Don't quit quitting

Some folks have tried a plant-based diet and then quit. The downside to using animals for food is convincing.  But, without a real plan and some support it can be very hard.   Please recall the situation for smokers. Many have quit dozens of times before the quit “takes.” Take a page from them and don’t quit quitting.  Even if you only manage to cut back that is a real value.

Karen Moore Duluth, Minnesota  

A unique twist

Although I would never have expected a letter this year, or any year, to employ such a unique twist on a controversial issue, a writer to the Duluth News Tribune, who managed to provide us with a blatant take on gun control that goes something like this: The author lets readers know, in no uncertain terms, that social unrest and politics are not the main reasons that gun crimes are such a problem. Instead he claims that mass shootings have been carefully planned by Democrats, who – (wait for it) – want to make sure all  mass shootings and other gun deaths are secretly orchestrated to paint Republicans as being the ones to blame – while really, it’s Democrats who supposedly create hysteria by facilitating mass shootings – (wait for it again) – so that gun ownership would result in such a chaotic world, that eventually all of us, (even gun lovers), would voluntarily give up all our weapons? The writer claimed it’s (Democrats) who are actively seeking to promote gun crimes, and that it’s the fault of Democrats for promoting mass shootings with the use of, say, AR-15s, for example, and for making  straw purchases do easy, or by permitting anyone with a functioning heartbeat to succeed in the inadequately regulated buying and selling of guns.  When Republicans accuse Democrats of lying, remember those may be the same Republicans who have championed  blog host Alex Jones, for deciding to accuse the shooter at the Sandy Hook mass shooting of being part of a bizarre plot, in which 20 children and 6 courageous teachers were shot and killed in a “staged” attempt to make the tragedy look like it was real. Eventually, the parents of the Sandy Hook shooting victims successfully sued Jones for $500,000,000! But the most horrible thing about the results of his trial may be the fact that Jones had grown so rich by peddling his propaganda, that he actually could afford to pay the settlement that the court ordered him to pay to the parents of the 20 murdered children. Let me conclude by saying that the same kind of (staged by actors theory) has been used before, such as in the Parkland school district shootings in Florida, yet the perpetrators got away with those same kinds of bizarre hoaxes, by claiming the victimized students were, and always had been, only actors paid to put on a show to fool their followers? Well, there you have it! But in closing let me provide you this link to a discussion about gun regulations, featuring another example of a virtually psychotic Alex Jones argument when he was interviewed by Piers Morgan: https://youtu.be/t-v1UXFMzl0

Peter W. Johnson Superior, Wisconsin  

Hiring our next employee

We’re hearing a lot of political campaigning, especially for president. This is a form of job interview. So when these people talk, look at them as a potential employee of yours. In our democracy, we don’t pick someone to rule over us. We pick someone who can, and will, get some jobs done for us. We pay them for this. Think of the U.S. like a large company, where everyone who votes is a member of the board of directors. One of the main candidates for the presidential position does nothing but whine about how he was mistreated and misunderstood at his last job: 3 years ago! Has he held any other useful jobs in the meantime, besides complaining? When we vote, we loan someone part of our power. When they work for us, they’re using our power, not their own. We want our power back every 4 years, and we may decide to loan it to someone else. When we ask for our power back, we expect to get it back, or else! That power doesn’t belong to them. And neither do the facilities, materials, information or records and papers. They all belong to us, the “company.” When I hire someone with my vote, I only want to hear how they plan to fix or improve the big problems facing us: climate destruction, children shot by guns, personal choices, equitable and fair wealth distribution, better health care. I don’t want to hear about their petty grievances from their last job, and how they plan to use this job and the power we loan them to take revenge and retribution against their enemies. Or use this job to keep themselves out of prison. If you’re sending money to a multi-billionaire, take a look at yourself. Are you naive? Needy? Gullible?

A. Martin Merrifield, Minnesota