You might be a real man if …
Discussion has come up about male masculinity in recent letters to editors, a topic perhaps evolving from the establishment of Homo Sapiens patriarchal societies and cultures 10,000 years ago. In light of the present situations in this country, this would be the definition of what is a “real” man. (They say real men don’t eat quiche, so we’ll skip that.) With those situations (and past history) in mind, the following is offered, with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy.
You might be a real man if: You have a Taliban beard or GQ stubble (required). You decry Covid masks and admire ICE masks. You drive a jacked up pickup and hide behind blacked out windows. You find rollin’ coal revs you up. You believe victims shot, beat up, killed in the streets are the perps. You commit domestic violence in the name of manhood. You think any part of environment is for sale, profit and to destroy. You think you “don’t need no stinking badges.” You think hate and violence and weaponry are just “dancin’ to the music.” You think the world is your oyster and only you get the pearl. And, ironically, in one instance, you might be a wanna be “real man” — if you shoot puppies and fire your pilot for losing your favorite “blankie.”
This is but one version of a Ten Commandments the “real man,” with many more such in the litany. (It’s a word; look it up.) But what do I know … jus’ saying. (P.S. I don’t like quiche, either.)
George Harbeson
Why states need to control their elections
I am saddened to see so many people still believe that the 2020 election was stolen. The 2020 election was the most secure election ever. If there were any substantial evidence of voter fraud, it would have emerged.
Here are several major events following the 2020 election that demonstrate the election’s security and integrity.
Fox News paid Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the lies it spread about the Company.
The documentary “2000 Mules,” which claimed the 2020 election was stolen, has been proven to be a hoax.
You might remember Trump’s infamous call after the 2020 election, in which he asked Georgia’s Secretary of State to find 11,780 votes so he could flip the election there. Why would Trump do that?
Following the 2020 election, more than 60 court cases found no election fraud on any scale that affected the outcome.
Most recently, beginning the week of Feb. 2, 2026, the Trump administration intensified its attacks on elections.
The FBI raided the Fulton County, Georgia, election office and took their ballots from the 2020 election. The reason the Head of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gifford, was present is unclear. Fulton County election officials were surprised to learn that they had collected the ballots and that federal authorities now have them, breaking the ballots’ chain of custody.
The federal government has continued to request sensitive voter information from all states. Almost half of the states have not complied, including republican states. In Alaska, the voter application includes a section in which voters can request that their voter addresses not be publicly disclosed. The state sent all that sensitive information to the Federal Government, including the last four digits of your Social Security number and your driver’s license number.
The new voter suppression bills that the Republican Party recently introduced are just another example of how Republicans don’t trust who is voting. When you look at the facts from the Heritage Foundation and the Brennan Center, the number of non-citizens voting is infinitesimal. This is a problem manufactured by the Republicans.
There is also the issue of distrust of election results, even though every election is conducted using paper ballots, which most states use.
Trump’s first administration allocated funds to state election offices to prevent cyberattacks. In 2025, he withdrew that money. If he wanted secure elections, that money would still be available.
If Trump really wants to make elections secure, he will take measures that make sense instead of voter suppression measures like those implemented during the Jim Crow era, when it was nearly impossible to vote if you were black.
The bottom line is that we all want only American citizens to vote in Federal elections. We want to make sure our ballot is counted correctly. We want to trust our government. If the Trump administration is serious about ensuring elections are secure and fair, a bipartisan approach is the only way to achieve this. Most importantly, if each state is responsible for its elections without federal interference, we will have safe and secure elections. The Trump administration’s continuing talk about the 2020 election being stolen is the real reason why so many people don’t trust elections. In other words, “falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it.”
Alex Koplin
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