We Need Safety

This letter to the editor, by Jeff Gagen, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on February 13, 2025.

Americans share many of the same values. One of these is personal safety, and we look to the government to help us ensure that safety. Trump and his billionaire backers, however, have been hollowing out our government and making us all less safe.

We just suffered the first fatal commercial air crash in 16 years. This comes on the heels of Trump sowing chaos at the FAA. Under pressure from Elon Musk the FAA Director resigned and has yet to be replaced. Trump froze the hiring ofAir Traffic Controllers and then disbanded the Aviation Safety Advisory Committee. He then appointed a reality TV star to be the Department of Transportation Secretary. He also appointed a wholly unqualified part-time TV Host, as Secretary of Defense, whose military helicopter crashed into the commercial jet. Safety depends on competence, not chaos.

Trump also flung open the gates to the prisons and let free over 1,500 domestic terrorists who had attacked the U.S.Capitol, including those who beat police officers. Some of these criminals are registered sex offenders, and one of them just died in a shootout with police after his release. Many have extensive criminal histories. One is charged with the production of child pornography. Eleven of these criminals are from Wisconsin. Allowing criminals back into our communities makes us less safe.

As a political favor to a supporter, Trump also pardoned a man who ran a dark web site that allowed drug cartels to sell dangerous illicit drugs. He was serving two life sentences. Releasing these criminals makes us all less safe.

Trump also disbanded a cyber security group tasked with investigating Salt Typhoon, believed to be operated by the Chinese government, which hacked into U.S. telecoms and gained access to sensitive information.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Trump and the billionaires have made us all less safe by hollowing out our government from within.