Many questions
A recent articles states that Bakersfield resident Daniel Shaffer “knew there were ... other longtime Trump supporters like him who shared his belief that the states, courts and county agencies had not done their due diligence. ... He didn’t really believe that the election would get overturned ... but he thought that maybe congressional members would air some of the issues” (“Bakersfield Trump supporter describes heading to D.C. rally before riot ensued,” Jan. 8).
I’m lost here. What “due diligence” wasn’t done during the November election? Have I missed a report where evidence showed irregularities had been discovered? Was an act of fraud uncovered? Why would this election be fraudulent when the election that enabled Trump to take the office of president wasn’t considered a fraud? What was done differently? Could it be that people wanted a new leader for the country? Evidence speaks louder than words and we have yet to see any evidence.
Please help me understand what “issues” you believed congressional members would air. What did those rioters believe they were doing? Voicing their opinions? According to Ashli Babbitt’s husband, that’s what she was supposedly doing. I beg to differ — she participated in an unlawful act and paid for it. She went way beyond exercising her right to free speech.
I’m glad steps are being taken to identify and arrest all those who participated in the attack on the Capitol. They must take responsibility for their actions and bear the consequences.
— Carol D. Westover, Tehachapi
THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR BEST
My days on earth are numbered, but before I fade away, there is something important I need to say. It may not be important to anyone else, but it’s important to me.
Win, lose or fraud, President Trump, I just want to say thank you for the last four years.
Thank you for making it cool to be an American again.
Thank you for showing us that we don’t need to be under China’s thumb anymore economically, or any other way.
Thank you for one of the strongest economies we’ve ever experienced in my lifetime. Thank you for all you have done for the minority communities, and the outstanding decrease in the unemployment rate you had.
Thank you for making it feel good to love our country and to be a proud patriot again. Thank you for supporting our nation’s flag and the men and women who fought for the freedom that stands behind that flag.
Thank you for supporting our nation’s law enforcement organizations, and understanding how difficult their job really is. Thank you for building the border wall. Thank you for giving corporations a reason to come back to America to make our own products and put Americans back to work.
Thank you for bringing our troops home from endless deployments that presented us with little more than body bags and for your commitment to strengthen our military.
I thank you for doing your best
— David Gillis, Bakersfield
IMPEACH PELOSI
Rrrrrrrrippppppppppp! Remember that highly disrespectful ripping of what looked like the Constitution, Speaker Nancy Pelosi?
We — the multi-colored, multi-cultural and multi-professioned — people of the United States do too.
Your disrespect of the American people has been the only work that your bottlenecked Congress has performed consistently.
We elected one man to do the job of president for four years, you returned to us, what seemed to me, a traumatized and abused hostage victim in the presidential debates, nowhere near the statesman Trump who was initially elected.
This election was in no way organically tallied. It was definitely affected by algorithms somewhere in the tallying system. Since you hijacked Congress for four years, you had the onus of developing a tamperproof election system. You didn’t. You could have passed laws, or guidance for judges, to have the full reach necessary to actually be effective at certifying election results with a full picture and full transparency. You chose to bottleneck
Congress instead. Instead of slowing down and taking your responsibility of the country’s frustration, you double down on victim shaming. Five people’s lives are over because of your consistently disrespectful behavior to the president for four years. Stop arguing
“Impeach Pelosi” sounds like a tasty sound bite to me.
— Anita Becherer, Bakersfield
THESE TERMS DON’T HELP
Leonard Pitts (along with many other liberal columnists in Sunday’s paper) believe what happened at the Capitol as “the ultimate statement of white privilege; a white mob allowed to ransack the Capitol” (“So what now?” Jan. 9). Also, it was based on “unproven allegations of voter fraud.”
As an opinion piece, Pitts and others are free to say whatever they want, even if it’s a lie. The assertion that the mob was all white and all were Trump supporters is not true. Pitts claims BLM protests were peaceful. I seem to recall violence, looting and burning buildings in many cities.
Mainstream media continues to use the term “unproven,” which is true, because states refused to audit their voting results. Refusing to audit results doesn’t prove or disprove the allegations.
I believe, along with most Americans, what happened at the Capitol was outrageous. But blaming Trump seems hypocritical. Nothing was said about Democratic leaders calling for and supporting violence in the streets during BLM and Antifa protests that turned into riots.
The notion of “white privilege” was initiated in 1988 by Peggy McIntosh. In the modern era, the terms “white privilege” and “systemic racism” don’t hold up under scrutiny. I see these terms used in relation to Blacks only. If those assertions are true, shouldn’t they apply to Hispanics and Asians?
Anti-discrimination laws allow for a “level playing field.” Even in liberal California, voters have continued to vote down “racial preferences.”
Continuing to use these terms does nothing to help the Black community or race relations. Every person’s success or failure comes down to personal choices and accountability.
— Van Fairbanks, Bakersfield
WE SAW THIS COMING
Last week’s despicable riot/occupation of the U.S. Capitol by a marauding horde of white supremacists and Trump-supporting domestic terrorists was not only incited by 45, but as evident from the Trump rally immediately preceding it, the rioters actually did so under orders by Trump and his cronies.
Trump also apparently prevented the Pentagon from providing National Guard reinforcement to the Capitol so that his band of thugs could have easier access to ransack the chambers and perpetrate fear and violence against our elected officials. As shocking as it was to see our sacred shrine of democracy being violently desecrated by Trump’s zombies, it should not have come as a surprise to anyone with two brain cells to rub together, given the obvious pattern of Trump’s autocratic behavior and dictator-want-to-be desires over the past four years. 45 has always been a clear and present danger to our nation and its democratic institutions.
However, Trump’s tyrannical behavior has only been made possible by a complicit, enabling and cowardly group of sycophantic Republican congressmen, led by Mitch McConnell and ‘my Kevin’ McCarthy. Not only did McCarthy lead a sedition in the House by supporting the baseless Texas lawsuit, claiming an illegitimate Pennsylvania election, he then led a treasonous act, immediately after the violent coup attempt, by objecting to the Electoral College vote. All of those in the House and Senate that took that action should, at a minimum, be censured, or better yet, be expelled from Congress or recalled by their constituents.
— Celia Thesken, Bakersfield
SAD DAY FOR KERN COUNTY
Our Congressman Kevin McCarthy is one lucky person. If he were not required to be at the Capitol, he would have been standing right behind Trump on Jan. 6, dancing and laughing with the other Trump supporters. He would have been there, as he has been supporting Trump from the beginning.
People died because of Trump and McCarthy’s lies. Just to raise money. Sad day for Kern County. Once again the target of bad publicity, because of our Congressman Kevin McCarthy. — Nathan Acuna, Bakersfield