Tag archives: Donald Trump

Let My People Go – Part II
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   March 11, 2021

The February 18 edition of this column carried an impassioned plea for the two political parties, which together represent less than 50 percent of the voters, to let our people go! To let us pass into real democracy from the shared monopoly in U.S. politics that the Democrats and Republicans jointly control to their advantage, […]

Let My People Go! It’s Time to Retire Two-Party Politics
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   February 25, 2021

The Old Testament Book of Exodus describes how Moses and Aaron went in to see Pharaoh and, speaking on behalf of the Jewish God of Israel, instructed Pharaoh to release the Jewish people from bondage where they lacked the ability to influence their own futures. They were born as slaves, held as slaves, and would […]

Escaping Minority Rule: Ending Gerrymandering Gaining Control Over Self-Perpetuating Politicians
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   January 28, 2021

One hundred and thirty-nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted, after the insurrection (which sacked the Capitol building and took five lives), to support the mob’s demands to overturn the results of the recent presidential election. An election found, after sixty meritless legal challenges, to have been a free and fair exercise in […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   January 21, 2021

Capitol Offense Like most Americans, I was distressed last week when rioters at the instigation of Donald Trump invaded and trashed the Capitol. It was even more upsetting for my wife, Mary, who worked twelve years on Capitol Hill. I covered Congress for Ridder Publications before going to The Washington Post and have been in […]

Escape from Minority Rule: Insurrection
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   January 21, 2021

Senator Mitt Romney succinctly summarized the events of last Wednesday in one sentence: “What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the President of the United States.” Former President George W. Bush also used “insurrection” to describe the attack on the U.S. Capitol, felt by many to be “the center and sacred symbol of […]

Are Your Beliefs Falsifiable?
By Robert Bernstein   |   January 21, 2021

I used to buy snacks at the Isla Vista Deli Mart even though they were a bit more expensive than the competitors. I went there just to engage the former owner Mike in debate about Donald Trump, whom he supported. (Note that the Deli Mart has new owners who are not Trump supporters.) When Trump would […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   December 31, 2020

The Real Hoax Dear Mr. Hazard, I think deplorable is an apt title for your article regarding Trump, and your willingness to accept his ignorance by denying the existence of COVID “The Hoax.”  How many deaths and illnesses have occurred because of this denial? How about his 20,000 lies certified by fact checkers over the […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   December 17, 2020

Shock and Law In an article in MJ’s Dec 3-10 issue, Rinaldo S. Brutoco describes the recent Supreme Court decision in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v Cuomo as astounding, shocking, incredible, and “out of left field.” The only thing shocking to this former trial lawyer is Mr. Brutoco’s total misstatement of the facts of […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   December 10, 2020

The Art of Compromise Dear Mr. Hazard, I know you expect an answer from President-elect Joe Biden. But here is mine to your letter.  One Party Rule. Read Constitution, Article II, sec. 1. The concept of electors did not make any sense then, and it does not make any sense now. The country is mature […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   December 8, 2020

‘Copter Conundrum We have a real threat going right now. A real one. A resident of Summerland is asking for two helipads on his private property in Summerland. This is after he has admitted that he has been illegally landing and taking off from this same property for 25 years. He has built a “helicopter […]

The Art of Compromise
By Bob Hazard   |   December 3, 2020

The election is over, and Joe Biden won. Now is the time for all 150 million voters to get behind our new president and reach out the hand of friendship and hope. Gwyn Lurie, CEO and Executive Editor of the Montecito Journal Media Group, has called for a bipartisan post-election response, asking us to do […]

Better than Democracy?
By Robert Bernstein   |   December 3, 2020

Winston Churchill famously said, “…democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…” I write this as Joe Biden has been declared “president-elect” in the news and while Donald Trump still sends out repeated appeals for money. Record numbers voted for each side. […]

A Spaceship Named ‘Resilience’
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   November 26, 2020

The crew capsule aboard the Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket that NASA successfully blasted into space last weekend achieved an amazing milestone. This incredible event was the remarkable result of the public-private sector partnership between NASA and SpaceX that sent astronauts directly from the U.S. to the International Space Station for the first time in nine […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   November 26, 2020

Bear Necessities Carlos here! Since I have good Wi-Fi here in my den, I was able to watch the Town Hall meeting a few weeks ago about me. I was grateful for a large attendance of twenty-something people who logged in to learn, listen, and let their thoughts be known about my presence. Fish and […]

Business Leadership and the Paris Accords
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   November 19, 2020

November 4 was an incredibly important day. Not just because a Joe Biden election victory was so uncertain and the tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, but also because it was the day the USA formally ended its participation in the Paris Climate Accords. This marked the end of […]

Santa Barbara County Election Results – Ongoing Counts – Stay tuned here for updates
By Tim Buckley   |   November 4, 2020

The results for the Santa Barbara County Election are trickling in! Click the links below to be in the know. Nationally, the race to the presidency has yet to be called. Mail-in ballots in crucial states are still being counted to determine our next president, which may take some time to complete. But in the […]

A Matter of No Party Preference
By Leslie Westbrook   |   October 29, 2020

In the newsroom of the Washington Post, Lou Cannon cultivated a reputation as a “reporter’s reporter.” Concealing his political loyalties was as much a matter of professional integrity as it revealed his facility to see both sides. “I’ve been a Democrat and I’ve been a Republican,” Cannon revealed during a recent Zoom conversation just before […]

Are We Becoming a Gerontocracy?
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   October 29, 2020

Think about it. In 2017, Donald Trump was inaugurated at the age of 70, making him the oldest person to assume the presidency. He is running this year against Joe Biden, who will be 78 if inaugurated in 2021, while Trump will be 74. In a campaign where there are massive differences between “the Donald” […]

COVID-19 As Metaphor — A Russian Master Strategist Weighs In — And Our Pick For President
By Gwyn Lurie   |   October 13, 2020

Four years ago this newspaper was one of a handful of publications nationally to announce its support for Donald Trump for president. It did so largely because of Trump’s positions on deregulation and renegotiating many of our trade agreements. In his 2016 endorsement, my predecessor wrote, “We do hope Trump lives up to his promises […]

Is the Post Office Going Broke?
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   October 13, 2020

Exploring the glue that holds our nation together – Part 3 For years, politicians have been accusing the Post Office of being a profligate appendix to the U.S. Federal budget that will continuously require financial support to stay in business. Nothing could be further from the truth. My suspicion is that the real objection to […]