A Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper
While President Trump is playing 5D chess, his critics, detractors, and his enemies are struggling to get the drawer open that holds their checkers.
Jeff Myers, Newell
“War is not healthy for children and other living things.” That was the slogan for an organization I joined in the 60s called Another Mother for Peace. I was doing everything I could to help bring the Vietnam war to an end. We marched. We organized. We worked for candidates who promised they would bring the war to an end. Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, was president when the war began and then Nixon, a Republican, carried it forward and expanded it. Eventually the massive protests helped bring it to an end.
We were lied to about Vietnam. We were never attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. We have been lied into every war since then. Now we have a Mad Hatter in the presidency, surrounded by sycophants, who just let him attack anyone, anywhere with no justification, no clear objectives. At least the other presidents followed some rules, actually went to Congress for authorization. Now if you listen to Trump he can bomb anywhere he wants, forget congressional approval, just bomb, invade, kidnap, do whatever because he is the supreme leader and the greatest of all times.
The elected Republicans are like abused dogs: no matter how many times their owners hurt them they crawl back on their bellies, just to be kicked again. These Republicans are just as responsible as Trump for all of the dead bodies, starvation, and cruelty. The only thing they are good at is enabling him.
Millions of innocent people have been killed and injured in our seemingly endless thirst for war and violence. Now most of the deaths are in the Middle East, the Holy Land. Israel and the U.S. are responsible for most of the deaths. When will it stop? How many more deaths, babies, children, elderly, innocent civilians? For what? Land? Oil? Precious metals? How much do we need? We were given given this beautiful blue green earth as our home and from the beginning of time all we humans have done is kill each other and do our best to destroy our home. I can’t believe we never learn but we never seem to.
So I continue protesting, calling Congress, writing letters. I believe that the only thing that brings about meaningful change is nonviolent protests and voting. It is important that we not let the Mad Hatter and his enablers take these rights away.
“War is not healthy for children and other living things.”
Barbara Paulding, Russell
April is Earth Month — a time to savor the wonderful planet that gives us bright blue skies, breathtaking mountains, wide-open plains, serene river valleys and lakes, captivating forests, and an endless variety of plants and animals. Earth Month is also time for considering what more should be done to protect it.
Climate scientists agree: human activity has caused rapid warming of Earth. Warming occurred before, but over thousands of years. Current global warming started less than 200 years ago, when we began burning coal, oil, and natural gas, polluting the air with too much carbon dioxide and methane. These gases act like greenhouse glass that lets in sunlight but hold heats. This changes atmospheric moisture flows, thus, some areas get more moisture (more rain, floods, stronger storms), and others get less (more heatwaves, droughts, wildfires) harming people, animals, and plants by disrupting habitats.
To stop climate change we must use more clean energy — wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric and nuclear. America needs to be the clean energy leader — not China — and create the jobs that go with it.
Write or call your members of Congress 202-224-3121 and remember the proverb, “Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.”
Gary Jump, Itasca, Ill., Volunteer with Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Several years ago I read “Storm Lake” and yesterday finished “We Crapped In Our Nest.” Both excellent writing and telling it like it is.
Your Storm Lake Police Chief Chris Cole’s mother is a third cousin of mine.
In the book you say about 25 million hogs are raised in Iowa yearly and I used to say about 30 million. I had someone tell me, maybe Chris Jones but can’t remember, that it is now about 83 million when you count the turnover several times in the same confinement buildings and the breeding stock to farrow the piglets. So, am not sure of the number but it is far too many.
I grew up on a farm at Estherville where my dad raised corn, beans, oats and alfalfa, milked one of the best dairy herds in the county according to our DHIA supervisor, raised boars and gilts for Farmers Hybrid, bought out by Monsanto, and had a sheep and chicken flocks for a while. He and Mom raised seven sons on that rented 240 acres and we didn't lack for anything we needed. He was a very active Farm Bureau member including serving as township chairman, but then finally quit them and said “They don’t represent me as a farmer anymore.”
Keep it up and good luck with your health problems.
Larry Neppl, Marion
Greetings from Newport, R.I.! I am a faithful reader and subscriber to the Storm Lake Times Pilot. I learned about this great newspaper and Iowa community when Art Cullen appeared on the national PBS TV/SiriusXM show that I cohost and co-produce, Story in the Public Square (watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRERCJffnmA.)
I hope someday to visit Storm Lake — and in the meanwhile, if any readers happen to come to Newport, perhaps we can visit!
G. Wayne Miller, Newport, R.I.
Our current President likes to break everything he can get his hands on, while everyone is watching.
He likes to break people. Women. Blacks. Browns. Immigrants. Democrats. Fire them. Disrespect them. Prosecute them. Jail them. Deport them. Harm them.
He likes to break institutions. USAID. Department of Education. Law firms. Universities. NATO.
He works hard to break the economic order. Tariffs. Oil ownership. Tankers. Caribbean traffic. Progressive taxation. Health care systems. Insurance.
He loves to break the socio-political order. Laws. Elections. Rights. Privileges. Immunities. Constitutions. Neighbor nations. Muslims.
He likes to break nature. Science. Air. Water. Climate. The Ocean Floor.
One of his favorite things to break is infrastructure. Schools. Hospitals. Homes. Bridges. Roads.
All these things are insufficiently loyal to our President, so he wants them to feel his wrath.
However, our President is also a builder. Some of the things he breaks must be built again with his name on them. Arts centers. Coins. Paper money. Triumphal arches. The East Wing. Battleships. Big Beautiful Bills. Dulles Airport. Penn Station. Trust accounts for children.
Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross, Utah
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