Category: Louisa Dems Blog

More criticism of the president

Cancer, a virulent killer, knows no limits of time, toxicity or destruction, as it thrives by ravaging. By its very name, cancer defies the value of descriptors, rendering all redundant as it inflicts harm, pain, and depraved infection. It defiles all it touches, requiring thorough, aggressive excision and disposal.

Donald Trump has become a cancer. Tragically, he exceeds the metaphor. Once out of office, he will carry with him our most secure secrets, available to the highest bidder for his gain and for our peril. Trump’s recent invitation to and incitement of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol, and their intercepted communications before and after the insurrection document this truth. Trump is truly a cancer.

Bill Walling
Louisa

The Central Virginian

Capitol Attack Exposed Weaknesses

The breach of the Capitol Building by rioters highlighted a huge weakness in our national security that could now be exploited by professional terrorists. Look how easy it was for a group of people to breach the Capitol without really trying.

Think about what it would have looked like if this attack were carried out by professional terrorists embedded with those rioters who breached the Capitol building. As it was, there were individuals who successfully entered with guns, zip tie-style handcuffs, and Molotov cocktails. Pipe bombs were planted a short distance from the Capitol.

I know more D.C. and state capital protests are being planned in the days leading up to the inauguration. Consider that terrorists or foreign actors may well use those protests and plans to their advantage, especially if more breaches are planned. If you go, can you be sure everyone else in attendance is who you think they are? Can you be sure you won’t let your anger be used in ways you didn’t intend?

Pamela Wilkinson
Mineral

The Central Virginian

McKinney all wet about Lake Pelham (Culpeper)

Joseph McKinney’s letter to the editor (Jan. 3, “Culpeper’s Civil War history more complex than Joe Daniel purports”) claims to teach us about Confederate Maj. John Pelham’s brief history during the Civil War.

But McKinney entirely misses the point of local resident Joe Daniel’s worthy efforts to erase racism from Culpeper’s past and present.

I do not understand why McKinney thinks his military service gives him some special expertise. Anyone can read about Pelham in the historical record. When I was Pelham’s age, I was an Army captain leading a Blackhorse Regiment armored cavalry troop in combat in the Vietnam War; big deal. My perspective is similar to Mr. Daniel’s.

By way of context, like McKinney, I also went to West Point, graduating in 1968. We studied the tactics and strategy of the Civil War extensively because of the military lessons that could be learned.

Born at Walter Reed Hospital when my dad was stationed at the Pentagon during World War II, I grew up in Fairfax County surrounded by the mythos of the post-Civil War “Lost Cause.” I went to J.E.B. Stuart High School. My boyhood heroes were “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart. I had pictures of all of them, including one of John Pelham, on the walls of my home here in Culpeper.

All of that changed after 2017’s Unite the Right white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville. All of those pictures came off my walls. I was ashamed. Even if unintentionally, I had helped perpetuate the idea that glorifying the losers of the secessionist cause—who tried to destroy the Union because they didn’t like the results of an election—was somehow a good idea.

Nobody will dispute that Pelham was a heroic artilleryman in the service of J.E.B. Stuart. He was mortally wounded along the Rappahannock River near Remington, and he died in Culpeper. I have canoed the whitewater rapids past the exact spot where Pelham fell. And, yes, I have hiked all over Culpeper’s Fleetwood Hill studying the Battle of Brandy Station.

Do you suppose Pelham’s personal slaves helped carry him off the battlefield? Whatever happened to them?

I wonder how many other Confederate officers, born into wealth and privilege, were accompanied by their slaves throughout the Civil War, accommodating their every whim, their every beck and call, polishing their boots after every battle? There is nothing nuanced and complex about that history.

To most people today, the point of the name of Lake Pelham, and the point of the Confederate monument in front of the Culpeper County Courthouse, is that both glorify Jim Crow.

And you can bet that our black brothers and sisters are very aware that they represent a continuing insult to the prospect of a better America, and a better Culpeper.

McKinney’s history lesson does nothing to further this discussion.

The lake should be renamed. Have a contest for citizens to suggest ideas. And remove the statue.

Mike McClary, Culpeper

Ed note: This was previously published in the Culpeper Star-Exponent. McKinney all wet

Committee Meeting Schedule

During the spring and summer, our regularly scheduled meetings are held in the evenings at the Louisa Library in Mineral. In the event this meeting room is not available, it will be held at a location TBD, usually Roma’s Restaurant in Louisa.

Our next meeting will be August 8th, 5:30 pm @ the Louisa Library 881 Davis Highway, Mineral VA.

During the winter months, to accommodate members with night time driving restrictions, our regularly scheduled meetings will be held @ 11:00 Saturday mornings. If reservations for the community room are available, they will be held at the Louisa Library, 881 Davis Highway in Mineral. If not at a time/location TBD.

Join Zoom Meeting (by computer; video optional):

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88282328076

Meeting ID: 817 7655 2346

Or Join us by phone only:         +1 669 900 6833

Seeking a smooth transition to end 2020

American voters’ support for democracy in this election was overwhelming. Joe Biden received almost 5.8 million more popular votes than did Donald Trump, the most votes for any presidential candidate ever. Biden’s Electoral College margin, 306 to 232, is the same as Trump’s in 2016. At the time, Trump called that a “landslide.”

One of the strongest traditions in a stable democracy is a smooth, transparent transition of power. However, the United States, the greatest constitutional democracy in the world, is having problems finding its transitional feet.

President Trump has refused to concede and is falling back on claims of widespread voter fraud, for which there is no evidence. His lawyers have lost 20 of the 21 cases they have filed so far, for a lack of evidence. Attorney General William Barr issued an order that the FBI can investigate when there is evidence, but this is a mere fig leaf to escape Trump’s wrath.

Just last Tuesday night, Trump Twitter-fired Christopher Krebs, his administration’s most senior cybersecurity official responsible for securing the presidential election. The New York Times has reported that Krebs systematically disputed Trump’s unfounded declarations that the presidency was stolen from him through fraudulent ballots and software glitches that changed millions of votes.

As president, almost daily Trump demonstrated that he was devoid of graciousness. Both his tweets and public appearances revealed a taste for insult, an unrelenting boastfulness and arrogance, and a general coarseness.

To this we could add his hyperbole, his lies, and his want of generosity. My Depression-era mother taught me that there is always a role for courtesy. She also taught that a person’s reputation is a precious commodity and that lying and cheating quickly dissolve the respect one can hope to receive.

Some Republican governors and legislators are beginning to acknowledge that Biden won the election and that the country should move on, recognizing that a transparent and orderly transition has been the custom in every previous presidential election. Firing the Secretary of Defense, abruptly drawing down our overseas deployments, threatening to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, and abusing federal employment regulations are dangerous moves and have no place in any lame-duck period between administrations.

Perhaps there is something to the idea that Trump is salting the soil to make governing impossible for Biden, while preparing for his own political and financial comeback. Claims of election fraud seek to delegitimize the elected president and end up reducing respect for the Constitution. If Republican voters and legislators buy that myth, the effects could be far-reaching for both parties.

Senator McConnell’s pledge to make President Obama a one-term president may be on rewind. In fulfilling this pledge, McConnell gave us legislative gridlock. Hundreds of bipartisan House bills have been forwarded to the Senate, where they piled up and died, and will have to be re-legislated starting in January. What better demonstrates the GOP-controlled Senate’s lack of commitment to the general welfare?

Trump’s refusal to allow an orderly transition is exacerbating the consequences of his mishandling of the pandemic, stalling the economic recovery, and endangering our national security. Nevertheless, Biden’s response has been to soldier on in the face of these obstacles and put together his administration. As we watch this unfold, perhaps we will have a greater appreciation for the motto, “Keep Calm and Carry On.”

On this date in 1962, President Kennedy was assassinated. His administration committed itself to the hope and promise of America. Let us rededicate ourselves to that vision. January 20, 2021—Inauguration Day—cannot get here too soon.

[Reuther] Seeking a smooth transition to end 2020

TRUMP GETS WRONG RESULTS

I’m looking forward to relief from the constant barrage of real “fake” news and insults from the Trump Administration. The Mainstream Media, which has been under attack for doing what it can to provide accurate news, may finally be rid of its 1st Amendment oppressor. This country doesn’t need to be lied to. Its voice doesn’t need to be ignored. But that’s exactly what’s been happening with daily blare of noise from the White House.

If Trump could accomplish anything, it should be to leave office quietly and never be heard from again. For the last four years, this country has suffered over 20,000 lies and misleading statements. This was reported by the Washington Post. McSweeneys.net has catalogued almost 300 pages of Trump’s cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes. On October 20, 2020, Dana Milbank of the Washington Post also listed 41 items that presented a more than adequate case to VOTE – but not for Trump!!

The previous references aren’t exhaustive. Any credible media source will likely offer the same kind of information based on investigative reporting. Probably the biggest fear of someone who habitually and easily lies, is to be exposed with facts. We should all fear the propaganda bombardment, not just from the source, but also from the echo chambers.

It seems that Dan Braswell may have relied on Trump’s Twitter feed instead of researching reliable sources for information. If he’d done that research conscientiously, he would’ve had a list completely different from what he presented. In fact, Braswell never mentioned:

· Putin’s bounty on American soldiers without any admonishment from Trump.

· Trump’s belittling of the “Suckers and Losers” in our armed forces, like John McCain who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. That was the war Trump avoided because of a bone spur handicap.

· Trump’s dismantling of the EPA website of Climate Change data and information because it doesn’t suit his agenda.

· Trump’s foot-dragging at the start of the “China virus” that led to over 220,000 American lives being lost. Injecting bleach and ingesting hydroxychloroquine were being touted as the cure for COVID-19. (And no one really calls it the “China virus” except Trump.)

· Trump secretly funneling money from a charitable organization into his own bank account.

· Trump’s excuses about the tax cut that was really to benefit the rich while the middle class will be waiting to feel the impact. The disparity between wealth and income continues.

Doesn’t anyone pay attention to this kind of information, understand it, and know how to act on it?

For all of Braswell’s past LTEs, the most recent is the worst portrayal of misinformation and disinformation. This is something that we need to be aware of whenever Braswell’s name appears in print. I’m certainly interested in what he has to say and I’ll be watching closely for his misstatements.

Stacy Lee Briley