those alone would greatly benefit from a random phone call just to let them know we are thinking of them and have not forgotten their importance in our lives. If we pay more attention to our surroundings we will learn to appreciate that which we have. Look around; look up!

Witticisms to live by

A few witticisms to live by:

▪ The problem with closed-minded people is their mouth is always open.

▪ Your tongue gives others a taste of what is in your heart.

▪ There is no evidence the tongue is attached to the brain.

▪ The only thing that should be sorted by color is your laundry.

▪ If you see someone without a smile give them yours.

▪ If you believe in God, which everyone should, text while driving and you will meet him.

▪ A compassionate world begins with you.

▪ Hate: It has caused many problems but never solved one.

▪ A heart that loves is always young.

▪ The best apology is changed behavior.

▪ If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, stop staring, stop complaining, stop comparing and start watering your side of the fence.

▪ People, including the media, just wait for a chance to pounce on the president’s every word. Give the man a chance. You folks who keep calling for impeachment, including Kathy Callahan, do you want his job? I doubt it!

▪ Nobody is perfect. Everyone has a crack somewhere.

▪ Life is like a famous baseball player once said about the game: it’s not over until it’s over.

US flag means more to those whose coffins it will drape

Kaepernick should leave. Leave the NFL, that is. You are a multi-millionaire, a one-percenter. You may have the right to sit upon your butt when the national anthem is played, but never forget you live in a nation that has provided you the privilege to have that right. The American flag has a very touching meaning for those of us whom it will drape our coffin. That song defines who we are, a proud and exceptional people. This is a land where so many dream of coming and earning the title of “American.” Your actions were shameful, disgusting, despicable and disrespectful, but I suspect you could care less.

This story was originally published September 4, 2017 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor for Sept. 5."