‘Get over it’

When Al Gore went all the way to the Supreme Court with the Florida vote in 2000, were you saying the same thing Mr. Paine? We will get over it when we darn well want to get over it. I don't know who told you this or not, Trump supporters don't listen to people such as yourself so I really don't know who you are talking to in your letter. Mr. Paine, you stay on your side of the road, we will stay on ours. We are very proud of the 72 million legitimate voters that came out to support president Trump, win or lose, his popularity is only growing. Trump is using every legal option available to seek justice in our voting system, time for you to get over it.

Blah, blah, blah, another day, another letter about Trump bad, Trump supporters bad. Mr. Paine, I hate to tell you but facts show the election isn’t over, regardless of your hyperbole and opinion. BTW, if you want treason, research Obama’s activities regarding Iran.

Excellent letter, Mr. Paine. It's almost six weeks post election, and Trump and the clown car of crazy lawyers and their baseless claims are nothing but fodder for SNL. Unfortunately for Trump, the SCOTUS which he stacked in hopes of saving his butt, ruled appropriately. The Republican enablers are an embarrassment to the country. History will not be kind to them and The Donald.

As Terence would say, blah, blah, blah no evidence, baseless claims, outlandish conspiracy theories. Tin foil hat sales are big this holiday season.

Hey, Tom

I get your call to "get over it." We're hearing a lot of that, lately. And I also get the retort from conservatives that Democrats pushed an election challenge all the way to the Supreme Court. But I have to ask... did the left ever "get over it" after the 2016 election?

Turning toward your claim that treason has been committed. Treason occupies an interesting place in our Constitution. It may be charged against an American citizen who is "levying war" against the United States or a citizen who is adhering to our enemies and "giving them aid and comfort.” I get it. You don't like Donald Trump's challenges to the election results. OK. But challenging the results is not treason.

One of the reasons the founders made the definition of treason so specific was to preclude spurious claims of treason. You may disagree with Republicans challenging election results. You may feel they are wrong for doing so. It may make you angry... but it is not treason.

Hi, Jorg

I get your point. You doubt that 74M persons voted for Donald Trump, but ignore reasons that erase that doubt. Underlying your doubt is your belief that those 74M votes had to be the result of cheating. Can you explain where and how that happened?

Mr. Paine,

I am not sure if the word treason is appropriate yet but I would not be surprised if it applies in the future. Trump knows that he is backed into the corner and is in hock up to his plastic hair and if he loses power he will have no leverage with places like Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.

As he has done in the past he will sell out America to save his own neck.

Much has been said about him being a dictator wannabe and turning America into a second rate nation no longer admired around the world. After a quick read on the web I found a couple of quotes from across the pond.

From Marius Dragomir, Director of the Center for Media, Data and Society in Budapest.

“America was the model and the dream for Eastern Europe, especially after 1990. But it’s not anymore,” he says, “especially after Trump.”

Seeing Trump place family and friends in positions of power while continuing to make money from official visits to his hotels and resorts was reminiscent to Dragomir of the kleptocracies that emerged after the breakup of the Soviet Union. His colleagues kept asking, “‘Is it really possible for the American president to do whatever he wants and to mix his business interests with the position he has, to do bad things with impunity?’ We are used to that in Eastern Europe — but to see it in America was strange,” he says. “People lost the appreciation they once had for America” — all the more over the past month when Trump went after anyone who failed to bend to his insistence that he’d won. The difference, says Dragomir, is that somewhere like Romania or Bulgaria, Trump probably would have prevailed.

From Brussels based Roland Freudenstein, Director of the Wlfried Martens Centre for European Studies.

“On the one hand, the U.S. democracy redeemed itself in the eyes of Europe because the madman was not reelected. On the other hand, there’s a huge discrediting of the U.S. democracy by the incumbent who is basically hollowing out the democratic process from the inside.” Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the election is not just weakening American democracy, Freudenstein says, but also democratic governments all over the world.

Dear Jorg...

Me: Where and how did Republicans pad voting totals?

You: Same as what Trump claims the other way... and with same kind of evidence!

You: Get the logic?

Me: Yes... it's circular.

You know, I paid $20 for a one-month all-access subscription to this newspaper so I could read all of the comments and respond to some, hoping to maybe, just maybe, interject some words of wisdom from a long, long life. I've decided it's not worth the twenty bucks. Trump supporters are still spewing the falsehoods and conspiracy theories this "president" has been tossing out since 2015 and attacking others who don't agree with their distorted national views; Biden supporters are trying to be civil in the face of these attacks, but their views are not welcome and the attacks get brutal, so they often do not succeed. I've never seen such division in this town. There have always been differences of opinion, but we always agreed on the same facts. It appears those days are gone and, I'm afraid, don't seem to be returning. I remember San Mateo when we recognized everyone walking down the street and we'd stop and chat. I remember San Mateo when we respected each other. I remember San Mateo when El Camino was a 2-lane road, when 92 didn't yet exist and was the setting for horseback riding lessons on the hill. I remember when Foster City wasn't even a glint in the eyes of developers. It makes me so very sad to see what has happened to a town I love. Since this will be my last posting, I'd like to ask everyone to remember that we are all equal, regardless of our opinions. Civil discourse is the backbone of our democracy, so please don't attack one another. What my mother taught me is still true: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Please keep this in mind in your discussions, and maybe we'll all be able to find something to agree on. Thank you for listening. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy Holiday Season. May God bless all of you in the new year.