Watson wrong

To the editor:

I rarely respond to opinion pieces, but the column by Elwood Watson in the Aug. 11 edition of this newspaper (“We should all be glad Trump was indicted”) is so ill-informed and misguided on basic principles of law and civil liberty that I feel compelled to register a dissent if only to alert readers to the constitutional threat posed by that overreaching indictment.

Space constraints do not allow a detailed rebuttal of Watson’s views here, but suffice it to say that his anti-Trump animus blinds him to the special prosecutor’s dangerous attack on First Amendment rights. Despite its pro forma recitation that even false political speech is protected, the indictment ignores that principle and casts Trump’s speech and efforts to organize a legal challenge as the actus reus (“guilty acts”) of a criminal conspiracy and fraud.

That is a dangerous departure from free speech principles and, regardless of one’s opinion of Trump, should trouble anyone who cares about the right of political dissent. See the far more incisive analyses of the indictment from lawyers like Jonathan Turley and Glenn Greenwald, who despite standing on different sides of the political spectrum both highlight the serious constitutional flaws in this prosecution. That Watson, who has no legal training, so enthusiastically celebrates (“relishes”) this abuse of prosecutorial power points to another problem as well – i.e., the lack of critical thinking skills among so many of our academic elite. Readers of the Review, like Watson’s students, deserve better.

Joe McMillan

Bainbridge

Focus on future

To the editor:

I agree with Mary Clare Kersten from Bainbridge Taxpayers Unite that the city of Bainbridge paid too much for the medical building that is being remodeled into the police station. However, that happened years ago and unless she invents a time machine to return to just before the property was purchased this is all for naught.

The lawsuit against the city is a waste of more taxpayer dollars in trying to reverse what can’t be reversed. The city had to waste more taxpayer dollars and city employees’ time to defend this lawsuit. Let’s not waste more time and money on the past, but concentrate on the present and the future of Bainbridge, such as what to do with the current police station after the move to the new site.

Gary Petterson

Bainbridge