Falling for lies

After hearing about  people who belive Donald Trump’s rediculus lies I got to thinking about some other lies through the years that people have belived.  A former neighbor years ago heard that the Bicenenial was going to be the end of the world and stopped paying their bills.  Then there were those who belved that the world was going to end in 2000 or 2001, which never happened.

When Covid hit I heard of people who belived that to prevent getting it they had to bleach and sanitze everything and even bathed in bleach. Some wore a mask all day and night and wouldn’t hardly go out  of their place.
We also have people who believe that vaccines cause Autisim or that they don’t need them at all or that they cause the disease that they’re supposed to protect from with no proof that it’s true just what they heard.
Cecilia Hill
Duluth, Minnesota

Inflation 101 – the Challenge!

If you think Joe Biden and the Democrats caused the Global Inflation that started in mid-2020, I challenge you to do an internet search! You will learn the actual causes from sources such as the World Bank Group, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Insider and an extensive Wikipedia article with 236 footnote credits. 

The COVID-19 pandemic caused massive disruption with a loss of workers due to illnesses and deaths, reducing the size of the workforce, resulting in a dramatic slowdown in the production of goods, shipping and receiving at ports as well as distribution by truck and rail, increased energy demand and price volatility, increased wages and consumer demand stimulated by low interest rates and government monetary stimulus packages provided by both the Trump and Biden administrations which were enacted to sustain household incomes in crisis and the liquidity of financial institutions. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 affected global oil prices, natural gas, fertilizer and food prices which further exacerbated the situation.” (Wikipedia). Some large corporations and businesses took advantage of this situation to raise prices and, in some cases, reduced packaging size.

The Democrats under Joe Biden seized the moment to invest in the U.S. by passing legislation to strengthen the U.S. economy and middle class.
The American Rescue Plan (without a single Republican vote) to get coronavirus vaccines into every person in America, deliver economic relief for those needing it most to prevent evictions, defaults, and bankruptcies, and protect pensions for millions of union workers and retirees.
 The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to rebuild roads, bridges, ports and airports, remove lead pipes from schools and homes, and provide affordable high-speed internet access to every American.
The Inflation Reduction Act to help cut carbon emissions by half by 2030, create jobs, and permit Medicare to negotiate drug prices. 
The Chips and Science Act to bring semiconductor manufacturing and jobs back to the U.S.
Fifteen million jobs have been created, including 800,000 manufacturing jobs, adding an estimated $12 trillion to the U.S. economy; 10 million new small businesses started; the stock market is at historic highs (good for 401Ks); gas prices are trending downward; mortgage rates and car loans have started falling; and thanks to informed rate reductions by the Federal Reserve, the US has had a “soft” landing with inflation and has the best economy in the world.

Without a Democratic majority in the Senate, none of the above would have happened.  It would not have occurred with Trump’s tax cuts to the wealthy and the failed promise of “trickle-down economics,” which widened the economic gap between average Americans and the wealthy to excessive levels.  Trump has been asked repeatedly about his economic plan.  He has no answer because there is NO PLAN, except for a 20% tariff on all imports estimated cost to each American household $2,600 and tax cuts to the very wealthy estimated to add $5 trillion to the national debt.  Now, Trump’s ability to communicate is a concern as increasing numbers of members of the news media and the public doubt his capacity to do one of the most demanding jobs in the world. “To anyone paying attention, it is clear that Trump is not in any shape to manage the government of the United States of America.  He has no mental guardrails left.”  (Heather Cox Richardson 10/20/24).  The 25th Amendment to the Constitution, provides a system for passing the presidency to the Vice President if the president dies or is incapacitated.  This means that JD Vance, with his total political experience as a junior senator from Ohio since 2023 could at age 40 become the youngest US president ever.

There is still work to bring down prices on basic consumer needs.  Legislators AND Consumers must work together to force price reductions.
We are stronger together. Vote Blue.
Barbara Lund Gabler 
Lutsen, Minnesota 

Sounding the alarm!

Retired General Mark A. Milley is sounding the alarm as to how dangerous Donald Trump has become. Milley served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for more than a year under Trump and continued in that role during President Biden’s presidency. 
General Milley served more than 40 years in the military and retired in September 2023. In a retirement speech, Gen. Milley laid out his concerns regarding Trump: “We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen, to a tyrant or dictator or a wannabe dictator.”
“By the following year, Milley was receiving a ‘nonstop barrage of threats’ that he attributed to Trump’s political rhetoric and his fixation on retribution for his perceived enemies,” Woodward writes.
After retiring, Milley installed bulletproof glass and blast-proof curtains at his home to protect himself and his family. 
General Milley was interviewed by Bob Woodward for his new book, War.
Here are some quotes from General Milley.
“No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump.”
“Trump is “Fascist to the Core.”
What is a Fascist/Fascism? It is an authoritarian, totalitarian form of government and power is held by one ruler or a small group. Vladmir Putin is a Fascist. 
“Trump is a walking, talking advertisement of what he’s going to try to do and that includes ordering people like Gen. Milley and others to active duty and then court-martial them.” 
Hundreds of Republican officials are endorsing Harris. 
Former Vice President Dick Cheney said this: “In our nation’s 248-year history there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using his lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again. As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That’s why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”

U. S. Representative Dave Trott is a member of the Republicans for Harris/Walz in Michigan. Here is what he said.
“A second term would be a disaster for our country and that’s why so many Republicans have turned against him”
Will you vote to save our form of government and for the next generations? Their future rests in our hands. 
Please vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on Tuesday, Nov. 5; and if possible, vote early. Thank you.
Joyce Luedke
Mahtomedi, Minnesota

A third party vote is a wasted vote

This is a plea to all our youngest most idealistic voters to get out and vote in next week’s presidential election. And I urge you to understand your vote is vital in what is a clear choice between fascism (a vote for Trump) and normalcy (Harris). I know that many of you feel that Harris is not a perfect candidate (particularly in reference to the Middle East crisis and Palestinian suffering) but hope you realize that no candidate will ever reflect all of your views and preferences. In this year’s election a protest vote for a third party candidate could result in us living in country that is no longer a democracy. Know that choosing Harris would at least provide the opportunity to work for the causes you care about from inside a democratic state instead of a Trump dictatorship. That he has scapegoated immigrants and threatens to use military force against his opponents shows how high the stakes are. And please, if you are able, vote early in person (at Duluth City Hall for Duluthians) to ensure that nothing prevents you from voting on November 5. We can win this fight for our country.
Jill Fisher
Duluth, Minnesota

A reader writes

To the most grounded, courageous publication Duluth has EVER had.
Thanks, Reader.
Gregory Andler
Duluth, Minnesota
(This note came with a generous donation, so, thank you, Gregory!)