Dear Editor,
Again, a reality check is in order, concerning “Non Compos Mentis … or Ethical Cowardice?”, a recent letter by El Sellers.
The CLAIM: “(Non Compos Mentis) describes a state of mental incompetence and is usually a plea in the courts for leniency from the court when a sentence is to be delivered.”
The REALITY: WRONG! ‘Non Compos Mentis’ applies to “individuals who lack the mental capacity to understand legal proceedings or manage their affairs due to mental illness or deficiency.” It can be a defense filing made BEFORE a trial (such a person CANNOT be tried), and must be supported by professional assessments of the accused’s mental state. Most importantly, this claim is a professional diagnosis, not an “insult” to be thrown around by unqualified partisan laymen.
The CLAIM: “Today that court is the American public primarily and secondarily the foreign publics as well.”
The REALITY: To the extent people will be making decisions about government leaders, they should use REALITY as their guide, not partisan propaganda.
The CLAIM: “Joe Biden … his betrayal of our only mid-east friend, Israel.”
The REALITY: First, Biden has not “betrayed” Israel. He rightly questions the methods Israel’s current leader Netanyahu is using in retaliation to Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel Oct. 7, ‘23. While the attack demands a response from Israel, the path Netanyahu is taking is killing many, many thousands of Palestinian civilians who ARE NOT members of Hamas. This smacks of genocide, and cannot be supported by civilized nations. Still, Biden in April signed $94B foreign funding bill that includes military aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Also note: The President does not have the power of the purse; the Republican majority House of Representatives has that job, and they stonewalled aid for Ukraine AND Israel for many months. Blaming Biden for THAT is wrong headed.
Also WRONG is the Sellers claim that Israel is our “only mid-east friend.” Back in 2003, President W. Bush assembled a coalition of 31 countries to back our retaliation for 9/11 against Iraq, and many were mid-east nations. Today America lists as our “allies” Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, and Cyprus.
The CLAIM: “Biden permitted enough aid for (Ukraine) to stay alive but never enough to win the war. His stated reason was a wish not “to provoke Russia further.”
The REALITY: Russia’s greatest ally in America was Donald Trump, who stood with Putin generally, but specifically in wanting to end NATO and install undemocratic political leadership in Ukraine (Trump even backed Putin’s invasion). Biden has consistently supported Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, and lobbies Congress for ever more support to be sent (often falling on deaf Republican/Trump-supporting ears).
The CLAIM: “It SEEMS (emphasis mine) that (Biden) has been won over to supporting terrorist Hamas … (Biden) clearly sides with terrorists.”
The REALITY: This is just an absolutely baseless and slanderous attack on Biden, hiding behind the weasel-word “seems.” One uses “seems” when one has no FACTS to support one’s radical opinion.
The CLAIM: “Joe Biden is either (and then only two choices.)”
The REALITY: This is the False Dichotomy Logic Fallacy. When logic fallacies are employed in formal debate, the debate is lost.
Jeff Harrison
Buffalo, Texas
