It was horrific and wrong and the officers must be punished

By Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator


The death of George Floyd at the hands of police should never have happened. It was murder and a dark moment in America. The looting, terrorism and burning of American cities by so called protesters is criminal and a dark moment in America.

The Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd's death must be held accountable. The criminals involved in wrecking American cities, robbing and burning businesses must be held accountable.

Americans have the right to free speech. Free speech does not mean destroying property, hurting police officers and criminal activities.

The question many Americans are asking today is who is funding these criminal, terrorist riots that have happened across America? People are showing up from other cities and states to wreak havoc and chaos in American cities. Who is paying their travel? Who is providing their lodging? Who is paying them money? Are there really this many evil, bad people in America? Obviously, there are because the acts of violence displayed on national television are not coming from peaceful protesters. We have seen and heard about many peaceful protesters. Thousands of people have made their protests in a peaceful, honorable way.

No one blames anyone for being upset and angry about what happened to George Floyd. It made me angry. I would be willing to march with anyone to cry out against such an act and event. Actually, I cried out against Floyd's murder in last week's column stating my feelings about his murder by the hands of the Minneapolis police officers. This column goes to thousands of media outlets. It was horrific and wrong and the officers must be punished. The looters and criminals who have vandalized and saw Floyd's death as an opportunity to pursue criminal activity also must be put in jail and punished.

America is in deep trouble. We are still in the middle of Covid-19 with the prospects of a Fall resurgence. Unemployment soars. Businesses have closed and many are struggling to hold on. Economically our nation is buried. The future of our older generation is at great risk and the younger generation has not grasped yet what is really in store for them financially. The economic plight of this nation has put the realization of the American Dream at great risk for America's children.

We desperately need a revival of "rightness" in America. There was a day when people believed in strong morals, decency, respect and the Golden Rule. This "rightness or rule" must happen from all the politicians, to the police officers, to the protesters and to every person in America. The preachers in America must get this message out. The politicians must get this message out. We must put this message into our daily living. Or, it's over for America.

Here's the rule again, "Treat others the way you want to be treated."

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of PhotoNews Media. We welcome comments and views from our readers.


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From the Mayor; Share those welcoming smiles

Dear Village of St. Joseph Residents,

Over the last three months our community along with the rest of the world has experienced something that none of us could have ever imagined. Each of us will remember this time in different ways.

For some it’s been a time to reflect on where our life priorities should be and may have been able to enjoy the time to slow down their pace of living, but for others it’s been a troubling time either for health, financial, business survival, or concerns of living in a free society. As we navigate our way through the next few days, weeks, and months ahead please be patient with each other.

You will begin to see many things begin to open to the public. To allow some of our businesses to take advantage of the Governor’s announcement to move into Phase 3, the village has worked out a plan to give them some space temporarily in our downtown.

Unfortunately, our downtown has limited parking, but accommodations have been made to try and make the best of the situation. Please take extra precautions as you drive through the downtown on Lincoln Street. This portion of Lincoln Street will remain one way while we allow outdoor seating for those businesses. Our community has done a great job so far to give the village’s businesses their support.

I encourage you to continue to shop local, support the curbside services, take advantage of some outdoor dining and be sure to thank those business owners for doing an extraordinary job serving our community during this time. St. Joseph is fortunate to have every one of them. The Village is continuing to monitor the guidelines set forth by the State of Illinois to open the parks slowly and safely.

Beginning next week, we can allow practices at the ball fields, the tennis courts will be open and within the week we will open the restrooms. The pavilions and picnic tables are available for use, but large gatherings and the playgrounds are still prohibited. The Municipal Building will open to the public during regular business hours but renting the meeting room will still be limited.

We encourage our community to continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the State and Local Public Health Departments. I also wanted to thank our village residents for taking the time to complete your Census response. The Village of St. Joseph has a comfortable lead in our response rate. Currently we hold the lead at 81%, the best in the County. Great job, St. Joe!

Thank you for being such a great group of residents. Continue to share those welcoming smiles, lending a helpful hand, saying a kind word and please work with us as we make those steps to bring our lives back to a healthy and safe normal. God Bless and Enjoy your summer.

Tami Fruhling-Voges, Village President/Mayor



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