Viewpoints

To the Editor:

What does liberty mean to you? The dictionary definition of liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.

I wonder if Moms For Liberty have ever read that definition, as their whole premise is that of oppression and restriction. They worked with Governor Reynolds and Iowa Republican legislators to restrict the books our children and youth may read in school. They were instrumental in passing laws last session that restrict the rights of LGBTQ youth and pointedly singled out transgender youth and their rights. Moms For Liberty aren’t really for liberty, they are for undermining public education and communities.

To the Editor:

May this Christmas season be a blessing to everyone. The holiday season is an ideal time to see all of your family. This would be a great time to discuss a lot about your family.

What do you not know about your family? Do you know great-grandparents’ names, where they came from, what nationality they are, or when they arrived in America?

Today, young people seem uninterested in the past. If our senior people do not get family history recorded today, it may very well be lost.

There are all kinds of helps and research available to use, but first you need family names, places, etc. to connect to your family. Christmas is a good time to see the older generations of people and get names of parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and even where family lived and worked.

To the Editor:

Where should I start? There is so much wrong with our country. An ex-Democrat says the Democrat Party has the mentality of gangsters. Can Trump bring us back? He is far better than the lightweights that think they can. Trump is polling great and his four years as President proved that he is reliable.

I’ve been in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, two times in Dubuque, Waterloo, La Crosse, and I’ve watched his rally on TV. In all the rallies I attended, it was fun because all the people were so nice. The January 6 rally got out of control. I think the Dems had some very bad people planted in the crowd to start the misbehavior and then blame Trump, like what they tried with the fake dossier, bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Dems. They tried to pin that on Trump and they spent millions of our tax dollars trying to pin Trump, who was totally innocent.

Yep, I agree with David Horowitz - the Dems have the mentality of gangsters.

To the Editor:

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is expected to be a happy time of the year. The holidays are among us, celebrations with family and friends are in full swing, the decorations are beautiful, and Christmas music is on in nearly every public place. It’s a great time of year. Except for when it isn’t.

The truth is, Christmas isn’t a happy time for everyone. Not only does grief not take a holiday, but it seems to come roaring back even stronger at times. It can come in many forms: death of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of a dream, changes you weren’t ready for.

And seasonal depression is real, as well. It’s been dark at 5 p.m. since the middle of November, and prolonged darkness can make any troubles feel twice as heavy. It’s hard enough to feel these feelings, but to feel them when it feels like everyone around us is full of happiness and good cheer, is a lot to bear at times.

To the Editor:

It is unusual for members of a political party to criticize members of their own party. And yet, that is what highly respected members of the Republican party are doing, warning of the danger Donald Trump represents. Included in this group are Mitt Romney, John Kelly, John Bolton, Stuart Stevens, and J. Michael Luttig.

Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick Cheney, warns in her new book, “Oath and Honor”, that Trump poses a threat to our very democracy if he becomes president again. As she says, “We will be voting on whether to preserve our republic. . . . As a nation, we can endure damaging policies for a four-year term.

But we cannot survive a president willing to terminate our Constitution.”

Trump has railed against his perceived enemies calling them “vermin” and claiming that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.” Such language harkens back to white nationalism and fascism. He promises to root out his enemies.

To the Editor:

In the last three years, $773,383,868 has been invested in the 22 Iowa counties that make up Iowa’s Congressional District 2.  This includes 797 projects in childcare, broadband, education, healthcare, transportation, environment, and others, all huge job creators and economic drivers for local economies and governments, non-profits, etc. that provide a myriad of local services.

These are the kinds of investments that make a huge difference in the everyday lives of Iowans. Anyone can see for themselves by going to www.iowaatwork.com. The website is interactive by clicking on the individual projects in the various counties and finding project-specific information.

To the Editor:

In Allamakee County, we care about our neighbors and come together to help when we can. It’s a good place to live. Unfortunately, some of our neighbors don’t always have enough to eat. Food insecurity is an issue facing one in 14 seniors right here in Allamakee County.

Our older Iowans deserve to live their lives with dignity. Programs like Meals on Wheels try to meet the needs by delivering hot daily meals, but the waiting list for meals is increasing and the funding is decreasing. Seniors struggle with securing SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) due to the legislation Gov. Reynolds, Anne Osmundson, Michael Klimesh, and Republican legislators passed. These politicians have created red tape barriers. Online applications and recertification requirements make it difficult for seniors to get the food assistance they need.

Have a holly jolly Christmas! Um. No.

There’s lots of holiday cheer right now but if you’re grieving, you can’t join in the merriment. In fact, this season - with so much focus on joy and togetherness - can actually make you feel worse.

I’ve experienced a lot of grief myself. I remember Christmas the year my mom died. I refused to put up a tree, decorate, go to parties or send out cards. I just couldn’t stand how Mom’s absence upended all our family traditions. How could it even be Christmas without her? It’s gradually gotten easier over the years but this time of year still tugs at my heart and sometimes overwhelms me.

If you’re feeling this way, please know that you’re not alone. So many of us struggle as the holiday season approaches. It often feels impossible to carry the weight of our losses, especially in the face of overwhelming cultural pressure to enjoy the holidays.

To the Editor:

The Democrats in the House all supported the Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the U.S. government open while some of Johnson’s, Speaker of the House, Republican party opposed it. This stop-gap measure includes funding for the military, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Food Stamps, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children (WIC). Democrats put people over party.

However, the Continuing Resolution does not include additional funding for WIC, which is seeing increased enrollment as food prices rise. Food Stamp enrollment (SNAP) has been curtailed following the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) and further reduced due to the Iowa bill that adds wealth limits, work requirements, and additional paperwork for participants.

To the Editor:

I would like to respond to some of the Pat Ward letters to the editor.

I would like to hear of one thing that is better under Biden’s Democratic presidency. From the Afghanistan debacle to the open southern border, millions of illegals, thousands of drug deaths, high interest rates, higher prices for everything, including gas, groceries and other goods, I just can’t see the positive side of these. At least the people in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco are enjoying all the crime, homelessness, filth, and high taxes in their Democratic run cities.

In all the pictures I have seen of the “big insurrection” at the capitol, I didn’t see a single one with Trump leading the protesters. I heard that Trump told the people to protest “peacefully”. Even the way it turned out, it was a lot more peaceful than the riots of the George Floyd era, which the Democrats called “peaceful”.