Hi Jim, it’s good to see your return.

I had a similar reaction to Ms Ward’s post but didn’t have time to respond. I think my opinion was somewhere between hers and yours.

One point I certainly agree with you is how much the media attempts to increase the emotional reactions and the divisiveness. Both parties seem very hesitant to alienate their bases, and despite what I feel are sincere attempts by Biden, there has been no attempt at negotiations that matter. The issues facing this country are complex, but they could be at least partially resolved if the media would not keep everyone so enraged, or that the politicians had some sense of purpose.

Your position that the Dems feel Black people too stupid to get an ID is a huge distortion of the issue. In Georgia, Florida, Arizona and Texas, the Republicans are trying to pass laws that not only make it difficult for urban voters to vote, they also want to be able to oversee the results and decide which votes count. The new anti-protest laws, are a real threat to the kind of free speech that Republicans were screaming about. There are already lots of laws against riots and looting. No one is in favor of that. Allowing civilians to run people down with their cars is a clear incitement to violence. The violence on January 6th doesn’t upset Republicans at all. They even attempt to blame that on a non-existent Antifa.

Part of what bothers me the most is that the Republicans seem to stand for nothing more than trying put Trump, or some Trump-like figure back in power. Getz, Greene and that group are openly racist about their goals. Many of their tactics seem to model the way Putin is running his government: stomp out dissenters, decide the results of the election before the votes are counted, and take all the money. To me they have become morally and ethically bankrupt.