To the Editor & Dear Fillmore Community Members:

I'm writing to express my deep concern about the recent rise in bullying incidents at Fillmore Middle School, our community's only middle school. We all cherish Fillmore's vibrant atmosphere and strong sense of community, and ensuring the safety and well-being of our children is a top priority.

Unfortunately, the current situation at Fillmore Middle School paints a troubling picture. The lack of perceived accountability for bullying and the reported instances of victims being reprimanded for defending themselves are deeply concerning. This approach not only fails to address the core issue but also places a significant burden on the victims, forcing them to disrupt their education and routines for their personal safety.

Therefore, I urge the school district to take immediate and decisive action to address this critical problem. We need to see:

Increased accountability: Clear and consistent disciplinary measures for perpetrators, coupled with proactive steps to prevent future incidents.
Enhanced support for victims: Implementing comprehensive support systems to ensure the well-being of students who have been targeted.

Increased resources: Dedicating additional resources, including staff, to effectively monitor student interactions during unstructured times like lunch, passing periods, and after school activities.
This issue requires the collective voice of our community. I believe that by working together, we can hold the school district accountable for creating a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students at Fillmore Middle School. I encourage everyone to join me in advocating for our children and demanding the necessary changes to ensure their safety and well-being.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Concerned Parents

To the Editor;

The idea that we are a Christian nation because of something someone did in St. Augustine in 1565 is absurd. By that logic, we should all be speaking Spanish. The Establishment Clause settles it, as you well know.
That said, it’s not just fair but imperative to ask the question, what best reflects my values?
I ask again, what policies would Jesus support?

Razor wire in the Rio Grande or a pathway for Dreamers?

Tax cuts for the uber wealthy or anti-poverty programs?

As for character, the candidate you support is inarguably the poster child for the seven deadly sins. Becoming more evident with each passing day.

Would Jesus let the people of Ukraine die at the hands of an invading dictator when he had the means to help them? Would Jesus separate parents and children at the border with no plan to reunite them?

We have a bipartisan bill ready to go that addresses both Ukraine and the border. A good effort led by a Republican, Senator Lankford, who’s been stabbed in the back because the “Dear Leader” needs a campaign talking point to stay out of jail.
What part of this is Christian? To proclaim Christian, be Christian.

Pat Collins,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

That was some fancy avoidance footwork last week. I’ve still got that list of Trump’s breathlessly bromantic utterances about the world’s worst dictators. He entertained and lavished despot-love on one last week, Viktor Orban of Hungary, who he declared is a “strong” and “great leader” because “he says ‘that’s the way it will be’ and that’s the end of it.” We got rid of our last king.

Your delusion that America was created as a Christian Nation is peculiar because the signers so clearly refused to do so. While all or most of the Founding Fathers (FF) were Christians, they specifically prohibited the new government, in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, from establishing a state religion.

The sole reference to Christianity in the original Constitution indicates the date of the signature of the document “on the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord 1787,” a common closing in official documents at that time. The Constitution also states that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Forget the silly thing about St. Augustine.

The anticipatory glee of MAGA evaporated at the State of the Union (SOTU) last week. President Biden made a “pow! pow! pow!” case (Peggy Noonan) for his reelection in an energetic and cogent report of the country’s foreign and domestic standing and a plan for a second term, and verbally skirmished with hecklers. Later, Trump riffed erratically for two hours in personal attacks on Biden but with little policy discussion. He again ridiculed Biden’s lifetime stutter to demonstrate that he is still that playground bully who lives to torment others so that his own weaknesses will not be discovered. Too late. But some people apparently like bullies.

In the post-SOTU Republican rebuttal, Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) was unintentionally hilarious as she practiced her repertoire of cute/scary mom faces in her kitchen while she scolded the president and lied at least once. “Longtime GOP operatives, right-leaning pollsters, conservative Capitol Hill staff, MAGA lawyers, and even some senior members of Trump's own 2024 campaign absolutely torched Britt's absurdly over-dramatic rebuttal.” It was a hoot.

Trump installed his daughter-in-law Lara as co-chair of the RNC who immediately declared that all resources would be used to “reelect Donald J. Trump,” i.e., a new Trump legal defense fund! Forget down-ballot candidates, he is the only one who matters. The RNC will become Trump’s personal piggybank and, since “everything Trump touches dies,” only cobwebs will
remain.

Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

“Those who oppose assisting Ukraine and/or Israel are too dangerous and/or stupid to be in Congress.” I agree with you on Ukraine, but it is the Republicans holding that country hostage while it is losing ground to Russia. Meanwhile, a Senate bipartisan, negotiated border reform and Ukraine aid bill sits ignored on the desk of Republican Speaker Johnson.
As usual, you perceive things as one-dimensional, binary, black and white, from the lenses of 1939 or pre-St. Pope John XXIII. It’s ridiculous to say that the decades of problems at the border, and Ukraine, result from Democratic policies. Republicans want the immigration problem to remain an election issue and are using Ukraine for bargaining leverage.
Sigh. You again assert as fact that settlements at St. Augustine, Jamestown, or Plymouth established America as a Christian nation. They didn’t. On the contrary, the First Amendment of our Constitution provides that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Repetition of historical inaccuracy becomes falsehood.

Upon request, I can provide a long list of instances where “sane American” Trump has proclaimed man-love for dictators Putin, Erdogan, Orban, and Kim Jong-Un, who govern with dire threat and terror. The 2024 Republican CPAC speakers included anti-Semites (Nick Fuentes), and Christofascists (Jack Prosobiec): ”Welcome to the end of democracy! We’re here to overthrow it completely!” [in favor of Christian nationalism]. See paragraph above, “First Amendment.”
You believe that the judicial/justice system is dedicated to victimizing the twice impeached, chaos addicted, sneaker-shilling, canary-tufted messiah wannabe, and adjudicated fraudster, defamer, and rapist ex-president. You fever up over President “Biden’s Crime Family,” without facts, yet you tippie-toe in gold tennies around Trump’s many felony indictments, legal judgments, and vagaries of truth.

Do you approve the growing legalization of child labor in red states? We get it that you believe women do not have the right to control their own internal reproductive organs but may ask special permission if they’re bleeding out.
Veil drop: The “star witness” against the Bidens in the endless $5M Burisma bribery hearings, Alexander Smirnov, was arrested for being a Russian operative and lying to the FBI about then-VP Biden’s complicity. And they had been warned of his incredibility. At Hunter Biden’s closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees last week, Biden hysteric and Oversight Chair Jim Comer left the hearing after a few minutes and asked no questions. The position of his tail was not disclosed in press reports.

Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

You’re very good at slinging mud at Biden with no specific charge let alone actual evidence, while completely ignoring the outrageous, adjudicated behavior of Trump, and his lack of support for Ukraine. What are you getting from Trump that you can’t get from Biden?

It seems related to your assertion that this is a Christian country. That’s completely and unequivocally untrue. Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson roll over in their graves at the very notion. The founders didn’t include the separation of church and state for nothing. But let’s play with that idea. Are we a Christian nation? I wish, in practice at least. If Jesus were alive today, which policies would he endorse?

Razor wire in the Rio Grande or a pathway for Dreamers?
Tax cuts for the uber wealthy or anti-poverty programs?
Unregulated access to guns or protections for the public?
Relaxing child labor laws for corporate profit or enforcing child labor laws?
An environmental free-for-all for corporations or regulations to protect our planet?
Ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” The answer to that is obvious. And it isn’t answered by flinging unfounded accusations about Democrats against the wall to divert attention from the question.

Pat Collins,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

The Primary Election is next Tuesday, March 5. For those who are considering voting for Donald Trump or incumbent Republicans, please consider the following:

The Republican Party is the Party of Trump, currently a shoe salesman, and mindlessly follows whatever he advocates. You have only to look to the Republican Congressionals and red state legislation to discover Trumpian principles. The Repo House is a mixed-sex frat-party food fight. It is the most dysfunctional in American history because they are either ignorant, or completely dismissive, of our form of government.

The essence of politics is negotiation and compromise, because not all of us in this democracy are of one mind. MAGA does not believe in compromise, or in the orderly transition of power unless the result of an election complies with their wishes. MAGA insists on victory because the non-compliant electorate is unworthy to govern (Limbaugh). Trump and MAGA have shown that they will overthrow the electoral process unless prevented. Even better, convince the electorate that democratic elections are untrustworthy unless they win.

It must be clear by now that Republicans intend to remove a woman’s right to determine her own reproductive health and believe that the government owns her uterus upon pregnancy until birth. Then, whatever. You are becoming way too independent and self-interested. Actions against mail-delivered drugs, attempts to restrict travel to states affording reproductive rights, criminal laws affecting parents or other loved ones attempting to facilitate travel or medical consultation, bounties on discovering violations of state rules against reproductive control of women’s bodies. Even the recent decision in Alabama proclaiming that frozen embryos are “children,” entitled to civil rights protection, for couples unable to conceive naturally (Trump panicked and decried it), tells anyone who is interested that the Republicans intend to control women (and their husbands and partners) at their most intimate and heartfelt moments.

It’s not “babies” they are concerned about, or they would vote for post-natal and childhood health options. They want to control women, “the little darlings,” who need have no right to choose for themselves.

Red states experiencing a shortage of illegal labor change labor laws to allow our children to work in bars and animal processing plants in the wee hours. They refuse to assist our allies-for-freedom, extol Putin, ban books that discuss things they don’t like. They tell other parents how they should raise their children, all the while disingenuously advocating for “parental rights.” They want you to judge all people by their standards and advocate that America must be a “Christian Nation,” despite the First Amendment.
Still your choice.

Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

While it’s nice to live in a country “where a person can call the president a liar, thief, and a traitor, without being shot…” such freedom comes with responsibility. For years, the Republican-led House has poured precious time and money into finding something—anything—on Biden. All they’ve come up with are thoroughly discredited theories and witnesses. It’s time to stop the nonsense and get down to business. They have a budget to pass and a government to keep open. Even their own party members are quitting in disgust.

As for “an understandable hyperbolic reaction” to bad debt in NATO, can we agree that we have a right to expect more discipline from a president than the random man-on-the-street with a microphone thrust in his face? And can we appreciate the irony of hearing that from the man who built his lifestyle out of bankruptcy and stiffing the people who work for him? Loyalty is something Trump demands, not something he gives. Least of all to the faceless souls who respond to his pleas for money to cover the legal expenses engendered by this felonious grifter who brags about how rich he is. P.T. Barnum has nothing on Trump.

Pat Collins,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

With the upcoming election next week I wanted to share my experience with our current Ventura County Supervisor, Kelly Long.

In January, 2023, 87 railcars suddenly appeared on Old Telegraph Road, between the Sepse River and Highway 126. They were put there for storage by Sierra Northern Railways, who recently leased the tracks from the Ventura County Transportation Commission. All of the cars were heavily graffitied. Most of the cars were owned by CEMEX. Some of these huge cars were placed directly across from country homes.

The cars quickly became an attractive nuisance to tagging crews from all over the county. And they began to attract kids jumping from car to car and unhoused individuals seeking shelter. Street signs and areas along the country roads became targets of vandalism. Without the ability to run trains between Santa Paula and Fillmore, due to the railbridge collapse over the Sespe in the winter 2023, Sierra Northern had found profit in storing the railcars and did not want to move them.

It took a year working with the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) and Sierra Northern Railways to get the train cars moved to less public places. During this time, Kelly Long listened, she added the railcar issue to every VCTC meeting, she arranged a town meeting to address the issue, and ultimately, she met personally with the President of Sierra Northern to secure an addendum to the railroad's 35 year lease.

I am not sure of the future of the railway in our valley, but I am certain we had a supervisor looking out for the business that a railway might bring to our town, the railway's need to seek profits, and the local residents who were facing another year of rail storage until the rail bridge can be repaired. The Kelly Long I saw was thoughtful, strong, charismatic, and a leader who understood the value of, and achieved, a working compromise.

This year the storms have closed the traffic bridge over the Sespe River and the Grand Avenue neighborhood, forcing residents, and soon, heavily weighted semi trucks full of avocados to turn left on Highway 126. Many people believe the potential for traffic accidents is great, and will be seeking a temporary stop light on the highway until the traffic bridge can reopen.

I do not know Kim Marra Stephenson, and I wish her well, but at this time I am voting to keep Supervisor Long in office. She is already working on both of our bridge issues and, this past year has convinced me that she cares about Fillmore, will work hard to support our community, and has the ability to achieve results.

Mrs. Susan Jolley,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

I’m glad we agree on the importance of providing support for Ukraine. You must be as appalled by the inaction of the Republican House as I am. And certainly, Trump’s invitation to Putin to invade our fellow NATO members must be a deal-breaker on Trump for you. That comment ought to sober up anyone who still think this man is presidential material.

I do want to comment on one other thing in your reply. There may be only one reality but there are many perspectives. The folly is in thinking that what you perceive as reality from your life experience, education, culture, and religion is all there is. That’s why democracy is so powerful and so worth saving. It functions best when we thoughtfully and respectfully bring together the perspectives of the many to broaden and deepen our individual understanding of what’s real. This government is built on a system of compromise and cooperation, not my way or the highway. Someone needs to explain that to Mike Johnson, Mitch McConnell, Trump and the rest of today’s Republicans.

Pat Collins,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

So many want to attack individuals and what they perceive to be failures by the Republicans to pass the Senate border security package. Their comments center on individuals or groups they believe stood in the way of it reaching Congress. Never have I heard or read why they believe the Senate package was a good thing. It might behoove everyone to know the difference between the two bills that were drafted relating to the border.

H.R. 2 Secure the Border Act of 2023 was passed by Congress and sent to the Senate which they placed on their calendar on May 16, 2023. H.R 2 ended catch and release, completed the wall at the southern border and stopped the current open border policies. It further expanded provisions regarding the application for asylum and to qualify as a refugee. The bill also sought agreements with our neighboring countries to the south to open a dialogue regarding immigration from their countries. When Senator Ted Cruz sought to bring this bill forward in the Senate, Senator Chuck Schumer refused to bring the matter to the floor.

Next comes the Senate border security package of 2024. The Senate package codified the current open border situation and allowed the continuation of the catch and release we’re suffering from today. It provided billions of tax dollars to sanctuary cities and states as well as non-profit organizations to provide maps and money to facilitate their crossing at the border. It would provide immediate work permits, even before knowing if they are covered under the current asylum and refugee definition. The bill allowed for the normalization of allowing five thousand to cross our border every week. If taken up by Congress and if it passed, it would remain law until the end of time, or until the public was making it an issue again.

If the desire to correct the problems facing America as it pertains to the border, why don’t the Democrats pass H.R. 2?
Over 10.6 million have come into America from all over the world, including from our adversaries China and Venezuela since Biden came into office. We cannot continue down this current path.

Patti Walker,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

Today we have a large segment of society that is over-stimulated, where emotions control their thinking, with short attention spans, often undereducated and far too many are lazy, selfish and feel entitled. Most depend on the globalist mainstream for their information. You know, the same ones that told their viewers that Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation, or that Russiagate was real. Yes, that song, “Fools rush in where wise men fear to go” is something they should sing to themselves. Or maybe a modicum of common sense would suffice. Sadly though, they often fall for just about anything the ruling class feeds them as long as it promotes their emotional needs to feel virtuous while not having to take responsibility for the results.

One thing our citizens can take to the bank and save for future reference is; The Republicans are not the answer to all your problems, but one thing is for sure, the Democrats are the cause of all your problems. Our streets are not safe, crime is rampant, the border is overrun and adding to the crime. We have $35 trillion in debt, our schools are basically childcare with a food pantry and a President who is told what to do by unelected bureaucrats that are controlled by that same ruling class and global elites that control the mainstream news. Those are the facts that emotions can’t change.

Jean McLeod
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

The “Mandela Effect” is the certain recollection of a thing that didn’t happen or isn’t true, like recalling the “Monopoly Man” of the famous game as having a monocle. Or C-3PO having an entirely golden body, when one leg was actually silver. Or the “Fruit of the Loom” logo having a cornucopia. But what is it called when people hear something of consequence but dismiss it? Or make excuses when reality presents something they don’t want to believe? Or pardon trouncing of civil and (allegedly) criminal laws? Such is the Trump Republican Party.

Presidential candidate Trump doubles down on his boast that if NATO countries don’t “pay up” he will “encourage” Putin to “do whatever the hell he wants to them.” Although he doesn’t have the power to reject the Treaty ratified by the Senate under the US Constitution, Trump would risk world war if NATO countries don’t pony up. Death, destruction, agony, and political instability are nothing compared to the thrills of revenge and ka-ching. Republican comment: generally, nada.
Trump has denied he will be a dictator, “except on day one,” but history proves that dictators don’t give up their power; it must be wrenched from them. He repeatedly gushes over despots for their “strength” and admires their rejection of democratic principles and restraints. Project 2025, the Republican Plan for America under Trump, indicates every intention of altering our form of government. And still, most Republicans dismiss it as “Trump being Trump.”

The “Pootie Love” of MAGA Republicans for the Russian dictator is astounding, even while they call Democrats “communists.” The Repo House voted down aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan because a Senate-adopted negotiated immigration border plan didn’t include every provision it wanted. Putin laughed off GOP-darling and “useful idiot” Tucker Carlson’s pathetically sycophantic interview, and revised history to claim that Poland started WWII by “refusing Hitler’s demands.” Putin’s ally has threatened nuclear war unless Russia is successful against Ukraine. But Republican silence (except to savage each other) and inaction are a pestilent cloud, and the House adjourned to February 28. Ukrainian President Zelensky’s comment: “Please remember that dictators do not go on vacation.”

Putin has expressed a preference for President Biden over Trump in the coming election. Because Trump has expressed enduring “Pootie Love” and MAGA obeys, Putin knows how gullible half of the American electorate is. Worth a try!
Trump is showing and telling the country what he is and what he will do, and somehow the GOP either laughs it off or bends the knee. “You knew I was a fox when you took me in.”

Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

If anyone had any doubt that the Republican Party has abandoned democracy for authoritarian MAGA, they have only to look at the debacle in the Republican Congress last week when they voted down a $114 million border security bill negotiated by highly-regarded Senator James Lankford (R-OK). It gave them nearly everything they requested while giving the Democrats little of what they wanted (much to their chagrin). The embrace of parasitic MAGA by the “Grand Old Party” has desiccated an essential partner in our democracy.

In a democratic society, opposing parties negotiate in good faith to arrive at a compromise superior to the status quo. Democrats were not happy that they got few concessions in the immigration negotiations but understood that the present situation required compromise.

However, Republicans rejected the highly restrictive migrant legislation because it doesn’t include every single provision they wanted, and because Trump doesn’t want the Biden Administration to get credit for solving the issue. He has sold MAGA the idea that, in his world, they will never have to compromise. He promises to provide a government where whatever they want will just ! Poof! happen. And they were willing to savage their own esteemed Senator Lankford as a flaccid negotiator.
In short, they have no interest in democracy. Interviews with MAGA have revealed that many want an authoritarian leader who will enforce their beliefs and wishes without the hassle of negotiation and compromise. They excuse Trump’s crudities, abuse of women, support for White Nationalism and violence, interminable lies and love of despots as just “Trump being Trump,” as if he were just a rambunctious, amusing child.

Trump has modeled credibility, truth, and honor as optional. After the immigration proposal was defeated, Congressional Republicans spread layers of misinformation of its contents. Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham (for two) whose staffs had worked closely with Senator Lankford on the package, reversed themselves after Trump’s directive and called the proposal “a terrible plan.” Did I mention that courage is also in short supply in the Republican Congress?

The American economy is experiencing one of its greatest growth periods of our lifetimes, and yet many Republicans want to persuade the country that our nation is in ruins and can’t afford foreign obligations. Still, we’re living through one of the most challenging periods of modern times. What is not helpful are legislators who are enthralled with a corrupt narcissist and don’t really want to work together to solve anything.

Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

The immigration bill you call “… an abomination …” is the Republican bill. They got what they wanted, without any provision for “Dreamers.” They can’t take yes for an answer. They don’t want immigration solved. They admit Trump needs it for a cudgel against Biden. I say they never wanted it solved. They scuttled bi-partisan bills in 2006, 2008, and 2016. They do not want it solved because they want to use it to instill fear in voters—which is more important to them than fentanyl. They don’t want it solved because illegal immigrants are a treasure trove of low wage, easily abused labor—labor that largely benefits Republican donors. Republicans sell fear, not solutions. In case anyone missed their hypocrisy, they moved to impeach the immigration secretary while refusing him the money and authority to do what they say they want him to do, but of course, they don’t really.

Final points. 1/6 was an assault designed to thwart a constitutional process. That’s the difference between a riot and an insurrection. You know that. Just as you know Biden in no way committed treason. You have a sacred trust. You owe it to the founders to honor that trust.

Pat Collins,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

I will not attempt to answer your Editorial last week because I’m afraid I left Kings Leonidas of Sparta and Xerxes of Persia in my HS freshman ancient history class.

I take exception, however, to your vile statement that Biden and “his radical liberal cronies are evil people.” You are plainly an acolyte of the late, unlamented Limbaugh who assigned moral standing to political parties to appeal to his needy and resentful audience and thereby collected millions. You can’t just disagree, you excoriate, condemn, and invoke moral judgment on political “unbelievers.” Note: “My beliefs or the highway to hell” is not a principle of a Democratic Republic.
You and other MAGA followers, despite the growing revelations of Trump’s mental, emotional, and legal decay, remain steadfast in support.

Some love Trump for what he represents for possibilities of success, revenge, and retribution. Some, having supported him in the past, are afraid to reject him even after revelations of the dark underbelly of his character because they cannot accept having been wrong. Some reject, as presidentially disqualifying, evidence of Trump’s lack of morality, integrity, his threats of violence against individuals and institutions, and of criminal and civil charges, because they, like Trump, hold that anyone who calls them out or disagrees with them is corrupt, crooked, or on a “political witch hunt.”
Some like you, Martin, are energized when religious beliefs are symbiotically joined with political identity so that political opposition is not just wrong, but “evil.” Intrinsic feelings of racial superiority, misogyny, sexual and gender hostilities, and persecution often accompany this belief. Some Christians view Trump as a prophet or messiah, a “Cheeto Jesus,” and are attracted to political strongmen or religious autocrats who will validate their social, political, and religious beliefs and enforce them onto others as “the norm.”

Some, as we saw on January 6, just want to “watch it burn.”

Consider an incident which occurred after the latest Carroll verdict which granted an additional $83.3M in defamation damages against Trump following a sexual assault. Before Trump left the defense counsel table, he turned to Robbie Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, and said, “See You Next Tuesday.” She had no idea to what he was referring. Later, her staff explained that his statement is one used by insecure, ill-bred teenaged boys. The phrase is an unprintable misogynistic slur understood by the phonetic sound of the first two words, adding the first initials of the last two words. Last Saturday, Trump asked social media if he still “looked like Elvis.”

Such is the character, mind, and dignity of the “messianic” leader of the Republican Party.

Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca

To the Editor:

I’m new to Fillmore. I’m impressed you have a local newspaper. That’s a rare thing these days and something to be proud of. I am disheartened to see your recent editorial descends into calling those who disagree with you “evil.” As a citizen, it is of concern. It is a short leap from inflammatory rhetoric to violence. As a responsible publisher, I’d think you’d have more discipline. My conservative friends tell me that their guiding principles are personal responsibility and individual freedom. I share those principles; however, I include responsibilities beyond my immediate family, to my neighbors, to my community in circles that ripple outward. I don’t condemn those who seek to protect and secure their families by attempting to come to this great country of ours. I recognize there is good and bad in people, even in my fellow citizens. I believe in freedom over my personal decisions—including my healthcare and decisions about the welfare of my children. I do not believe I’ve been anointed to make those decisions for others. That doesn’t make me evil. If you believe the border must be secured, support President Biden and call on congress to pass the immigration bill without delay.

Pat Collins,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

Martin: What made my head ache, in reading last week’s editorial, was trying to figure out whether you resent people with high financial IQ’s begging government to do its job and remedy increasingly destructive income inequality, or you were just avoiding holding Republicans responsible for pandering to extreme wealth. However, you clearly have not lost your choreography skills when it comes to avoiding the subject.

Republicans finally said the quiet part out loud when it comes to immigration and the southern border. Contrary to GOP representations, it’s not the Democrats who have failed to propose immigration regulation and controls. It’s not Demos trying to keep immigration an election issue rather than resolve it.

The 2024 Biden-proposed budget includes 14 billion to increase border patrol officers, immigration judges, and other border personnel. It is essentially a conservative proposal (resisted but ultimately accepted by Demos) and supported by a handful of Republicans.

But ex-president Trump has made it known he does not want a border/immigration solution during President Biden’s term. He wants it to remain an election issue so that, if elected, he will be credited with the solution. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Mike Johnson have decided not to “undermine” the political objective of the presumptive Republican nominee, sexual assaulter and defamer, and accused felon. The usual Republican handwringing continues, with Republicans who truly support immigration reform putting country over Party.

Many Republicans want the border problems to remain unsolved, an election issue with which to flog Democrats. No matter that it’s politics over the country’s interests, no matter that it’s disingenuous. No matter that their candidate is facing 91 felony accusations, last week’s second $83.3M civil verdict for repeated defamation damages, $65M of it punitive because the jury believed that he cannot be deterred by anything less than a massive award. A slow learner, without a moral compass but with a vicious temper, whom the RNC wants to be their 2024 presidential nominee by acclamation.

This weekend, Islamic Resistance in Iraq hit an outpost on the border of Jordan’s boundary with Syria and Iran, killing three American soldiers. Iran denied responsibility and clearly it is incumbent upon all countries in this tinderbox to withhold retaliation until all facts are known. President Biden stated that “we will respond.”
Candidate Nikki Haley essentially called for nuclear bombing of Iran without knowing the details, as did Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), tiny barking dog Lindsay Graham, and other Republicans. Candidate Trump, perhaps addled by his recent legal disasters, declared that he could have prevented the attack. Can’t get a jury to believe him, but the Middle East will fall on its knees.

Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

The World Economic Forum (“WEF”) was convened in Davos, Switzerland, recently. A meeting of international business leaders met for the first time without Covid restrictions to reflect on the state of the world and expectations for the future. A number of issues were discussed, including the dangers of AI, and threats to world peace from Russia and an unrestrained Israel in Gaza, but there were two other issues that were particularly relevant to our current political situation.
First. In an open letter to the WEF, 250 “Proud to Pay” millionaires and billionaires, including Bill Gates, Abigail Disney, and Valerie Rockefeller, urged the developed nations to impose higher taxes on people of extreme wealth – like them – to “address the dramatic rise of income inequality” which will be “catastrophic for society.”

A subsequent poll of over 2,300 millionaires/billionaires in G20 nations found that more than 70% of the respondents said they believe wealth “helps buy political influence” and a majority see extreme concentrations of wealth at the very top as corrosive to democracy. “Inequality has reached a tipping point, and its cost to our economic, societal and ecological stability risk is severe.”

“Our request is simple: we ask you to tax us, the very richest in society…We need action now…This will not fundamentally alter our standard of living, nor deprive our children, nor harm our nations’ economic growth. But it will turn extreme and unproductive private wealth into an investment for our common democratic future...This is a political choice.”

Second. Thomas Buberl, chief executive of French insurance giant AXA, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, called President Biden’s Investment Reduction Act (IRA), legislation giving incentives to American companies in one of several industries, “one of the most brilliant pieces of legislation I’ve seen in years. It creates a clear path for investment in carbon-reducing activities while helping the economy get over the hump of the transition from fossil fuels.”
European and Asian companies have objected that the measure unfairly helps U.S. companies and could steal their manufacturing capacity away. Many also argue a more cooperative approach among allies would help counterbalance the influence of China over manufacturing. A little too much “America First.”

But Republicans reject the view that taxing extreme wealth is an imperative to the future of democracy. As income inequality produces increased homelessness here, and children go hungry, the GOP congratulates itself for lower taxes on the rich and lower government assistance to those who are increasingly in need. As the world recognizes the advantage to America that President Biden’s IRA represents, Republicans claim he is “destroying our country.” Somebody is off their trolley.

Kelly Scoles
Fillmore, Ca.

To the Editor:

Re: 1994 Northridge Earthquake Experiences in Fillmore
Hello!

Just for the historical record, I was president of the Fillmore Historical Society and Museum Board of Directors at the time of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. I have stories to tell, as well.
Sincerely,
Kathie Briggs,
Historical Society President for 8 years
Native of Fillmore
Declared and Potential Historic Landmark Advisor

To the Editor:

Martin, you are correct that the Democratic Party generally was racist, pro-slavery and Confederacy in 1860, et seq., but when the Democrats awoke and became the predominant Party of Civil Rights in the 1960’s, the South found a happy home in the bosom of modern Republicanism. There’s no point in further arguing your fantasy that General Brown has a plan to turn the military over to minorities, and that he consistently lies to protect that plan. The fact that he is urging minorities to aim higher for themselves in military service, to apply to the Air Force and strive to meet its stringent officer requirements, is pretty boring compared to your phantasmagoric theories.

When House Republicans threatened to cannibalize their third Speaker in less than a year for re-agreeing with Senate Democrats on an ultimate budget figure with exact appropriations to be determined, Johnson’s response was to declare that no immigration bill would be considered until Trump, or another Republican, occupies the WH (you read that correctly). They won’t accept the 14 billion the Biden administration has proposed for border control, even if it means no funding for allies in the middle of wars and keeping the government open. All they really seem to care about is “Hunter Biden’s balls” (Nancy Mace, R-SC, hollered in Committee that he “doesn’t have any,” while Margie Greene’s gallery of pictures from his laptop proved distinctly otherwise).

The closing arguments for Trump’s New York fraud case occurred last week. Because Trump’s legal team failed to timely request a jury trial, only Judge Engoron has to be persuaded. It was curious then, when he was allowed a few closing statements to the Court, Trump proceeded to insult the judge and berate the entire legal process. On appeal, SCOTUS will not respond favorably to aspersions on the judiciary.

Trump’s attorney, John Sauer, argued that “presidential immunity” should permit a president to order a Navy SEAL6 to assassinate a political rival and never be held accountable unless (s)he were first impeached and convicted by Congress. Sauer apparently didn’t consider that, were his ridiculous arguments successful, Biden could order his client’s assassination, be impeached by the Republican House, not convicted by the Democratic Senate, and therefore be immune from future criminal prosecution for the crime. Trump doesn’t think clearly beyond his own immediate self-interest and never has, which is why he is in all the legal trouble he is at present.

Last week, Trump demanded that Iowa Republicans defy the life-threatening weather and caucus anyway: “You can’t sit home. If you’re sick as a dog…even if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it. Remember, if you’re sick, if you’re just so sick…Get up!” Once you’ve voted for him, Repos, you and your problems are of no further interest to The Don.

Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca