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Do Republicans Want Border Legislation to Fail?

Despite diligent work by HHS Secretary Mayorkas on our southern border, all four Republican U.S. House representatives, which includes Representative Miller-Meeks, voted to impeach him. Mayorkas bent over backwards working with Republicans on rigorous border legislation. Fortunately, the House vote failed. A key issue for former
President Trump in 2024 deprives him of another political stunt to campaign on. Senate
Republicans admitted: “The Trump people want to kill it and run on the issue.” (“The Hill,” 1/25/24, Sarah Fortinsky)

Not surprisingly, Republican legislators have consistently denied Biden administration requests for more border control funding including cuts to Customs and Border Protection.

Realistically, our legislators must reexamine the genesis of the current immigration issue
that is rooted in persecution by the U.S. government during the late 1800s when we employed United and Standard fruit companies (Chiquita Banana and Dole, respectively) to use Latin American citizens as slave labor to make bananas an American table commodity. Known as neocolonialism, under the U.S. edict called the “Monroe Doctrine,”
has resulted in a perilous lack of public safety making uninhabitable those countries
for law abiding citizens.

Our southern border is suffering “blowback”— the unintended consequences of U.S. foreign policy. Allowing Secretary Mayorkas to continue work with Republicans and Democrats is key to a permanent remedy for this tragic situation. “…Senate Republicans who support the bill think the concessions extracted from Democrats would be “huge wins.” (Ibid)

Rather than put country first, Miller-Meeks has proved that her only concern is what
Donald Trump thinks. Trump roared for four years never to solve the border issue.
Miller-Meeks must be removed and replaced with a representative who will work for
America and Iowa – Christina Bohannan.

Ellen Ballas

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Caution: Danger Ahead

As I write this this letter, it is Jan. 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Trump’s biographer
stated that Trump kept Hitler’s book, Mein Kamph, on his bedside table. Dictator Adolf
Hitler in Germany slaughtered over six million Jews and others during World War II.
Donald John Trump is the clear danger ahead for the following reasons:

1) Trump has clearly stated that he plans to be a dictator.

2) Trump is a pathological liar.

3) Trump has Narcissistic Personality Disorder, meaning excessive love and admiration of himself with much conceit. He knows it all.

4) Trump was found guilty of the sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll and owes her $83 million for continuing to defame her.

5) The judge has warned Trump’s attorneys several times to control their client after his outbursts in court.

6)Trump is a demagogue and a charlatan.

7) Trump’s professor at his college stated that Trump was the dumbest, stupidest student he’d ever had in his long career.

8) New York State seeks the return of $370 million in ill gotten gains from Trump for loans and deals using statements that greatly exaggerated his wealth.

9) Trump currently has 91 criminal indictments against him.

10) Trump still tells the Big Lie, that he really won the last election.

11) Trump confuses Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi, saying Nikki was at the  Capitol during the Jan. 6th insurrection. Pelosi was there, of course.

12) Trump caused the insurrection, then watched it on TV for hours.

13) Trump says when reelected, he will pardon all who have been arrested and sentenced in the insurrection.

14) Trump’s niece, Mary L. Trump, Ph.D., published a book in 2020, calling him the world’s most dangerous man.

15) Liz Cheney, former Republican Congresswoman, has published a book, “Oath and Honor,” and urges people to “stand up and oppose Trump in all the ways you can.”

16) Trump promotes antisemitism, which is on the rise in our country and world-wide.

17) On Dec. 3, 2023, Liz Cheney stated on CBS, “We’re sleep-walking our way into a
dictatorship and will lose our republic,” (after nearly 250 years).

18) Hitler died by suicide April 30, 1945, and Trump was born June 14, 1946. Hitler once stated, “What luck for rulers that men do not think.”

19) Trump is currently blaming President Biden for all his legal problems. Children blame someone else when they get into trouble, don’t they? If Trump is the Republican candidate this fall, think long and hard before you vote.

The survival of this country depends on it.

Mary Swan
Tipton

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Miller-Meeks Wants It Both Ways

How can you have it both ways? That is what Rep. Miller Meeks wants. She and House Republicans demanded border security measures before funding Ukraine and Israel
with arms. They got what they wanted but then objected to the bipartisan Senate measure
which contained the following: significantly increased funding for border security,  increased funding for staffing of border guards and the INS, increased the number of judges to process immigrants’ applications AND authorized the President to close the border if more than 5000 immigrants crossed into the U.S. in a single day. The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supported the bill.

But former President Trump interceded and told Republicans NOT to support it so he  could keep illegal immigration as the foremost hot button issue for the next six months’ campaign.

After the failure of the Senate bill, Rep. Miller Meeks then demanded President Biden send
troops for this “emergency security threat”. Ironically, Mr. Trump had his fi rst two years to pass ANY immigration measure with a Congress fully controlled by Republicans (including sending troops); instead, only 400 miles of wall (out of 3,000) were built or rebuilt with money pilfered from the Defense budget.

Everyone agrees border security needs addressing so why can’t Congress put partisan
politics aside in the interest of national security? Maybe immigration really isn’t an emergency unless you need it to be-as a campaign issue to stir fear and anger!

You cannot have it both ways. Wouldn’t that be hypocritical?

Mark Patton
Wilton

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Fighting for Veterans?

On Feb. 8, Representative Miller-Meeks posted a picture on X (formerly Twitter) of her meeting with officials from the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA). She correctly stated that “Iowa is home to nearly 175,000 men and women who have served bravely in our Armed Forces.” She went on to say, “I will continue to fight for these men and women every day in congress.

However, in 2022, she and Representative Ashley Hinson both voted against the Honoring our PACT (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics) Act that expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, radiation, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. The bill was supported by 11 veterans service organizations and has been recognized as the most comprehensive legislation targeting military toxic exposure since the Vietnam War.

In this election year, Representative Miller-Meeks is using a smiling photo and nice words to convince Iowa veterans that she has been “fighting for them every day in Congress.” She isn’t fooling me. Don’t let her fool you.

Thomas Cook
Iowa City
1st Lt, US Army, Vietnam