America must learn from Capitol riot
School had just ended on Jan. 6 when I saw on the news that the Capitol was breached. Doors were busted open and a man wearing Trump paraphernalia was handing a lamp to one of his buddies through a window. Five people died as a result of this chaos.
A president, who couldn’t concede an election deemed fair by multiple officials, incited his rowdy crowd of supporters to fight back against his loss. He planted fears within the nation: democracy was dwindling, socialists were taking over, and both the media and a plethora of government officials were liars and not to be trusted at any cost.
These fears festered in a segment of the population and came to a head when his dedicated followers stormed the Capitol to protect their leader from perceived American injustice.
There will always be people who dispute fact. The problem with this event is that democratic practices were long-forgotten in the frenzy to act fast and think later. Our First Amendment grants us the rights to free speech, free press and protest, and it is our responsibility to use these tools of free expression instead of finding alternative, futile methods.
All I know is that as a country, we need to deeply consider how and why we let it get this far.
Moving forward, we must not forsake our laws and principles of a just democracy. A true testament to the will of Americans will be how this event is used to make us stronger.
Alanna Mitchell
Schenectady
Provide assistance to Americans first
I cannot comprehend sending foreign aid to other countries when our nation is in such dire straits. We must take care of our own people first and send foreign aid only if there is a surplus.
We do not have a surplus; we are billions of dollars in debt.
We are sending money we need to have to survive. There are too many Americans who are homeless and struggling to survive, and it is even worse with the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope that our government officials will open their eyes and see how this is hurting so many people. Please keep our money here and provide aid to the American people.
Patricia M. Alexandre
Schenectady
Stefanik right to demand fair election
We would like to commend Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for her efforts to ensure a complete and accurate counting of electoral votes. Despite the chaos and violence taking place on Jan. 6, which Ms. Stefanik rightfully denounced, she insisted that a constitutionally fair and accurate counting of electoral votes take place.
It would’ve been easier for her to shirk her responsibilities as a member of Congress, but she insisted that the mandated democratic process be properly executed. We should all be thankful for Ms. Stefanik’s due diligence on this very important matter. Because of her, we can all be confident of the election results.
David Buchyn
Wilton
The writer is communications director for the Upstate Conservative Coalition.
Trump and enablers deserve punishment
The only way to unify and heal this country is to unify against Trump. How did we get here?
In the upcoming trial, evidence of his dangerous rhetoric will be presented from the 2016 campaign to the grand finale of the attack on our Capitol.
I feared the intensity growing for years. Trump refused to address the concerns of the BLM protesters, pitting one against the other, which further fueled the flames. He always makes you choose.
The Rule of Law and the Constitution are the bedrock of our Democratic Republic. His claims of a stolen election were shot down by 60 court cases and two attempts at the Supreme Court.
The people that gathered on Jan. 6 were there based on repeatedly told lies. The president and his minions orchestrated and fueled these lies leading to mayhem and death. One direct link is his words against his own vice president, which led to the threat of being hanged. It took too long for him to call off this attack.
U.S. Intelligence warned us our greatest threat was domestic terrorism, and it is heartbreaking that Trump is the leader of this radicalized subset that terrorized our nation. This is a manifestation of who this president is.
Cruz, Graham and Rubio warned us before he was even nominated. Autocrats around the world didn’t have to lift a finger to weaken and destabilize us. The enemy is within… sitting at the highest office in the land, and he must be held accountable.
Joanna DeSilva
Scotia
Dems feared Trump threat to status quo
The Democrats and the media have tried to remove the hated Trump from office for the past four years. They also hated President Reagan, but not as much as they hate President Trump. I didn’t understand that hatred then, but I think I do now.
Trump has been a threat to the democratic establishment in Washington, D.C., that some call the “swamp.” The swamp refers to the vast majority of employees in the nation’s bureaucracies being left-leaning Democrats.
The Democrats claim that they advocate “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” but I believe they really espouse abortion, dependency and the pursuit of political power. And that is the reason Trump was, and still is, a threat to them. Hence, the second impeachment. They don’t want him to be able to run again in 2024. They know that the people who voted in person on Nov. 3 voted overwhelmingly for Trump, but he lost to Biden when the mail-in ballots were counted.
The hatred for President Trump is so strong that the Biden supporters are willing to overlook the many Democrat transgressions. Will these transgressions continue under the Biden presidency and the Democratic congress? I hope not, but we shall see.
Richard Colyer
Schoharie
Seeing similarities to ancient emperor
Recent events remind me of one of my favorite movies, Gladiator, which is set in ancient Rome.
It’s A.D. 180 and Rome has an emperor, Commodus, who is utterly unqualified for office, indifferent to the suffering of the plague-infested masses and unwilling to work with the Senate to help them.
Nevertheless, Commodus is popular with the public, thereby ensuring his continued rule. The Senate seems perplexed by this until one of them, Gracchus, realizes “I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. … He’ll bring them death – and they will love him for it.”
Wayne Roberge
Niskayuna
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Only a conservative would support Stefanik and say “she insisted that the mandated democratic process be properly executed” when she voted with 146 other republicans to overturn a fair, honest and audited election results on Jan. 6, following a Trump induced riot at the Capitol. The GOP continues to be bankrupt.
On C2 of today’s paper we have a story about 11 police officers injured in a Martin Luther King protest. Perhaps it is time to give credit where it is do and end Black Privilege.
Violence is always bad.
If only we could feel confident that the police were innocent and not the instigators. Sadly the AG of NY sees what the rest of us see (except for those determined to find people of color needlessly violent), and has found the need to sue the entire NYPD to go under a court-appointed monitor for restructuring:
“From May 28, 2020, to Dec. 11, 2020, NYPD officers of various ranks . . . repeatedly and without justification used batons, fist strikes, pepper spray, and other physical force against New York residents at the protests,”
…
“Protesters — many of whom were never charged with any crime and were merely exercising their First Amendment rights — suffered concussions, broken bones, cuts, bruises and other physical injuries,”
…
“The unlawful policing practices officers engaged in at these protests are not new. Instead, they are the latest manifestation of the NYPD’s unconstitutional policing practices.”
For at least the last two decades, the NYPD has engaged in the same unlawful excessive force and false arrest practices while policing large-scale protests.”
Do you think the police are innocent, Fred?
I> I pointed out the the lack of prominence given to the Martin Luther Kink riot. I think that all displaces of antisocial behavior should be fully displaced to the public.
2> As for excessive force it seems from what was reported is that the rioters were guilty of excessive force.
3> When you refuse to follow police instructions you are guilty of bad judgement. If you are hurt as a result of your bad judgement in my view you are guilty of entrapment.
I’m sure the NYPD appreciates you covering for them!
Fred – What’s “Black Privilege”? Is that a new program or did you make that up?
“Perhaps it is time to give credit where it is do.” Credit to whom?
Credit to whom -all rioters
Fred – You didn’t respond to my comment about Stefanik. Do you believe she did the right thing to subvert the will of the people?
Citizens have an obligation to call attention to a crime that they believe was committed. Thus obligation is incumbent on all of us!
To reach your conclusion you have assumed what is in dispute That is not the mark of a solidly constructed argument. I suggest you try again>
Donald and Melania Trump are both leaving the White House with the lowest approval rating in history. That takes more than Democrats to be rated that low. I hope he starts a third party so that it splits the GOP for years to come, unless he gets convicted by the Senate and is forbidden from running again.
Another Democrat who wants thwart the will of the people.
“Our long national nightmare is over” – Gerald Ford.