Mayor replies to congressman

To Congressman Costello: Regarding your letter, I have two things to say.

First, my husband does not speak for me.

Throughout my campaign, I knocked 1,000 doors in this wonderful community – many of them Republican and Independent households – and I pledged to represent our shared values and desires for West Chester. I learned that we share more than we do not.

I will carry out this pledge to the absolute best of my ability, because we can only make progress when we work together for the common good – for the safety, health and prosperity of our entire community.

Second, the accusation of rudeness toward your staff is patently false. Those who know me know I listen.

They know I am deliberate and hard-working.

They know I am a straightshooter, so when I talk with your staff about your voting record, I’m not being rude. I’m asking questions about your intentions.

I’m engaging in civil discourse about issues that are, as we speak, shaping our communities in very impactful ways.

It is with great joy and honor that I became the Mayor of West Chester, and I will be focusing my energy on fulfilling the promises I have made to the residents of West Chester Borough. Dianne Herrin

West Chester

Trump’s behavior

Your editorial excoriating Donald Trump’s un-presidential behavior is spot on, but the problem is more insidious than Trump’s boorish behavior. Through executive orders, directives from agencies he heads, and the acquiescence of Congress, Donald Trump is systematically dismantling the American Democracy that has been in existence for over 241 years, and he’s doing so with astonishing ease and speed.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is charged with investigating crime and no one is above the law, including the President of the United States. Donald Trump doesn’t believe that. He believes he is the law and demands loyalty from the Director of the FBI. When former Director James Comey refused to give him that, Trump fired him. Trump is now pressuring Deputy FBI Director Andrew G, McCabe, whom he also perceives to be disloyal, into early retirement. The FBI has become politicized, its agents demoralized, and its effectiveness diminished.

Like every good despot, Trump knows that to control a country, one has to control the press, and he is certainly attempting to do that through Twitter and organizations like Fox News and Breitbart. Journalists and news organizations who challenge him come under immediate attack and are labeled “fake,” which is ironic since the fake news coming out of Washington is coming from the White House. Trump believes in the Big Lie, and he knows if you repeat it long enough and loud enough, it will eventually be perceived as truth.

Donald Trump has also managed to diminish respect for the United States from foreign countries. The State Department has been drastically reduced as if diplomacy no longer matters. Trump goes barging around the world like a bull in a china shop not caring or realizing the consequences of his comments and actions. His latest fiasco was recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel, thus sewing anger, fear, and disillusionment throughout the Middle East and lessening the possibility of peace between Israel and Palestine. Then there’s North Korea…. We live in dangerous times. In less than a year, Donald Trump has eroded our moral authority and respect abroad, while at home, he has placed our civil rights and the rule of law in peril. Democratic values of decency, dignity, and integrity have been replaced by autocratic intolerance, ignorance, and hate. We the people have the voting booth as our recourse. Any politician who refuses to stand up to the autocratic, despotic words and actions of Donald Trump is just as guilty as he is and deserves to be voted out of office. The clock is ticking. Time is running out. RoseLynn Malarek

Newlin Township