Dear Sir,
I would like to respectfully respond to the letter from “Name Withheld” in the February 1-7 edition of your newspaper.
The writer expresses how he/she found the full-page ad from a GOP-affiliated group in an earlier edition “upsetting and offensive” and further suggests that the only reason your paper would print such an ad is that your are hard up for money. The letter concludes with asuggestion that those not aligned with his/her views do not appreciate our community and should “take their money back north.”
First, I would like to assume a more charitable motive on the part of the Guadalajara Reporter. As a regular reader, I note the frequency with which you print articles and ads on behalf of the very active group Democrats Abroad, and, during election season, notices promoting their sister organization, Vote From Abroad. I am not aware of any complaints or concerns about your paper “promoting” these groups.
By publishing the paid ad from the GOP-aligned group, I would like to believe you were making a gesture of fairness and balance by giving voice to alternate views. Your paper is the most widely available print source of news in English in our community, and a more even-handed editorial approach would serve a more diverse range of readers. Secondly, I would like to comment on the letter writers’s implication that “GOP folks” are somehow taking unfair advantage of the better quality of life available to expats here in Mexico at a lower cost. Where is the evidence for this? I believe all of us living here, regardless of our home country’s politics, appreciate the blessing of being in a lovely country, among wonderful people with a fascinating culture, who have granted us the privilege of living among them. And yes, our money goes farther here.
My only disappointment about living in Mexico, is that we expected to leave behind the ugly political divisions that had infected our home country. We naively assumed that the politics “back home” wouldn’t be of much concern here, since it had so little real effect on our new daily life. Boy, were we wrong, as “Name Withheld’s” letter so eloquently expresses.
Anonymous by Request
Dear Sir,
Here’s my lighthearted contribution to a “Trump Stress Reliever” program.
Please immediately forward this to the CEO of Molson Brewery in Montreal, Quebec:
I propose a special edition of their new “Canadian” beer, featuring a picture of Mr. Trump with the caption: “Canada should be our 51st state!”
This beer should be sold with a beer can crusher labeled with the elegant French Canadian phrase: “Écraser de Canette.” After enjoying the beer, Canadians can ceremoniously crush the can—a fitting tribute, wouldn’t you say?
To top it off, proceeds from recycled cans could fund community projects across Canada.
Now this is what I call making lemonade out of the Trump lemons of life—while celebrating our friendship with the USA, eh!
Frank Gardiner, Toronto & Bucerías (a.k.a. “Little Canada, Mexico”)
Dear Sir,
“A Republic if you can keep it.” This is one of the most quoted political statements in American history.
However, it is taken out of context. Here is the rest of the story.
During the sweltering summer of 1787, 55 men, representing 12 states, met in absolute secrecy in Philadelphia to revise the failed Articles of Confederation.
Many proposals, some of which devolved into bitter arguments, were put forth by these very learned men.
Outside of these few men, no one knew the nature of the deliberations taking place inside the Pennsylvania State House (today’s Independence Hall) regarding the type of government which would frame the new nation.
On September 17th, 39 men signed the consensus document which began, “We the People of the United States ...”
As the delegates emerged from the State House, Mrs. Elizabeth Powel {spelling correct}, asked her neighbor Benjamin Franklin, “What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin answered, “a republic, madam, if you can keep it.”
Fast forward to 2025, we must now examine Mrs. Powel’s question in its entirety. It seems to this writer that our republic hangs by a thread as there is the rise of unchecked monarchy in the air.
Dear Citizen, how will you respond to this most current threat to our republic.
Respectfully, Publius