SD's shortchanging its children; Trump's not the elephant in the room: Your letters

Your letters to the editor for Sept. 10, 2023:

South Dakota's leaving money on the table instead of feeding children

South Dakota is a good place to raise a family, unless your family is low income, which too many are! They are suffering from food insecurity and lacks other life necessities! The headlines, loom big and it is something that we should not be proud of. Again South Dakota is in the news, the negative side, which happens all TOO often!

Headlines in a recent publication, “South Dakota won’t apply for $7.5 million in federal food funding”. By the way only seven other states have not applied and this is happening in America. The callous attitude and actions of this state’s administration leaves many marginalized families behind. Until they walk in the shoes of those that are suffering, it is clear that they don’t understand or feel their hurt.

Children, of all people to deprive of the food many of them need! It is well documented the children that are going to school hungry is a real problem and impediment to learning. These young children are the future leaders of this country, let's help them get a good start. The low median income in our state, means many families have to chose, is it food, medicine, rent, or a dependable vehicle? Please, the federal government wants to help, as they see the problems and needs! South Dakota, join the many other states applying for these funds! We deserve better than what this administration is doing!

− Darrell Solberg, Sioux Falls

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Trump is not the elephant in the room

I’m not sure which bothers me more: the 4 indictments of former President Donald Trump or the inferred “indictment” of the American people who continue to support him regardless of what he does or says. It was surely obvious from the recent Republican debate that Trump was the elephant not in the room. Until proven otherwise, there is no platform or statement of policies/positions for the Republican Party – remember that there was none in 2020 – the platform is Donald Trump. That makes the Republican Party little more than a cult of personality, as others have observed. Nothing to date has proven otherwise. And Trump continues to refuse to sign a pledge supporting whoever the eventual Republican nominee is. We are less of a country for all this nonsense! Remember back in 2016 when he said that he could shoot somebody and he wouldn’t lose any voters? Well! Back to the indictments - Republicans are the “law and order” party only when it comes to the border, immigration issues and their culture war lightning rods of transgender rights, critical race theory, and reproductive rights. Otherwise, it’s all about the “unfounded” weaponization of the Justice Department to make an example and a martyr of Donald Trump. For me, that doesn’t add up. It’s only weaponization if there is nothing of substance: there is no Big Lie, he had nothing to do with Jan 6, he did nothing wrong in removing classified documents and there was no attempt to interfere with the election results – on Jan 6, in Georgia or anywhere else. Republicans can’t acknowledge even the possibility that there’s smoke, let alone fire. I mourn for what has become of our country.

− Bill Kubat, Sioux Falls

The burdon of truth should be with the media

Victor Sanderson's letter published in the Argus Leader on Sept. 4, if nothing else, causes a thinking person to take pause. Is someone lying about the results of the 2020 Presidential election? I agree with Mr. Sanderson that lies are being told about the outcome of the election. Some say Trump is lying, others say Arizona election officials lied, Georgia officials played loosely with election law and Pennsylvania illegally allowed the courts to set election when their constitution specifically names the state legislature as the body with that power. In a perfect world one would think that a society would place the burden of truth finding with the media. I believe it has been their duty to used their journalistic talents to bring the real truth to light. In this case, they have not done their job.All we know at this point is that someone is not telling the truth. Trump haters say it is "Orange Man" who is lying and they are willing to orchestrate legal proceedings in an attempt to prove that he is not worthy of his right to an opinion. If he is lying, as I understand it, that does not become a legal issue unless he is under oath. If lying were illegal, every politician ever elected would be in jail, including Trump.It is an ominous sign when the media, also known as the "Fourth Estate" falls down in their responsibility to investigate and get to the bottom of political rancor such as this. It is their responsibility to our society to find the truth, where ever it may lie and report. In matter concerning Trump, they have failed us miserably. Their opinions or their feelings matter not, they must be the truth or they become nothing more than another arm that oppresses. The truth is what it is, not what partisan political groups want it to be.Our country and the freedoms we have enjoyed have come to a crossroads. The road we, as a free country, decide to take from this point will determine what level of freedom our grandchildren will enjoy. As for me, I hope and pray it is the same level of freedom or more than I have been blessed to experience.

− Randy Amundson, Sioux Falls

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How to reach Salvation in a world of conspiracies

Since the days of political turmoil in the 1960's era (unpopular war, assassinations of political Democrats, and the resignation of Nixon), we now find ourselves believing more fake conspiracies than ever. Some of today's media has absolutely no standard for truth or even a semblance of moral integrity. Alternative facts, outlandish opinions and truth deniers are more common today than during the civil war (1860's era). While "little government control" can be a chief support of our freedoms, it also leaves us as "prey" for the unregulated media that is so popular today. There seems to be no balance to be found for this problem (and it is a major problem). Our media is not evolving to handle this dilemma. In fact, this predicament is exponentially worsened by the devolution of our conservative thinking. Our religion itself has taken a turn for the dark side with it's acceptance of non Christian ideals as the so called "warriors for Christ" enact their judgments across our political world and spread a negative message that's akin to hate. Salvation can't be reached if the "love message" is not preached...there will be "hell to pay".

−Dave Freytag, Rapid City

How to submit a letter to the editor:

Letters need to be roughly 300 to 500 words, and will need to include first and last name, address, city and title. Addresses won’t be publicized, of course, but it’s a way for us to make sure those who submit a letter are who they say they are.

Letters will run on Sundays in print and online as we receive them. There may be moments, however, when we don't have any as we work to solicit interest and actively rebuild this part of our coverage for readers.

You can submit those to News Director Shelly Conlon by emailing sconlon@argusleader.com or submit them through our online form here, which also is sent directly to the news director.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SD's shortchanging its children; Trump's not the elephant in the room: Your letters