Between the lines

Regarding “Separating families at border is cruel, gratuitous and un-Methodist” (Page A3, Thursday), every time I read one of Erica Grieder’s politically orientated commentaries I get the impression that even while criticizing the hard right, isolationist Republican agenda, she exhibits a subtle bias of Trump/ Republican support that surfaces periodically, unintentionally perhaps, but there nevertheless. For example, she chastises U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions for overseeing family separations, while in the same paragraph indicates that President Donald Trump was “outraged and appalled” at the policy. All I heard him say is “I don’t like it.” That’s like saying you don’t like broccoli but eat it anyway because it’s good for you.

She also indicates that Trump should fire both Sessions and Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior policy adviser, for “using his presidency to advance their agenda” when in fact both appointees are carrying out Trump’s agenda to the best of their abilities.

Furthermore, Grieder seldom says anything positive about Democratic policy and when she does, she qualifies it by giving it negative implications, as demonstrated in her comments that the Democratic approach to the immigration crises would “arguably constitute amnesty.” She could just as well have said that it constitutes a more humane approach. Mark Turner, Houston