The Nov. 2nd Citizen editorial page was one of the better ones, with numerous letters expressing a variety of opinions, each letter making some good points and some not so good points.
On cars endangering bikes, Nikki Kassel is right as cars have to check back to the right, especially before making right turns as they may be cutting off a cyclist in his lane. A helmet saved my life when I checked the lane behind me for traffic before making a left turn, only to have the bike wheel simultaneously hit a pothole in my bike lane, throwing me, breaking four ribs, and causing a pneumothorax, (fortunately not a tension pneumothorax).
With nary a person around and half-conscious, I made it home and to the hospital. As a twice-injured cyclist, I constantly see the helmet law and the ride on the right side laws regularly flaunted by cyclists of all ages and generally ignored by the police.
Art Betke is right, the carbon tax is just for show, B.C. being unwilling to raise it without the other provinces pushing them.
Revenue neutral - that's probably BS as well.
As for the gun lobby and protecting the Constitution, the Second Amendment and others were put in post-1776, to suit the times and they may well have to be altered again if violence in schools, streets, airplanes and malls continue. Increasing surveillance and whistleblower legislation are signs of changing needs. Neither are currently constitutionally guaranteed.
Trump makes some good points on legislative corruption like gerrymandering and, ineffective prosecution of politicians. The list here is long. LBJ and the Warren Commission covering the real mob killers of Kennedy. Bush Sr. pardoning Nixon. Bush Jr. condoning torture as did Chretien and Harper in Syria. The unauthorized invasion of Laos during Vietnam and the U.S. military machine lying to Congress about weapons of mass destruction. Then there's the veto Obama used to prevent 911 claimants from suing Saudi Arabia.
Nineteen of 20 911 hijackers carried Saudi visas.
But for Trump that is about all there is to his stance. Will he bring in laws to prevent the tax dodges he enjoys? He blames Clinton for not doing that. After he ran some Atlantic City casinos into bankruptcy, will he return their losses out of the money subsequently made from his "no-risk-to-him Trump branding?" Will he repeal the Statute of Limitations on sexual assault? Will he be able to negotiate with anyone who doesn't see things his way?
Will he even be able to pass any legislation? He's alienated too many Republican representatives as well as voters. Democrats sure aren't going to support him.
The frightening thing about Trump is the tunnel vision his followers have.
In the end one can only hope that Trump self destructs even more than he has. And, hopefully the nine women, (at last count), who came forward, whom he berated as losers, will end up calling him loser, loser, loser in a very public way.
Alan Martin
Prince George
