Letters (Feb. 1, 2017)

Tuesday

Jan 31, 2017 at 9:51 AM

McNerney’s absence wrong

The Jan. 17 article about Congressman Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, not being able to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump's presidency is a perfect example of a politician speaking out of both sides of his mouth.

Rep. McNerney is in office to represent all the people in his district, not just his Democratic constituents.

Any American with any interest in our political system knows that the presidential inauguration is always held around the 20th of January following the presidential election held in November of the previous year.

Trust me, if Hillary Clinton had won the election, those "events" that he was holding or attending would not be in conflict with the inauguration, and he would have been in attendance in all his glory.

It opens with the statement, "Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise," and is a reference to the willingness to overcome obstacles to achieve a goal.

In reality, the quote is attributed to Benjamin Hawkins, who was an American statesman and planter from North Carolina as well as Georgia. He was also an Indian agent for the United States government.

He had received a message from Thomas Jefferson, while living in Georgia that was of an urgent nature ordering him to attend a meeting in Washington, D.C. At the time, there was unrest among Indian tribes in the area.

One of the tribes was the Creeks. Mr. Hawkins' response to the message was the reply that he would attend, "Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise," is thought to refer to a potential Indian uprising that might prevent his attendance, rather than reference to the water level in the creeks and rivers.

Paul Waters

Stockton

Voting and a fragile ego

It seems to me there is a higher priority for our new president than draining the swamp, abolishing 75-80 percent of business and environmental regulations, building the wall and taking oil back from Iraq.

Clearly, the administration needs to establish a national deportation commission to identify and deport Hillary’s 3 to 5 million illegal voters, lest these aliens migrate to states Trump narrowly won in the Electoral College and deprive him a second term.

This will insure we will keep American great by bolstering the Donald’s fragile ego.

John Schamber

Stockton

Wall must be built

Martin Camps, who teaches college literature but fancies himself a specialist in “border studies,” believes “building a wall does not establish a good neighbor relationship.” (Record, Jan. 26).

Good neighbors do not cross into their neighbors’ yards and live there without permission. If Mexico and its citizens were good neighbors in this sense, there would be no need for any barrier on our southern border. No one advocates building a wall on our northern border, for the simple reason that Canada and its citizens respect our immigration laws.

A border wall is not a “monument to apartheid (and) hatred,” as Campos claims. Most non-Hispanic Americans like the Mexicans in Mexico just fine and live in harmony with their fellow citizens of Mexican heritage. A border wall, or any similar measure creating both the perception and reality that we Americans control who comes here, is the condition precedent to the Grand Bargain, the other half of which is a path to legal residency for those illegal immigrants already here. Those of us old enough to remember 1986 will not fall again for “amnesty now, border security later or not at all.” So build the wall, cost be danged.

John Anthony Abbott

Stockton

President’s child-like behavior

For 40-plus years I have taught my kindergarten students how not to behave like our present president of the United States of America.

John Niemi

Stockton

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