Biden Trump

Liberals, normal folks, and good Republicans have been hearing that the stories of President Biden being old as the reason his poll numbers are concerning.

Having grown up outside of the U.S. I have been reading and being curious about the American institutions since my days of high school. The American system of government has been an inspiration to many in the “third world” and beyond. Especially the time of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, we held close to Uncle Sam knowing that America would find a way around any world problem. Vietnam, the Cuban crisis, Iraq, we just knew.

Now we have Trump threatening the American way of life from within.

If with all the indictments, trials of all sorts from porn stars to fake electors and election interference, to conviction of sexual harassment and the criminal mismanagement case in New York, a sizable portion of the American voters still support Trump, then what? And all that while being just 4 years younger than Biden, seemingly less alert and not in command of the many challenging issues facing our country.

Have we ever had such an unqualified candidate as Trump appears to be? We now have his first term as example of what not to support.

As the saying goes, if love does not prevail then the story is not over. Maybe America will wake up from this nightmare and allow us citizens to continue to live the American dream with opportunity for all.

— Carlos ‘Charlie’ Wysling, Bend

It’s hard to name a public investment that’s more integral to a thriving community than public education. So when I read Ron Smith’s guest column, “Vote No on the Bend-La Pine Schools Levy” I was struck by his Orwellian logic. He argues that to “keep Bend a diverse, thriving community” we should vote no on the school levy, thus forcing layoffs of 180 teachers and forgoing multiple programs to preserve or improve the quality of our local public education.

A former chief financial officer, Mr. Smith does not disclose his own property holdings but instead implores us to consider the financial effect on the “working class.” He notes that a homeowner whose property has the district’s median taxable assessed value would pay $239 per year for this investment in public education.

That’s the estimated tax on a property with a market value of about $530,000 (based on a random scan of assessor records, taxable assessed values range from about 30-50% of market values.) $239/year would be about 65 cents per day. While Mr. Smith argues that this levy is not in the best interest of the “working class”, Benjamin Franklin — a proven champion of working people — wrote, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” With enough votes, this levy would: avoid losing 180 teachers; recruit and train teachers and support staff; protect and add career technical education options; improve support for struggling students; enhance elective offerings; and increase advanced academic offerings. That’s an investment that will pay tremendous benefits to our community. Please vote yes on Measure 9-167.

— Jeff Heilman, Bend

I was very disappointed to see that The Bulletin ran a cartoon on April 26 depicting a harmless looking protester who wished Israel would stop killing civilians in Gaza while holding a cease-fire sign in front of Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, who angrily denounced it as anti-Semitism.

I was dismayed for several reasons: by now the whole world has seen the ancient hatred of anti-Semitism being displayed openly, with Jews specifically being targeted on American college campuses. It’s not just against the Israeli government. In other words, this is not an imaginary threat.

And secondly, is the Bulletin editorial staff aware that one of the early weapons of Nazi propaganda was the use of cartoons depicting Jews in a negative light?

The last thing this country needs is more fuel being poured on the fire of anti-Semitism.

— Deborah Halsten, Sisters

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