Wednesday's letters: Hearings are service to America, Founders imperfect, Biden

Focus on testimony, not chatter at hearing

The Jan. 6 hearings are an extraordinary opportunity to hear directly what those involved did and heard.

You can ignore, if you want, the House committee members and their comments. A real attempt is being made to divert your attention from the testimony, via the media, some Republicans, etc. The committee is primarily composed of Democrats, but has two strong conservatives, with Rep. Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, the most conservative.

You can certainly say the investigation is biased. Hence, pay attention to the testimony done under oath. Make your own judgments and don’t be diverted by all the chatter from numerous sources with their own agendas.

The Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, was the culmination of a constitutional crisis, one which I never imagined happening. The fundamental question is, after hearing this testimony, what do you think the Justice Department should do?

The long-term question is how to heal the country.

Bruce Zeitlin, Sarasota

Our Founding Fathers were flawed people

I’m a Thomas Jefferson fan. Even so, he went along with slaves being considered three-fifths human in the Constitution. His slaves were property and he even fathered kids with one of them, Sally Hemings.

Whatever his feelings for Hemings were, he never set her free.

George and Martha Washington had an extensive slave population. When he was elected president, they moved to New York City, then the nation’s capital. Slaves who lived there were automatically freed after six months; to avoid this, the Washingtons rotated their slaves between NYC and Mount Vernon.

The first lady's seamstress, Ona Judge, escaped in New York. The Washingtons hired investigators to search for the slave, but were unsuccessful in ever securing her capture and return. They had wanted to give Ona as a wedding gift to Martha Washington's eldest granddaughter, who was notorious for her bad temper.

I’m certain Gov. Ron DeSantis wouldn’t want kids learning any of this history.

My point? The Founders were not perfect. The Second Amendment was created to allow for militias to put down slave uprisings, not for protection from tyranny.

Today we often hear conservative judges claiming to be guided by the “original intent” of the Constitution. Beware what they really mean. In the very near future, we will be hearing this very claim regarding gun laws and abortion rights.

Dennis Blanchard, Sarasota

39% approval of Biden hard to believe

The media have been reporting that President Joe Biden’s approval rating is at 39%. Where could the pollsters have found these 39 out of 100 people?

Certainly not someone filling up at a gas station or shopping at a supermarket, not a homeowner buying fuel to heat his home – and not anyone trying to buy a new car or a home appliance.

So who are they? Isn’t it time that the media back up what they publish with credible facts?

Hugh MacDonald, Venice

Politics makes strange bedfellows

With regard to the objections to President Joe Biden visiting Saudi Arabia and doing business with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud, we should recall that President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill found it necessary to ally with Joseph Stalin, a mass murderer, to combat Adolf Hitler.

MBS is not as horrible as Stalin by a long shot. He would be a valuable ally.

Benjamin Huberman, Sarasota

Reject ads tied to disgraced ex-president

When I opened your Daily Briefing email recently, I was confronted by an advertisement for commemorative coins with the likeness of former President Donald Trump.

Why does the Herald-Tribune accept advertising for anything to do with our disgraced ex-president?

Ongoing congressional hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack have shown the American people that Trump, an unpatriotic, self-indulgent, seditious politician, incited a riot resulting in the death of citizens.

Please reject these unethical advertisements for the benefit of Donald Trump!

David Watts, Sarasota

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Focus on the valuable testimony at Jan. 6 hearings