My Response to a Letter from a Reader of The Vashon Loop

Minus all the snark, vitriol, and derogatory language that's become so typical now-a-days!

Friday, March 7th, 2025

Today, I’m going to share my reply to a letter from a reader. But first, a few thoughts about why I do what I do…

Q: Why does a person create content?
Q: Why Write?
Q: Why offer up a podcast?
Q: Why do anything in the public sphere?

A: To make the world a better place.

Q: What makes a person want to make the world a better place?
Q: Why seek to do so, by communicating with other people?

A: I believe most people like to work — not fight.
A: If we can imagine a better world — we naturally want to build it.
A: Logically, “human-created problems” can only be solved with fellow humans.
A: And nature-caused problems are also easier to overcome together.

The one thing I LOVED about Bernie Sanders’ run for the Presidency in 2015-2016, was his ability to focus American Citizens on “Togetherness” and “Yes, We Can!”

Engagement is what I do — because it’s how we matter.
Engagement is quite literally a necessary ingredient for human society.
Engagement is BEST, when it’s grounded in wisdom, maturity, and knowledge.
Engagement is EVEN BETTER, when it’s grounded in patience and mutual respect.

And so — you can imagine I was happy to **engage** with the gentleman who mailed this hand addressed letter to our local, island-owned, non-corporate, and truly free newspaper, The Vashon Loop.

Transparency Promise:
Below, you’ll read every single word of the letter mailed to me. No cherry picking or risk of words being taken out of context! People manipulate when they lack TRUTH and can only make their point with lies. I never do that.

Privacy Promise:
What I know about the author comes from a friend on the island and the author himself. He lives relatively close to me, on my street. I’ve walked past his home hundreds of times in the 20 years I’ve lived here. He’s also an older individual, bringing a goodly amount of life experience to his expressed opinions.

Below is his Letter (in bold) and my thoughts [in brackets]:

March Twisdale
c/o The Vashon Loop
P.O. Box 2221
Vashon, WA 98070

Dear Ms. Twisdale,

I read your article on saving democracy in the February Vashon Loop. You expressed concern about someone who bans people from their home strictly for political reasons. I’d like to support what that woman did.

[March: My February article was titled: Let’s Save Our Democracy, Together, and it was written about my own personal experience with being fired (along with my co-worker, who is a legal immigrant from the Philippines). We were both fired two days after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, explicitly because of my support for our current White House Administration — which we can only guess was discovered by our employer because someone told her (rumor mill) or she was Googling me for some random reason and came across my Substack. My co-worker and I absolutely never discuss anything even remotely related to politics at work.]

I’m a liberal democrat, and I even once voted for a Republican for Governor of Washington, Dan Evans. I’m old enough to remember a time when both Parties had liberals and conservatives in them. But now times are different. The real threat to democracy is the MAGA-wing of the Republicans, and any one of them will never be welcome in my house.

[March: This paragraph is sad. Here’s a person (I’ll call him R.S.) who remembers when Republicans and Democrats could be happily married, be friends, work together, and so on. Yet, in response to his perception that the MAGA-wing of the Republican Party is a threat, R.S. has now given up his earlier American Liberalism (live and let live) replacing it with an extremist position of ostracism (those people aren’t welcome in my house or my life). I’ll be honest, this smacks of every other form of bigoted discrimination I’ve ever heard about, from blacks to Jews to Spics to Japs, you name it. It’s a scary mental state to witness in one’s neighbors, especially when you live on a water bound island and wonder if such people would work with you in an emergency — or not?]

The new FBI Director has called our President King Trump. Trump has called himself a king. The Founders were clear that we were not a monarchy. The Legislative Branch was put in charge, not the Exectutive Branch, Articles I and II, the Constitution. The Executive Branch carries out the will of the Legislative Branch.

[March: While I generally discount the “King” rumor flying around as a ruse of the Democratic Party intent upon keeping its followers generally terrified and in a state of panicked alarm, the second part of this paragraph triggered some questions. I’ve found some answers at constitution.congress.gov which offers “Constitution Annotated — Analysis and Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.” I was looking to confirm R.S.’s claim that “the Executive Branch carries out the will of the Legislative Branch,” and I believe it’s not quite so simple. According to constitution.congress.gov: “The executive power thus consists of the authority to enforce laws and to appoint the agents charged with the duty of such enforcement.” For example, when President Trump (or any President) selects Cabinet Members who are put in charge of agencies and organizational/regulatory structures previously crafted and formed by the Legislative Branch, he is doing exactly what he’s empowered and obligated to do on behalf of the American People: Executing. Suffice to say, I believe claims of “unconstitutionality” are often flung about, with or without validity, as a form of political theater. So, I withhold my judgment until we hear from the Judicial Branch, because adjudicating on questions of constitutionality is their job — not mine.]

James Madison in the Federalist 51: “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates.”

[March: To a large degree, this is what we’re seeing. It just so happens that both Houses in the Legislative Branch, following the 2024 election, are currently under the control of the Republican Party, as is the White House. The American People spoke loudly on November 5th, and we are seeing swift and decisive actions taken by elected representatives in both the Legislative and Exective Branch. Add to this a well-curated, organized and cooperative Cabinet, and we’re going to see swift action which may be overwhelming — but that doesn’t mean it’s unconstitutional or the result of government overreach.]

Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor: “Our founders were hellbent on ensuring that we didn’t have a monarchy,” adding, “and the first way they thought of that was to give Congress the power of the purse.”

[March: Again. The current Congress is firmly aligned with the demands of the American People who voted overwhelmingly for a shift in both the Legislative and Executive Branches. The excessive power overreach of the previous administration means we are not starting out in neutral, but rather, we’re rolling down a steep hill with a dead car and no brakes. Our best national bet is to pop the clutch, get the engine started, and then attempt to regain control by pulling onto a Runaway Truck Ramp. Perhaps things feel rocky and bumpy, not because we’re out of alignment with the constitution, but because we’re attempting a rapid turn around?]

Photo is mine, not the letter writer’s.

Trump is taking on legislative powers in defiance of the Constitution. He is taking on the powers of a monarch. Musk’s DOGE has taken on the power of the purse properly belonging to Congress. They are essentially dissolving Agencies created by Congressional Statute in defiance of the separation of powers established by the Constitution. They are shredding our democracy. I can see conservatives might like a monarch running roughshod over hated libs, but I don’t get why Republicans are so willing to surrender their Constitutional authority.

[March: This is the best paragraph, as far as making a good point in need of research. Is the President overstepping by assuming powers reserved for the Legislature? Is he defying the constitution? The answers are unclear, as of yet, and this is where the Judicial Branch will get the chance to do its job, adjudicating on lawsuits which are already being filed. Of course, the same happened during the last four years, as American lives were upturned, rattled, and destroyed by government overreach — with our Judicial Branch struggling, and failing, to keep up. This, I believe, is a very real weakness in our Judicial Branch, likely caused by modern technology allowing Congressional and Executive Branches to move at Light Speed, while the Judicial Branch seems to have only barely replaced the horse and buggy with a Ford Model T. — Note: I reject the statement of Republicans being willing to surrender Constitutional Authority. All Republicans I know, personally — and R.S. may no longer know any Republicans, given his next paragraph — are heavily invested in a constitutionally grounded government which faltered heavily over the past four years, in particular.]

But it’s worse. Nazi salutes at the conservative CPAC convention. Trump creating a new world order, aligning the U.S. with Russia and North Korea in a vote on Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, and in opposition to Europe. Anyone who is a friend of those people, by for instance voting for Trump, is not just unwelcome in my home, but unwelcome in my life. By the way, I’m presuming you aren’t one of those people. You’re a Vashonite, how could you be?

[March: The answer, as most already know, is YES. I voted for the Trump/Vance ticket, because the nation needs a strong coalition administration filled with the kinds of people who managed to speak up during Covid and survive the hurricanes, tornados and tsunamis of hate that came their way. I may have followed Bobby Kennedy Jr. to the Trump/Vance ticket, initially, but this time around, I’ve paid close, close, close attention to what Trump (and Vance) are actually saying, watching full length videos rather than snippets used by pundits to spin events their way. And, so far, I’m impressed and grateful. Yes, I live on Vashon Island, but what surprises me about R.S.’s last comment is that he, of all people, should know and be personal friends with a LOT of islanders who are Republicans and voted for Trump. And that is the whole point of my article, which R.S. wrote this letter in response to….so, let me end with a brief quote from the last couple paragraphs of my article.]

Take a look at the ending of my February article in The Vashon Loop, where I turned lemons (being fired by a Trump-hater) into sweet, delicious, and healthy lemonade!

We are also very politically diverse. This might surprise you, but it’s true. And, it’s not a problem. How do I know this? Simple. Every day, when Islanders go into town for groceries, banking, coffee, pastries, pet trimming, laundry, the post office, and more – they are served, helped, educated, encouraged, and entertained by people who voted differently in November.

I speak up a lot about my own opinions, but when it comes to what other people tell me? Well, what goes in my ears rarely leaves my mouth. This is a life skill when you live in a small community, and this is how I know that Republicans and Democrats, Christians and Atheists, Vegans and Hunters, and Pro-Lifers and Pro-Choicers are all getting along quite well with one another, whether they realize it or not.

In other words, if you think you can’t work with someone based upon a difference at the ballot box, let me reassure you. You can! How do I know this? Because you’re already doing it.