Letters to the Editor - June 5, 2025

Democrat ‘Politburo’ ran Biden White House

After a decade of the Democrats screaming that Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy, the evidence grows that the Democrats are the real threat.

The latest bombshell is that a group of President Biden’s aides secretly ran the executive branch in his cognitive absence.

The aides jokingly referred to their profoundly undemocratic cabal as a “politburo” — “the principal policy-making committee of a communist party.”

But it was no joke. It was real. Biden, at most, was said to be “a senior board member” in his own administration, not a president. On his frequent “bad days,” he probably was neither.

The aides who seized power in this Oval Office vacuum were Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Bruce Reed and former chief of staff Ron Klain, along with first lady Jill Biden and even son Hunter (yikes!). They were the “ultimate decision-makers,” according to Alex Thompson, co-author with Jake Tapper of the new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.”

The idea of replacing the obviously unfit president through the proper, orderly and publicly open constitutional process of the 25th amendment was not for the Democrats. Biden was still a useful puppet in his dotage, and the Dems figured their secret unconstitutional setup was the best way to keep the lid on and win again. Eh, comrade?

Instead, they lost big time, deservedly so. Some of them deserve jail.

The Politburo justified its secret control of Biden and the government in various ways. One aide claimed, “When you’re voting for a president, you’re voting for the aides around him.”

That’s utterly false, self-serving and delusional. No one votes for aides. Biden’s aides and family members were not even Senate-confirmed, let alone elected. Even if they had been, they had no constitutional, legal, practical or moral right to seize power.

The Politburo also claimed that Trump’s supposed “existential threat to democracy” justified their actions. “You can rationalize anything,” co-author Thompson noted, “including sometimes doing undemocratic things.”

That’s true. The Republican protesters who rioted on Jan. 6 in their half-baked attempt to restore the 2020 election to the supposed rightful winner thought they were saving democracy, not threatening it.

But the Biden Politburo was far more organized than the J6 crew and operated far longer, not just for one afternoon like the rioters.

Indeed, the communist-style Politburo planned to continue running the government for another four years. As one aide put it: Biden “just had to win [a second term], and then he could disappear for four years. He’d only have to show proof of life every once in a while … His aides could pick up the slack.”

That, my fellow Americans, is a real threat to democracy.

Trump and his team are pikers compared to the lying, power-mad Democrats.

And don’t forget the legacy media that covered for the Democrats and only began to investigate after it was all over.

Mark Godburn

Norfolk


Trying to imagine a post-Trump America

So, the president of the United States is accepting a gift from Qatar? A super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that King Trump calls a “palace in the sky,” His disregard for ethical and national security concerns is per usual. Isn’t there an emoluments clause that states anyone holding government position cannot accept any present, office, or title from another king, prince, or foreign state without congressional consent? This clause, in our constitution, is supposed to prohibit the president and other federal officials from receiving any benefits from a foreign government. It’s design is to prevent the president from being influenced by these foreign governments. In Teflon Don’s case it’s too late! He is building hotels in Dubai, the Philippines, Azerbaijan, etc. His profits are astronomical so foreign influence is assured.

The hypocrisy of King Trump’s signing of an executive order targeting universities with actions addressing gifts and disclosures of large donations to these universities is outrageous. Trump is concerned about universities getting donations but he can accept a jet plane from Qatar!

King Trump’s orders to fire federal employees (with families), cut necessary programs such as medicare and medicaid, department of education, FEMA, USAID, etc.,etc. has been devastating. It’s all being done under the cloak of “DOGE” without regard for the people being affected by these regulations. Teflon Don’s enforcer, Elon Musk, gleefully dances around with a cheese hat on while raking in billions.

Since when does a president use his power to punish prominent law firms and lawyers that opposed his administration? Trump is using his morally depraved despotic power to wreak havoc on any perceived rival. The group of law firms that did not make deals with Trump were than accused of working against the country’s national interests.

It’s not a mystery that Teflon Don’s administration would create such a debacle. It’s a mystery why so many Americans would believe a word he says. How can there be any doubt that Trump and his cronies will damage our country? His blatant declaration of running for president in 2028 shows his narcissistic corrupt sense of entitlement. Trump’s first hundred days has clearly revealed his plan of dismantlement of our constitution which will cause the downfall of the United States. The authors of the Constitution created it “for the people, by the people” not for dictators or tyrants. Wasn’t the reason for the Revolutionary War to establish a just democracy and not another autocracy with its head a king? Or a dictatorship with a despotic leader?

I can’t imagine what America will look like after Trump’s administration. I can only hope the United States can withstand his onslaught of executive orders and utter disregard of the law.

Gretchen Gordon

Sharon

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Lakeville Journal and The Journal does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Geer Village announces ‘strategic partnership’ with Integritus Healthcare

Geer Village Senior Community in North Canaan announced its partnership with the Mass.-based Integritus Healthcare on Aug. 7. Geer will remain the operator of the facility’s programs and services but joins the umbrella of 19 entities at Integritus Healthcare.

Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas

NORTH CANAAN — For the first time in its more than 95-year history, the nonprofit Geer Village Senior Community will soon operate under a new management contract, although it will remain an independent organization.

A joint announcement of a “strategic partnership” between Geer Village and Integritus Healthcare, a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization and post-acute healthcare industry leader based out of Pittsfield, Mass., was made on Aug. 7.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deputies respond to political dispute at Fountain Square

AMENIA — Dutchess County Sheriff’s Deputies broke up a political dispute between two Amenia residents at Fountain Square in downtown Amenia on Tuesday, July 15.

Kimberly Travis of Amenia was conducting her daily “No Kings” anti-Trump administration protest at Fountain Square at 1:15 p.m. when Jamie Deines, of Amenia and candidate for Town Board in the Nov. 4 election, approached her.

Keep ReadingShow less
East Twin Lake
finds new hope 
as hydrilla fades

Gregory Bugbee, associate scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), where he heads the Office of Aquatic Invasive Species (OAIS), was a guest speaker at the Aug. 2 annual meeting of the Twin Lakes Association.

Debra A. Aleksinas

SALISBURY— A fierce and costly battle to halt the spread of hydrilla in East Twin Lake may have finally paid off.

All but three remaining small patches, one near the shoreline at O’Hara’s Landing Marina and two others in deeper water as boats exit the marina and head out, have been destroyed by this summer’s treatment with the aquatic herbicide fluridone, which began on May 20. None of the remaining plants are thriving.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Mae Keller

LIME ROCK — Lisa Mae Keller of Lime Rock, Connecticut, passed away peacefully at her home on July 26, 2025, following a yearlong battle with cancer. Lisa remained at home between lengthy stays at Smilow Cancer Hospital – Yale New Haven. Throughout Lisa’s ordeal, the family home was a constant hub of love and support, with friends and relatives regularly dropping by. Their presence lifted Lisa’s spirits and helped her stay positive during even the toughest moments. The family remains deeply grateful to the community for their unwavering kindness and encouragement.

Born on June 2, 1958, in Bridgeport to Mae and Robert Schmidle, Lisa graduated from Newtown High School in 1976. Lisa first attended Ithica College to pursue a degree in fine arts concentrating on opera. Drawn to a more robust and challenging curriculum, Lisa transferred to Whittier College, Whittier, California earning a Bachelor of Science degree. It was in 1988 that Lisa met and married Robert (Rob) Keller in Newtown, Connecticut. Together, they embarked on a remarkable journey. The couple started small businesses, developed land in Litchfield County and welcomed in quick succession their sons Baxter and Clayton. The growing family discovered the long-abandoned historic Lime Rock Casino in 1993, while attending a race at Lime Rock Park. The couple found it difficult to commute for work while raising a family and restoring a vintage home. Lisa persuaded her husband that chimney sweeping was a noble profession, leading them to purchase the established business, Sultans of Soot Chimney Sweeps. She later leveraged her role into ownership of the largest U.S. importer of vintage Italian reproduction gun parts. Even as her entrepreneurial ventures expanded, Lisa continued managing the pick, pack, and ship operation for Kirst Konverter, though she sold the remainder of the business prior to her illness. Lisa will be remembered for her business acumen, community service, and being a trained vocalist with the Crescendo Coral Group of Lime Rock. Lisa tended the extensive gardens around the home and curated an art collection that adorns the walls within. Baking cookies was a passion. Countless cookie packages were sent world wide to each son and their military friends while deployed. It is still undetermined in the Keller house whether the Army or Marines leave less crumbs. At Christmas, the Lakeville Post Office staff would post over 80 packages of cookies to lucky recipients, while receiving a tray for their effort. Unable to bake cookies in her last year, Lisa selflessly compiled and self-published “ Pot Luck at The Casino”, a 160 page book of all of her favorite recipes, sent to everyone on her cookie list. It was a true labor of love.

Keep ReadingShow less