A good letter, going in the right direction

Tom Tiffany sounds like a real piece of work. Here’s a couple of quick questions.  What’s the connection between Vladimir Putin, and Tom Tiffany? How can one explain the connection in order to understand the similarities?

Gerrymandering is not only a problem, it’s also a symptom of a greater problem. As a society, too often we throw money, time and energy at the symptoms of a problem, and never get to the root of a problem, which is why things change so slowly, if at all.

Phil wrote:  “Good decision making in any human activity requires looking at and choosing between options. The more information, experience, knowledge, insight or points of view, the better. Narrow perspectives and limited inputs produce bad decisions.”

In order to accomplish all the positive things Phil mentions, there is one thing we need LESS of. And that is fear. Fear is, by and large, what keeps people from choosing to do the positive things he mentions.
Putin and Tiffany, (and most die-hard GOP members,) are fear-based personalities. What they’re selling is fear. If people weren’t afraid on the inside, there would be NO market for what they’re both selling. If Tiffany was in Putin’s shoes, I’m betting he’d be doing what Putin’s doing.

L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology) wrote:  “The only way you can control people is to lie to them. You can write that down in your book in great big letters.”

What Hubbard doesn’t say, which is more necessary to consider, is that those who have to lie to people in order to control them are, essentially, cowards. I don’t know when it started, but the GOP has made lying an art form. And their lies and half-truths are always directed at hooking people’s fears, in order to divide, conquer and keep people under their thumbs. If anyone can show Tiffany in that light, that may tarnish his image markedly.

All cowards need to control how  other people respond to them. (Trump is a prime example.) In fact, I believe that people like Tiffany and Putin won’t trust anyone they can’t control, which means they’ll never trust anyone long term. The more they try to control others, the less they control themselves. It’s their lack of controlling themselves that guarantees how much fear they’ll feel (or deny) in the short and long run.

Gary Burt
Marble, Minnesota

‘We can do it!’

These are some tough times. Inflation at a 40-year high, so painfully evident at the gas pump and in the grocery store; record-breaking heat waves, wildfires, drought and flooding, both in the U.S. and around the world; heat-trapping carbon dioxide at a four million-year high in our atmosphere.  What do we do?

Some folks say we should double down on oil and gas production. But then we’d also be doubling down on the heat waves, wildfires, flooding and drought, to the long-term detriment of everyone. 

Instead, how about doubling down on our transition to a clean energy economy? It will be financially challenging, but ultimately less so than having to pay for the ever-increasing costs of climate-related disasters, and in the long run, we – and this planet we all live on – will be much better off.

Our parents/grandparents/great-grandparents faced some tough times. Having endured the Great Depression, they found themselves immediately confronted with the challenges arising from World War II. They met those challenges by rationing gas, food items and a host of other goods and materials; growing victory gardens; paying higher taxes to finance the war effort; and for some, making the ultimate sacrifice. They did it all with that most admirable “can do” attitude, for the ultimate benefit of all of us.

Are we up to taking on these tough times in a manner that will benefit our children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren? I think we are. As Rosie the Riveter once said, “We can do it!”

Bill Bussey
Bayfield, Wisconsin

Gun control

There are so many factors that contribute to the epidemic of gun violence in this country. There are many who say we live in a culture of fear. The main culprits in this fear mongering are the media, Hollywood, religion, politicians and corporations.

If you listen or watch any news shows, you will be frightened and fearful. Blood sells in all the media and disaster is a gold mine for them. I had to laugh when I heard a line about the news media from an Eagles song: “The boys in the newsroom have a little bet. Is the head dead yet?”

The news media keeps the fear ball rolling.

Hollywood is doing an outstanding job of spectacular fear mongering. Disaster, horror, killings and macho imaging are the stuff of our movies. A real man solves his problems with a gun. Want revenge on someone or a group who has wronged you? Get a gun and kill them. That will show them.

The three main religions in the United States are Judaism and its children, Christianity and Islam. All of these religions are deeply fear based. “If you don’t believe in our God, you will be cursed while you live and He will have you tortured and burned for all eternity after you die.” That’s pretty scary!

This religious fear bleeds out into our society with intolerance and hate. Is it OK to hate and kill anyone who does not follow God’s laws? Many Americans think so! These religious beliefs stir the violence pot with a big Holy spoon. Remember 9/11 and attacks on Gay folk?

Politicians represent our corporations, not us. Their job is to take the heat for the sins of the corporate world. Politicians are paid extremely well for doing this. Gun manufacturers give millions in campaign contributions to politicians to keep gun laws off the books. The politicians promise that they will fix anything wrong and we will all live happily ever after. Democrats and Republicans are the epitome of good cop, bad cop. They are all cops and we are their prisoners.

Fearful citizens vote for the politicians who say they will keep the guns flowing. These politicians wrap themselves in the Second Amendment and say they are courageous warriors fighting to keep our nation safe from all those bad guys out there. What they are really saying is, “Keep that campaign money coming!”

The gun manufacturers want to sell their products. I have read that the average nine-millimeter hand gun costs about $5 to make. The gun then sells for anywhere from $600 to $700 retail. This incredible profit margin is very similar to the narcotics trade. Of course, this profit margin must be protected at all cost.

The gun corporations have co-opted the National Rifle Association into a lobbying group. The NRA is now a front for a cartel of manufacturers who want to sell even more of their products; even to kids. The gun corporations and the NRA could care less what these products do to our society.

It is way too late for any kind of serious gun control in our country. The deed is done. Millions of guns have been put into the hands of millions of people. Pandora’s box has been opened and it cannot be closed ever again.

My advice would be to take martial arts training, buy a gun and get a conceal and carry permit. Always be aware of your surroundings and “watch the street, keep your feet and be on guard.”

Jim Larson
Sandstone, Minnesota