<![CDATA[MANITOWOC COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY

<![CDATA[MANITOWOC COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY - Letters to the Editor]]>Mon, 04 May 2026 20:15:24 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Iran Attack]]>Sun, 05 Apr 2026 01:30:03 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/iran-attack

]]><![CDATA[Pam Bondi’s Rule of Law]]>Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:11:22 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/pam-bondis-rule-of-lawFor ICE to be withdrawn from Minneapolis and for the rule of law to be restored, Attorney General Pam Bondi has issued three ultimatums to Governor Walz. However, there was no need for the restoration of the rule of law before ICE arrived. There was no chaos.

ICE officials have claimed that they are going after the “worst of the worst” although most of the people that have been assaulted and/or arrested have no criminal records. The fourth amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures. Any arrest must be based on probable cause, and yet racial profiling seems to be the preferred basis for their seizures.

Bondi seems oblivious to the irony when she speaks about the rule of law while at the same time providing direction and cover for those who regularly disregard the provisions of the fourth amendment.

The most recent and tragic violations of the rule of law have occurred with the shooting of Renee Good and the execution of Alex Pretti, both of whom were killed despite posing no substantial threat to ICE agents. What makes those killings even worse is the attempt by Bondi and others to manufacture and assign culpability and blame on the victims.

Tensions had already been high because of Trump depicting the Somali population as “garbage” and stating that he doesn’t want them in this country.

For ICE to leave it is not for Governor Walz to comply with Bondi’s demands. ICE’s departure should not be negotiable. ICE should go because they don’t belong there.

Jim Rabata
Manitowoc]]><![CDATA[Unprecedented]]>Sun, 07 Dec 2025 03:26:48 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/its-unprecedentedIt’s unprecedented. Anyone who looks like they could be an undocumented immigrant can be targeted. People who have no criminal history can be targeted. Immigrants following the process for naturalization can be targeted. Some American citizens have been targeted.
Heavily armed, masked I.C.E. agents, without warrants, are abducting people from their homes, workplaces, and churches. They are pulling people out of their vehicles and separating parents from their children. Armed I.C.E. agents are even going to children’s schools and are detaining people without due process. Are these the places I.C.E. agents expect to find hardened criminals?
So why should we care about the treatment of these people?
Because a core American value is to show concern and compassion for people at risk. And because what is happening to them, being picked up, detained, and held without due process, can happen to any of us. Without the rule of law as outlined in the Constitution, we all become “vulnerable” people no matter what our political views are.
This is not a time for “us versus them” language, “what about-isms,” and over-generalizations. It is time to find common ground in areas that concern all of us across the political spectrum. Concerns not just about the Constitutional rights of immigrants (yes, they do have rights!), but also inflation, healthcare affordability, bipartisan cooperation in Congress, gun violence, and climate change to name just a few.
It’s time to speak up and call out the erosion of our system of checks and balances.
It’s time to elect a Congress in 2026 that will restore the balance of power essential to our democracy.]]><![CDATA[Education]]>Fri, 08 Aug 2025 21:37:20 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/educationThere are many reasons to educate our society, Education is critical to the success
and survival of our communities and our country. Never in my life did I think I
would witness, along with many others, the dismantling and devaluation of our
educational system.
This dismantling is not about efficiency. It is about social control.
Education is about preparing children to become individuals who can
communicate, be creative, think about/discuss many topics, realize the value
education plays in our communities and in our civic participation.
Removing our education foundation, which promotes the common good, will, in
the end, be destructive for all.
We now live in a GLOBAL world. The reach of decisions like dismantling the
educational system will be worldwide. Do we not see that other countries and
enemies are paying attention to what we do?
Countries who are well respected and want to maintain global significance will
certainly not destroy their educational systems.
China has said, on more than one occasion, that our country is in decline.
Eliminating financial support, access to quality educational materials, scholarships,
monitoring of the quality of our system and educational success of our citizens is
one way to assure that we will be weakened as a country.
We need to change course before it is too late.

Nancy Lodl]]><![CDATA[Autocratic Breakthrough]]>Fri, 08 Aug 2025 21:08:38 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/autocratic-breakthrough

Thom Hartmann has described the 14 steps to tyranny, how autocratic breakthrough happens. According to Hartmann those fourteen steps are:
Demonization of political opponents using dehumanizing language such as traitors, enemy of the people and scum

Attacks on the press with claims that the media is fake news or the enemy
Politicization of law enforcement and intelligence agencies
Elevation of the executive above co-equal branches of government, bypassing legislative authority
Election manipulation. The ruling party makes it progressively more and more difficult to vote.
Judicial capture characterized by the regime packing the courts with lawyers and judges who put their loyalty to the leader over their oath to the nation and its laws.
Criminalization of the opposition by prosecuting rival politicians
Militarization of domestic law enforcement
Fusion of party and state in which open loyalty and fealty to the regime or party becomes necessary for state employment and government media become party propaganda
Abolition or nullification of meaningful elections, or postponing elections indefinitely
Loss of civil liberties, including freedom of assembly, speech and movement
Constitutional overhaul or emergency rules to entrench autocratic power
Exile, imprisonment, or assassination of opposition begins when key dissenters are forced into hiding.
Strongman cult of personality replaces institutional legitimacy.

Many of these steps to tyranny have already been taken. Hartmann says, “…it’s so crucial that we educate people about this process and this history so that we can stop that process now while it is still possible.”

Jim Rabata

Manitowoc]]><![CDATA[Letter from the Governor Evers]]>Wed, 30 Jul 2025 01:46:22 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/letter-from-the-governor-evers

]]><![CDATA[No War Against Iran Act]]>Wed, 30 Jul 2025 01:44:13 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/no-war-against-iran-act

]]><![CDATA["Look what we got at the Party Office!!! Thanks, Elon"]]>Wed, 11 Jun 2025 01:13:48 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/look-what-we-got-at-the-party-office-thanks-elon

]]><![CDATA[Our Dad’s didn’t fight for this]]>Tue, 20 May 2025 21:22:06 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/our-dads-didnt-fight-for-thisOur fathers served in WWII in the Air Force and Kathy’s father was a prison of war for 10 months. We know neither of our fathers fought to serve a man like Donald Trump and his self-aggrandizing platform. Kathy’s father did not endure ten months of cruelty at the hands of the Nazis to serve a man who has openly stated he admires Adolph Hitler and is imitating his takeover plan.
To those who defend Trump, you know in your heart his focus is not on the constitution or the citizens of our great country. It’s hard to admit you’ve been fooled, but Trump can hit on hot spots that bother all of us.
So far, he
Was convicted of 34 felonies, which involve mis-stating his use of his money and his financial value. (Mis-stating is another word for falsifying or lying.)
*Commuted the sentences of 1,500 insurrectionists who attacked police in an attempt to take over the government. These people were found guilty of crimes by a jury of their peers, not a hostile government.
*Proposing completely unqualified cabinet directors and trying to avoid the Senate confirmation process.
* Withdrawing from the Paris Accord and the World Health Organization.
*Threatening neighbors with high tariffs, knowing full well that it will harm them and our own citizens.
*Attempting to withhold federal assistance to many needy Americans and now suggesting cuts to Medicare.
32 % of eligible voters voted for Trump. 31% voted for Harris. 2 % voted for a third party. 36% did not vote. This is not an overwhelming mandate as Trump claims.
We can’t ask our dads if they fought for this kind of evil, but we’re pretty sure they didn’t.
Kathleen A. Bernhart
Joseph M. Bernhart
3010 Fleetway Court
Manitowoc, Wi 54220
920-629-0620

Cited.
Paris Accord and commuted sentences Time Magazine Vol 205,NOS 3-4 2025 p.23
Cabinet directors: US News and World Report
Tariffs: NPR March 4, 2025
Withold Fed Assistance: USA Today, Jan 23, 2025
Zelinski: NPR Feb. 28, 2025
Voter percentages: Ballotopena.org

]]><![CDATA[MAY DAY PASTORAL MESSAGE]]>Sun, 04 May 2025 03:20:47 GMThttps://www.manitowocdems.org/letters-to-the-editor/may-day-pastoral-messageToday is May Day, a day of blossoms and banners, of protests and prayers. As Pastor of Manitowoc Cooperative Ministry, I rise to say, let the Church not be silent. Let us speak with gospel truth about the hands that hold this country together, the hands that build our homes, bake our bread, teach our children, tend to our sick, grow our food, and milk our cows.
Here in Wisconsin, the land of dairy and devotion, we know well the sacred rhythm of farm life. The hum of the milking machines, the steam rising from the barn in the early morning chill, the strength of backs that bend without complaint. These are the rhythms of workers who are too often unseen, unheard, and left out of the American story. But God sees them. And God does not forget.
From Deuteronomy to the Gospels, Scripture is clear: “Do not oppress the hired laborer… whether Israelite or foreigner” (Deut. 24:14). God's economy is not built on exploitation. It is built on equity, on enough, on jubilee.
Today, I say, the workers are not the problem; they are the prophets. The dairy worker rising so our children can eat cereal with milk. The warehouse packer whose hands bleed to keep shelves stocked. The teacher shaping minds without a living wage. The nurse working overtime in worn-out shoes. These are not just laborers. They are image-bearers of God.
And when a nation neglects its workers, treating people as tools or numbers, it has wandered from the heart of God.
So, Church and community, we must not only pray for workers, but we must be in solidarity with them.
I urge you to commit to one concrete act of local justice:
• Contact your state legislators and advocate for labor protections for undocumented farm workers who form the backbone of our dairy industry.
• Support driver's licenses for all, because no one should fear being pulled over on the way to work to feed someone else’s family.
• Attend the forum, “Our Country Without Immigrants” Today (May1) at 6:00 p.m., at Frist Lutheran Church, 521 N 8th Street. Let us listen. Let us learn. Let us build the beloved community together.
May Day is not just a labor issue. It is a moral issue. It is a spiritual issue. Let us build a world where justice is not a dream deferred but a table set, with bread, and milk, and dignity for all.

Pastor Matt Sauer, Manitowoc, Wisconsin

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