Letters to the editor | April 23 edition

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Quality befitting our community

Last week’s edition of The Beachcomber was chock full of news that was/is important to our Island community. It was reported by editor Aspen Anderson and a small army of competent ‘stringers’ she has managed to engage and to…manage.

This is no small feat, and it’s one that is keeping our little weekly newspaper not just alive but thriving. Our ‘new’ editor has clearly taken the reins of the Beachcomber in hand.

And, while Aspen has put her journalistic stamp on the publication, she has also continued the high quality standards we’ve come to expect over the years from previous award-winning editors and reporters.

As a former journalist myself, I particularly respect Aspen’s editorial humility in acknowledging that total objectivity is a human impossibility and that, despite that, she and her colleagues continue to strive for it. We cannot ask for more.

A call to impeach Trump

I am not a lawyer and do not know for sure if I am qualified to accuse any duly elected official or appointed official in the United States government of what I am about to say. But I do believe I have a right to say what I believe is true.

As a U.S. citizen who has read the Constitution, I do believe that President Trump has, along with other impeachable offenses, committed various war crimes, and ought to be impeached.

If a senator fails to keep his or her oath of office, which I believe many have done, I believe he, she or they too may have committed egregious offences as well, and ought to be removed from office for their negligence to honor their duty.

Regarding the above, I believe President Trump and several of his advisors also ought to be removed from office for failing to honor their oath of office.

Failure to remove a President who has clearly, negligently, publicly, and egregiously failed to honor, preserve, protect or defend various provisions of the U.S. Constitution seems to me to show that many members of the Senate have also betrayed their oath of office and ought to be removed from office for failing in their duty to do the same, i.e., failing in their duty or otherwise assisting him in committing war crimes and other possible violations with respect to treaties which legally have become the law of the land in these United States of America.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark A. Goldman

The mockery of the pledge of allegiance

I attended Pramila Jayapal’s town hall meeting on April 16 at the VCA. When it came time for questions and comments, I introduced the “Progress-allegiance”:

“With your left hand over your heart… We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of the World, And to the democracy for which it stands, One nation under control, Obedient, With fairness and equality for all.”

When finished the audience was mostly silent. Pramila expressed gratitude and called it beautiful. She didn’t see the mockery of the pledge most of us learned to re-sight in elementary school.

The pledge of allegiance is personal. That’s why it starts with “I” not “We”. Who the hell is “we”. As for the United States of the World: What’s that? The United States of America is a country. It might be best to leave the world alone: Mind our own business.

“And to the democracy for which it stands.” What a joke. Democracy is only a tool. A tool used to send the lawmakers back to office over and over. Then the lawmakers use democracy to convince the voters to hike their taxes. The republic, on the other hand, is supposed to protect us from the vicissitudes of democracy.

“One nation under control”. Who’s control: The political party in power? “One nation under God” keeps things in perspective. No form of government comes before God. Inalienable rights are God’s grace. Government does not give rights; it can only infringe.

“Obedient”. To what? To who? The pledge is “Indivisible”, it’s there for all who accept it.

“With fairness and equality for all.” That’s a far cry from liberty and Justice. Fairness and equality have to be imposed. Liberty and justice are the essence of freedom and responsibility. You have the inalienable right to pursue happiness, wealth and your just deserve.

I am disgusted with progressive government. Most people I share the progress-allegiance with don’t object. It’s clear enough, socialism is on the rise. Just like Karl Marx predicted: socialism and communism will come about via evolution, thru a process of continuous revolution.

Democracy is a continuous revolution.

Jeff Schnelz