Soap Box

Our poor, abused ex-president Trump is undergoing yet another witch hunt, generally meaning any effort to hold him accountable for bad or even illegal behavior. On Aug. 8, the FBI conducted a warrant-authorized search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound to retrieve boxes of stuff he took when he left the White House.

Trump devotees were outraged. They threatened FBI agents. The GOP has made a big campaign issue of the bogus claim that all Democrats are by definition in favor of defunding the police. Now it’s the GOP that wants to defund the agency that investigates federal crimes.

The FBI raid didn’t come out of nowhere. By my understanding, the feds retrieved 15 boxes of items from Trump that he took when he left the White House. This, after months of Trump blowing off National Archive efforts to get stuff back that’s supposed to stay with the government, according to the Presidential Records Act.

This retrieval included 184 documents, according to NPR. They included classified, top-secret and ultra-top secret information mixed in with much more mundane stuff like news clippings and “love letters” from North Korea’s vicious dictator Kim Jong-un.

Apparently, there were indications of more stuff still at Mar-a-Lago. My understanding is that on June 3, a Trump lawyer turned over a big envelope with 38 documents and signed off that this was the last of it. Department of Justice visitors were blocked from looking through boxes in a storage room. Thus, the warrant and FBI raid on Aug. 8 that yielded yet another 33 boxes from a storeroom with more than 100 classified records and more in Trump’s office and his desk. They were mixed in with magazine and newspaper articles, even some clothing. There were many empty document covers, many of those marked “Classified.”

Where did those documents go? Why did Trump want this stuff taking up space at his luxury compound anyway? Is he a hoarder?

A Trump-appointed judge has approved his motion to appoint a “special master” to look through thousands of pages of retrieved items for stuff that might have attorney-client privilege or executive privilege, which Trump seems to think he still has. Looks like a stalling tactic to me.

I’m thinking Trump’s idol Vladimir Putin would love to get his hands on the ultra-top secret stuff, such as identities of our intelligence agents and their sources in the country, maybe in trade for authorization for Trump to build that luxury hotel in Moscow that he’s wanted for many years.

Stay tuned.

– Carole McWilliams, Bayfield

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The conservation easement (CE) lands currently administered by the City of Durango were implemented with the intent of protecting the “natural, wildlife, open space and recreational values” of the land.

Durango’s easements were partially funded with capital from Great Outdoors Colorado, which is steadfast in its language supporting wildlife and protecting low-impact recreation. In its request to review motorized access on CE-administered lands, the La Plata Open Space Conservancy risks running afoul of the IRS and jeopardizing its very existence as a non-profit.

Some e-bike proponents argue that not allowing motorized travel on CE land discriminates against humans. Rightly so! The preservation of these lands is primarily about the preservation of the land and wildlife that inhabit these lands. There are supposed to be less humans on these lands; it is the reason they were protected in the first place.

Please, Durango leadership, let’s not be the community that falls on its sword and wastes sales tax funds by undermining the foundation of the conservation ethic for a joy ride on an e-bike.

–Blake Fredrickson, Durango

Bad taste

Editor’s note: The following is in response to the Sept. 1 issue’s “Sign of the Downfall” (not an article) that made light of (did not endorse) New York state prohibiting the sale of the chargers used to dispense whipped cream to people 21 and under in an effort to curb the inhalation of nitrous oxide. To be clear, The Durango Telegraph officially does not endorse people doing whippets.

I am a criminal defense attorney and a libertarian, and I do not support outlawing canned whipped cream sales to people under 21. I think it’s stupid. I also think your article encouraging children to try huffing nitrous oxide from whipped cream cans is stupid. I had a teenage client

Everything in moderation

The Party of Lincoln allowed the Fox Fake News Network into the hen house. Moderates like yourselves are culpable to the recent chaos and calamity heaped onto our 224-year-old democracy. But, you can now be part of a sensible solution. It wasn’t all that long ago the GOP preached fiscal responsibility, the “compassionate conservatism” of George W. Bush and family values.

Regretfully, the Republican political platform has now morphed into something strange and sinister. What the hell happened? What led up to this infamous moment in our shared history?

As usual, I have strong opinions. My take is that it began in the ’70s and ’80s with the Sagebrush Rebellion – a Western states movement in which supporters favored limited federal government control over public lands, including ownership. Many wanted to see a Western landscape dotted with “For Sale” signs.

The movement gained traction when presidential candidate Ronald Reagan dramatically proclaimed, “I happen to be one who cheers and supports the Sagebrush Rebellion. Count me in as a rebel.” A few months later at his inauguration, Reagan declared, “Government is not the solution to our problem, Government is the problem.” Here’s the leader of the federal government dissing the organization he represents. Now isn’t that special?

Reagan planted the seeds of mistrust of government. It’s cool to be a rebel. Reagan’s administration favored tax breaks to the wealthy (aka trickle-down economics. In other words, telling the commoners it’s raining when they’re really pissing on our backs) and deregulations (clean air, water and land are so overrated).

In Congress, the years went by with a Newt Gingrich divisive attitude between the aisles. Compromise and placing country over party became so passé. Then came the Tea Party bitching once again about high taxes and too much regulation. Oy!

In 2009, a Harvard-educated Black man moved into the White House for eight years. For many white people, this was an “End of Days” scenario. When Obama’s cycle was done, the drawn-out process of transfer of presidential power began. Out of the depths of an overflowing Porta Potty rose the GOP candidate. A loathsome liar with a history of placing his hands where they don’t belong. As a D.C. outsider, he promised to “drain the swamp,” hire only the “best” and build the Great Wall of Racism with Mexican Pesos. The demagogue pointed his fat finger at Muslims, Mexicans and immigrants, blaming them for our woes. The con man perpetrated the myth of Obama’s African birth. He was “telling it like it is.” Mobs loved it.

The Trumpism movement attracted the attention of Libertarians, NRA gun nuts, CINO’s (Christians in Name Only), JINO’s (Jews in Name Only) and, of course, wellarmed White Supremacists. All these strange bedfellows had found their leader. We know what happened next.

As moderate and reasonable Republicans, you are now faced with a lose-lose situation. Flush the GOP of Trumpism starting with the 147 congressmen and six senators who voted to overturn the election results based on an alternative reality – or walk away and start a third party. Maybe call it Whigs II. I know. Tough choices, but it’s high time you grew a spine. This dark moment in our history occurred under your watch. Deal with it.

There’s a reason this wasn’t an open letter to all Republicans. The extreme side of the GOP is busy! They are maneuvering and making plans to violently overthrow a legitimately elected government. For the sake of all reasonable people, let’s hope the Second Beer Hall Putsch fails.

Drain the cesspool! Make America sane again! – Jeff Sambur, La Plata County