I must hand it to the Democrats as they certainly know how to conduct large protests, yet I’m confused as to why they use the term “No Kings”? If I recall, there was an election in 2024 in which Donald Trump won by a majority. I don’t recall a coronation ceremony.
Since the Democrats are almost certain to win control of the House and perhaps even the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections, the real issue is how they plan to deal with Trump. In the 1980s, when the Democrats controlled the House while Ronald Reagan was president, Tip O’Neill, the speaker at the time, forged a pretty good working relationship with Reagan.
Admittedly, Trump is a little more cantankerous than Reagan, but I still hope the Democrats at least give it a try.
— Dan Schuchardt, Wheaton
Finding our way back
I attended the Geneva “No Kings” event on Saturday. While many issues were expressed, I felt there was an underlying one. I believe we were all feeling a deep heartbreak at what we considered an America that has lost its way. We understand that we are not a perfect nation, but we all felt that at least we were trying to be a good and inclusive one. However, we are at a loss to understand how so many can keep supporting a government that allows violence against what it considers “the other,” corruption on a grand scale, distrust of almost all of our allies and an economy that benefits the already rich and powerful.
We were out there on Saturday to say, “Enough!” We want to find our way back to an America we can be proud to own. We so much want to allow our better angels to operate once again.
— Mary Herrick, Gilberts
Make values count Nov. 3
While reading Sunday’s article “Raids came home ‘when it happened to Jose,’” I was stopped cold by a comment from Jose Fiscal Belli’s mother-in-law, Crystal White. Her words should give us all pause — and motivate record turnout in the midterm elections.
She expressed a realization I’ve heard from others who voted for Donald Trump: “I guess he told us what he was going to do, but I really didn’t believe that it would be carried out in the way that it’s being carried out.”
Her husband’s follow-up, though focused on immigration, speaks to many actions of the current administration: “You put trust in into carrying out of laws in a way that’s going to have some fairness involved, especially with regard to how people are treated and treated as human beings, having basic needs met.”
That trust has been betrayed.
Cruelty and chaos have become hallmarks of this administration. We see them in policies that: detain and deport hardworking, taxpaying people like Jose under inhumane conditions;
undermine sexual and reproductive rights; dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; slash Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid benefits; and threaten wheelchair-accessibility requirements in new construction.
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These are not abstract policy debates. They are decisions with profound consequences for real people, families and communities.
If we believe in human dignity, fairness and the rule of law, we must make those values count at the ballot box. Vote — and choose leaders whose actions, not merely their promises, reflect them.
— Barbara Turner, Darien
Advent of socialism
Since my days at DePaul University in the early 1980s, I have been preaching that by every measure — e.g., later Tax Freedom Day, percentage of population employed by the government — we are voting ourselves into socialism, spearheaded by the Democrats.
I am reminded of the Ernest Hemingway quote about bankruptcy. To paraphrase, it happens slowly, then all at once.
— Matt Korzeniowski, Tinley Park
Comfort to the enemy
President Donald Trump had previously condemned countries that buy Russian fuel because these purchases help finance Russia’s war against Ukraine, but now, he wants to do the same thing.
This seems to be a case of giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
— Larry E. Nazimek, Chicago
Repudiating Putin
In a recent interview with Newsmax, President Donald Trump said, not for the first time, that he is “not a big fan” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and considers him more difficult to negotiate with than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
More difficult? I would like Mr. “Art of the Deal” to tell us all what he has ever gotten from Tsar Vladimir that a middle-of-the-road American would consider serves the interests of this country or the world. Trump doesn’t even get theatrical respect from Putin, but he is so infatuated with him that he seems not to notice this.
Putin is on record as believing that Ukraine is only a wayward part of Russia rather than a real nation, and he has persistently and savagely pursued its conquest for more than four years after seizing parts of it in 2014. He impoverishes his country and sends its young people onto a killing field where a reported 450,000 of them (eight times our losses in Vietnam) have died in the service of his vanity.
In addition to being costly in the long run, it would be a persistent stain on the reputation of the United States if Putin is allowed to subjugate Ukraine, but American voters have granted power to a shameless person who sees little value in a good reputation for himself or the nation. The start of the way forward from here is to partially reverse that error by electing a Congress that will not only understand that Putin’s Russia is not America’s friend but also will loudly and frequently say so without ambiguity and act on the basis of that fact.
— Curt Fredrikson, Mokena, Illinois
Trump is on the ballot
I am one of the 75 million registered voters in the 2024 presidential election who voted against Donald Trump. I had paid close attention to what was reportedly being planned for his second term, and I was mortified by his first term as president, so I was devastated when he won a second term. Now, some voters for Trump in November 2024 are seeing their vote as a mistake. Just recently, he demonstrated again that his actions are both self-serving and not in the best interest of the United States. A couple examples are Trump pulling back on bipartisan-approved sanctions on Russia and the list of ballroom donors who received pardons, favorable regulatory relief or lucrative government contracts. Just these two actions alone will cost Americans more money, whether in gas (blaming Ukraine is not the solution because it is not the problem) or taxes. The donors to the ballroom not only received an apparent quid pro quo deal for their donation, but also, their donation most likely qualifies as a tax write-off. Guess who makes up for that financial shortfall in the budget?
I am cautiously optimistic that many of those who voted for Trump in 2024 and have felt the repercussions of that decision will at least think twice about voting for a Republican for a House or Senate seat as it is those individuals who have been silent, and therefore complicit, in Trump’s actions.
Trump is, indeed, on the ballot.
— Maureen McCarthy, Deerfield
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