Author: Rice County Republicans

To the Editor, As in the words of Dickens, “These are the best of times, these are the worst of times, the spring of hope, the winter of despair.” People around us and across the country feel they have renewed hope in our nation and economy. Recent stats show: Record low unemployment for teenagers, blacks, Asians, women, and overall. Rising wages especially for the lowest 2/5ths of earners. More jobs available than people looking for work. Simultaneously, we hear only the top 1% are helped by the president’s economic policies (and those of the Republican-led MN Senate). In a recent letter to this editor, Bill Hein said: “It’s a Republican pattern, reduce taxes, which gives small benefits to folks but big breaks to wealthier people, and let’s not be concerned with long term consequences such as increased income inequality.” Firstly, Hein and others state the tax cut only benefits the wealthy. This is inaccurate. Everyone who paid taxes (excluding unemployed and low-income) doubled their standard deductions and child credits as well as paid a lower rate. This showed up as a higher paycheck each week rather than a bigger return in April. The media missed the tax cuts completely and continue to stifle the dynamic results of the Trump economic initiatives. The boom of job creation and increasing wages are also the results of these cuts. When the government takes...

The political maneuvering in Washington DC over the impeachment inquiry of President Trump is more than a sham – it’s a shame.  Speaker Pelosi walked up to a microphone and announced the “impeachment inquiry” rather than bringing the matter to the House floor for a vote. This is a dangerous attempt to shred the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of due process for each and every citizen of our country, including our President. The behind-closed-doors“hearings” and the refusal of public access to the testimony transcripts render this entire proceeding a mockery of “justice for all”. Webster’s Dictionary describes impeachment as the act of charging a government official with wrongdoing.  The U.S. Constitution establishes the process for impeaching elected officials from the President on down.  Article II, Section 4 sets forth “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” as the grounds for impeachment. To begin the process, the House Rules or Judiciary Committee opens an investigation of an official accused of wrongdoing.  Their findings are presented to the entire House which then votes on the formal allegations.   If the House, by a simple majority vote passes the Articles of Impeachment, then the defendant has been “impeached”.   But this doesn’t remove that person from office. The next step is for the results of the House investigation and vote to be given to the Senate which holds a trial of the accused, presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  In the Senate hearings, there may be examinations and cross-examinations as the Defendant is allowed to mount a defense...

To the editor: Inspector General Horowitz’s report came out a few weeks ago on the origin of the FISA Court in regard to surveilling President Trump’s 2016 campaign. In his report, Horowitz found 17 omissions/errors committed by those in the FBI—17!!! In one instance, a lawyer actually altered a document to say the opposite! Cully Stimson of the Heritage Foundation calls these “errors” a “gross failure of leadership by James Comey and others.” Stimson also states, “The 17 errors, omissions and mistakes were deliberate, premeditated, designed to pull the wool over the FISA court’s eyes.” Were these 17 deliberate “errors” even talked about in mainstream TV? If so, they no doubt glossed over the details in that those in the mainstream TV often cherry pick stories to suit their biased agendas. Stimson also notes that this is not a failure of ‘the system,’ but of corrupt individuals in the system. WHAT IF those in the FBI or DOJ did this to you? If they can do this to the President of the United States, they can do this to anyone—including you! This looks more like a communist/socialist state—not the republic that our forefathers knew. Wake up citizens before your rights such as due process are all taken away. Those in the FBI and DOJ need to be held accountable and soon. Call your elected officials at 202-225-3121 and demand...

Dazzling and breathtaking movement is afoot in the newly reconstituted National Space Agency. The past twenty-four months have seen a renaissance of the American space program with vision cast by President Trump and now, under the capable leadership of Vice President Mike Pence as Chairman, to once again be the global leader in human space exploration. On October 5th, 2017, the National Space Council convened for the first meeting in a quarter of a century. It was hosted by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. Since that  meeting, remarkable cooperation and coordination between the Department’s of Transportation, Commerce, Defense and Energy, NASA with its revitalized leadership under Jim Bridenstine, our civil, military and commercial partners, have charted the course for this exciting new chapter in mankind’s history-the goal of returning human astronauts to the moon in 2024.  NASA shortly thereafter, will then be establishing the lunar outpost Gateway, with its focus to support  deep space exploration,and landing human astronauts on the red sands of Mars.  The “Artemis Project”, recently named, (she is the twin sister of Apollo from Greek mythology) isn’t merely a repeat of the 1960’s lunar missions that set American astronauts on the moon. The cornerstones of the National Space Council’s vision are:  Space Policy Directive One charts the course for sustainable missions beyond low Earth orbit, “which include the return of humans to the Moon for long...