Letters to the Editor

A note of appreciation to the street department

I want to give a “well done” to our street department and its first responders.

On April 24, the street sweeper machine dislodged a small portion of the blacktop in front of my driveway. It was not a large hole by any means but it prompted me to email the street department to request a crew to repair the damage. Yesterday, May 4th, my wife and I returned home at 12:30 p.m. and saw the freshly repaired street.

Thanks to the street department and the workers for their super quick response(less than 2 weeks). We sometimes get irritated with the disruption that street repairs cause but those repairs & resurfacing projects are necessary to keep our streets safe.

John CraigLancaster

Trump sings praises: J6 Capitol Police bloodshed criminals, “literally”

Washington Post article, by Isaac Arnsdorf, Meg Kelly, Rachel Weiner, Tom Jackman May 4. Former “twice impeached/1st indicted President of the United States, Donald Trump” put his hand on his heart while the song/video "Justice for All," featuring his voice and the “J6 Prison Choir,” played during a campaign rally in Waco, Texas on March 25.

Defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol flicker the lights in their D.C. jail cells to signal to supporters outside that it’s time to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” together. The recital has become a sacred ritual for a subset of Donald Trump’s movement devoted to heroizing the accused rioters.

“Our people love those people,” Trump went on to say at the rally, speaking of those who were jailed. “What’s happening in that prison, it’s a hellhole. … These are people that shouldn’t have been there.”

The WP identified five of the 15 men, featured in this video. Four of them were charged with assaulting police, using weapons such as a crowbar, sticks and chemical spray, including against Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died the next day.

Trump recorded himself saying the Pledge of Allegiance after he heard about the production and wanted to participate, according to the campaign. The Trump campaign said it did not produce “Justice for All” and does not know the names of the singers.

“It was very much an honor,” Trump told reporters on his plane after the rally, explaining that playing the song there had been his idea. “Those people were treated very badly. … I think it’s a disgrace.”

Kenneth Sicknick, brother of deceased officer, told The Post he was “disgusted” by Trump’s glorification of the prisoners. “The rallying cry is that no police officer died on Jan. 6, and they leave out inconvenient things like my brother’s first stroke happened on Jan. 6, and he was put on life support and died the following day”

“45” leads early polls for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Such is the new GOP!

Bob MuckensturmLancaster

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Letters to the Editor