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Its a wonder I didnt bite off the tip of my tongue while waiting for a take-out order at an Attleboro restaurant last week.

After placing the order, Pattie and I took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. The 6 oclock news was just starting and the lead story was the Jan. 6 hearing held earlier that day.

I was sitting close enough to hear the woman to my left say to her husband, What a farce. With all the things wrong with this country, arent there more important things they can be doing?

Pattie knows I was about to say something and gave me a nudge as a signal to bite my tongue.

To her credit, what the woman said about this country was correct. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed by members of both political parties: the Supreme Court, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the high cost of gasoline, record inflation, mass shootings and, of course, the bitterness across the aisles of Congress.

Her conversation made it clear the woman was obviously one of the many on the right who viewed the mobs storming of the Capitol Building as nothing more than a tour group getting out of hand. After all, boys will by boys.

She probably thoughts the chants of Hang Mike Pence referred to a painting of the vice president and that its moving to a more prominent place in the building.

Im sure she also believes, like many of you reading this, that the former president played no role in what happened that day and that the far left did indeed steal the 2020 election from the greatest leader in this countrys history, while allowing other conservative candidates to gain seats in the House or Senate.

I ask those of you who agree with the woman seated next to me last week the same question I would have asked her had I not received a nudge:

Would you feel the same way if the president holding that rally had been Barack Obama?

Would you feel the same way if it had been Obama telling the crowd, We fight like hell. And if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore?

Would you feel the same way if the rally had been followed by thousands of Black Americans breaking into the Capitol, smashing windows and doors, assaulting police officers with flag poles, hockey sticks, fire extinguishers and bear spray?

The Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade broke as I writing that last paragraph. As Ive written on this page in the past, I am neither in favor of abortion or against it.

This wont be a popular opinion, but I do believe that the abortions that Massachusetts and the other states that allow them should be limited to only residents of those states.

Its not a reach to predict that states like Florida and Texas will sue the states that allowed and the doctors that performed abortions on their residents, even if the Supreme Court indicates otherwise. The women in those states who do not allow abortions need to either get involved to change their states laws or move to one more in line with their political views.

Am I the only one who is puzzled by one of the main reasons given when the Attleboro City Council rejected Mayor Paul Herouxs request to use a portion of the citys record amount of free cash to build a performing arts pavilion in Highland Park?

Fridays story by Sun Chronicle reporter George W. Rhodes cites the lack of a public hearing on the mayors request as one of the reasons why the request was voted down.

We have a fiduciary responsibility to hear both sides, Council President Jay DiLisio said during the meeting.

Im not an expert on the Attleboro City Charter, but I do know its the councils responsibility to schedule and hold public hearings and its fair to ask why they did not in this case.

I would hope the mayor and councilors do their homework before the subject is broached again. For example, I would like to know how much the city has spent on outdoor athletic facilities over the past few decades compared to those for the performing arts.

I suspect the totals arent even close.

Peter Gay is the executive director of North Attleborough Community Television Inc. North TV. The views expressed in his column are not necessarily those of North TV. Reach him at pgay@ northtv.net.

See the article here:
Peter Gay: What if Obama had been behind Jan. 6? - The Sun Chronicle