Viewpoints

To the Editor:

I enjoy reading the fact-based letters to the editor, unlike letters submitted to the editor by Mr. Hill, Mrs. Klees, Mrs. Pratte and Ms. Hart. They bring up the same old statements letter after letter, hate towards Donald Trump, his supporters and the GOP. Where is the unity that they talk about?

Mr. Hill states that Mr. Trump has been fact checked for 30,573 false or misleading statements. Who cares? Trump is out of office. Their letters are always to fulfill the narrative of the new liberal Democratic Party that they support.

To the Editor:

State Representative Michael Bergan and State Senator Michael Klimesh voted their approval of HF 756 Omnibus Bill last week, loosening regulations on handgun sales in Iowa.

Bergan claims the legislation “will improve public safety by ensuring law-abiding citizens can protect themselves immediately, tightening the loopholes on private sales,” and “(t)his bill does not eliminate background checks” and “is actually likely to increase the amount and frequency of background checks on gun purchases.”

To the Editor:

The author of the letter to the editor in the March 17 edition of The Standard claims that the Democrat Party, not the Republican Party, is the real party for  working class Americans. I would suggest otherwise.

She points out that not one Republican representing Iowa voted for the American Rescue Plan. All Iowans should applaud that vote.

The American Rescue Plan was promoted by the Democrat Party as a COVID relief package, which it is not. Only nine percent of the package goes for COVID relief. If the package had included $1400 for every citizen of the country, that would have cost, at most, $49 billion.

Instead we are saddled with $1.9 trillion which included hundreds of millions for museums and endowments for the performing arts, as well as millions more to pay for abortions.

To the Editor:

Did you vote in the 2020 election? Were you proud of the excellent jobs our Commissioners of Elections  and poll workers did? Did you know Iowa ranks as one of the top states in election integrity and lowest voter fraud incidences in the nation?

Why, then did our Republican-dominated state government feel the need to enact voter laws that suppress our citizens’ right to vote?

There are presently 250 new bills or laws passed in 43 states that are aimed at voter suppression. Iowa is one of them. They are mostly controlled by the Republican Party. According to data from the Brennan Center for Justice, this is the greatest infringement on citizens’ right to vote since the end of Reconstruction. Seems we are back there again.

To the Editor:

Addiction is a disease that can be hard for the addicted person to explain to their family and friends. Some aspects of addiction are isolation, depression and denial that the dependency exists in the first place.

Addictions and substance abuse disorders still carry too much stigma. There are well-known facts about addiction that scientists agree on. For example, addiction is a disease of the brain. Here are three myths about addiction and recovery that are still very well established in society today:

It’s okay to be afraid

In years gone by, we used to hear how bad fear was for us. There were books and motivational speakers telling us how to overcome our fears to live full and successful lives. Then came COVID-19, and the advice has changed. Suddenly it seems that living in fear is the only way to ensure that we will live at all.  

What should we make of the fickle winds of man’s changing opinions? The best thing to do is compare them to the unchanging Word of God – and in the Bible we find good news, better news, and the best news of all.

The good news is that the Bible says living in fear is okay. Consider what Jesus said. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

To the Editor:

Republicans claim to be the party of working-class Americans, but not a single one voted for the American Rescue Plan. This plan provides significant funding for vaccine distribution, a key to economic recovery, and is expected to reduce the number of Americans living in poverty by a third, according to the Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy February 2021.

The Democratic Party is, in fact, the party for working-class Americans. They just proved that by passing the American Rescue Plan.

Sincerely,
Ann L. Hart
Waukon
 

To the Editor:

Trump’s dangerous big lie - that the 2020 election was  rigged, stolen and fraught with voter fraud - had  deadly consequences.  For weeks before and after the election, Trump repeated the big lie. Trump supporters were enraged and followed Trump’s directives to march to the U.S. Capitol January 6. Their intentions were to break into the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden as president, and threats were made to harm Vice President Mike Pence, Democratic leaders and anyone who stood in their way.

With our own eyes, we saw the rioters beat Capitol Police officers. We saw the noose this mob erected. We heard them shout, “Hang Mike Pence!” With horror, we saw the mob break  into the Capitol and the Trump flags hanging from the  balcony. Rioters wore Trump hats and Trump t-shirts, and waved Trump flags.

To the Editor:

The Battle is for Truth.

The Fight is for Life, Liberty and Justice.

The Dream (and yearning of the soul) is for Freedom. True Freedom is aligned with God. God was the originator of the American dream, as exemplified in the heart and soul of the 1620 Pilgrims who founded this country for the express purpose to have freedom to worship God.

Strong foundations are essential.

1) Our Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Its author, Thomas Jefferson (our third President) also stated, “God who gave us life gave us liberty.” And “If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.”

To the Editor:

This year, the Chinese New Year started February 12, two days before Valentine’s Day. Both events share in common the intentional connections among people and families, and the reaffirmation of love, unity, gratitude and caring.

After almost a year of COVID-19, these holidays are even more meaningful to me when I reflect on how my Northeast Iowa Community College family has served many in a fluid, uncertain and challenging environment. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. admonished, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Allow me to share a few examples.

Many NICC colleagues and students in our health care programs are frontline essential workers. They care for those who are afflicted by the virus, those living in long-term-care facilities and those who require other health-related services. Some took on extra shifts at work when there was a shortage of staff and/or an increase in COVID-19 cases.