Your Letters for May 9, 2025
MAGA movement is un-American
The so-called Make America Great Again movement led by dictator-in-chief Donald Trump is not about making life better for all Americans. Trump is not governing all of America. He doesn’t even pretend to. He is firing people from jobs that help our nation. He is disappearing people who have fled dictatorships for safety in our nation. His tariffs soon will put small-business owners out of work. Unemployment will rise. Store shelves will resemble the COVID years.
Trump is blatantly destroying the quality of life for all Americans except those who can afford to lose money. And the sad thing is, the people elected to represent the people — our representatives and senators — are ignoring what is taking place in order to appease the new mad king. Longtime Republicans celebrate the reduction of the size of the federal government without knowing or caring how badly the cuts are harming our nation, without knowing or caring how badly Trump’s executive orders are harming our nation.
Let me ask you this: Do you really want to live in a nation filled with chaos and dystopia, governed by a wannabe dictator who tells you things are going to be better than they’ve ever been in the history of the world — while he systematically dismantles every safety net that exists to protect you, your family and generations to come?
Tim Miejan
St. Joseph
Why no computer tech?
I'm curious as to why there isn't any computer tech schools here in St. Joseph. I mean, yeah, you have Hillyard and Missouri Western, but they don't offer anything like Cybersecurity or any IT courses. And I know for a fact that there are tech companies here in St. Joe. Why don't businesses want to either start classes or something for community involvement for people to learn more like Computer Tech, Networking, Cybersecurity or even Automotive Tech classes?
These industries are constantly changing and on the rise, plus you can make over six figures a year in the tech industry, plus not to mention it would help the businesses in town. It might even inspire someone to start their own business. Hillyard is more focused on High School students, Missouri Western is more focused on Nursing and Business, but Tech is also important in the medical field too.
Adam Vollstedt
St. Joseph
Issues with Sam Graves
Northwest Missouri U. S.’s House Representative Sam Graves — who voted for the federal tax cuts and cuts to safety net programs, who supports the DOGE dismantling of the federal government, and who hasn’t been seen at Town Hall meetings here in Northwest Missouri since 2012 — has been out raising money from his rich cronies and corporate groups that want him to send contracts their way in his powerful role as Chair of the House Infrastructure and Transportation Committee.
While we were facing nasty winter weather here in the Midwest, Sam was living it up with his rich buddy donors in their annual “playtime” at the five-star Four Seasons Resort out in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Trump/Musk/Congress have not yet done away with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and its reporting rules, so we now know that Sam’s “Graves for Congress” PAC shelled out $69,078.33 for “lodging, food, and beverage” binging, February 28 - March 3, 2025.
The ski trip always pays for itself in lobby donations for Sam; in the three-month FEC-required reporting period, he collected another $98,517.43 over payouts, bringing his campaign war chest total in this PAC — he has several — to $2,501,299.40.
Dr. Jane Frick
St. Joseph
