For several weeks, the newsletters from my “representative” in the U.S. House of Representatives landed in my spam box. How apropos!

But then Saturday, February 7, 2026, rolled around and there it was! Right there in my inbox. The title of his newsletter jumped out at me… just as he and his pitiful staff intended:  “Americans’ Safety Is In Jeopardy– Courtesy Of Democrats.”

I took the bait. I did not want to read his newsletter because he has never said or written a word that was worthy of the time it took for me to listen or read. But, I thought, Okay, what’s he preaching about this time?

In case you wonder why I chose the word, “preaching,” it is because he is a Southern Baptist preacher. He used to be the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Charlotte. It’s unclear now as to why he is no longer on the staff there, but could it be the congregation got sick and tired of his far-right hypocrisy that runs counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ? I’m merely speculating. I know nothing of how grounded his congregants were in the New Testament.

Bear with me as I quote his newsletter from February 7:

“Dear Janet,

“Spot the hypocrisy: Democrats allowed the Obama administration to deport millions and raised no objections.

“An yet, when President Trump does the same, Democrats shut the government down because they want funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end.

“DHS is not just Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); it is: FEMA, ICE, U.S. Secret Service, etc. Democrats are willing to allow multiple vital organizations that provide SAFETY for Americans to be defunded.

“My Republican colleagues and I will not stand for this.”

My response to Representative Harris:

Dear Mark,

I assume I can call you Mark, since you addressed me by my given name. There is apparently no need to stand on ceremony.

Your gaslighting of your constituents continues to reach new lows. You forget that quite a few of us are old enough to remember the Obama Administration. Since you are unaware of the difference in deportations while Barack Obama was U.S. President and the deportations your constituents with eyes wide open have witnessed during the reign of Donald Trump, allow me to point out just a few of the differences:

1. Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not hide behind masks;
2. Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not drag American citizens from their cars and ship them off to detention centers hundreds of miles away;
3. Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not break the car windows of American citizens;
4. Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not murder American citizens who were driving cars; and
5. Deportation agents under the Obama Administration did not murder a nurse who was kneeling to come to the aid of a woman who had been knocked to the ground by masked, heavily armed, poorly trained deportation agents.

This list is just the tip of the iceberg.

So, Mark, I suggest you read 21^st century U.S. History; read the U.S. Constitution that you swore to protect, defend, and uphold; read the oath of office you swore to uphold so help you God; and read the New Testament while you’re at it, if you can read. You are against public education, so that indicates to me that perhaps you never learned how to read.

By the way, most of your constituents were educated in public schools and public colleges and universities, so we know some history, we studied the U.S. Constitution, and we know how to think for ourselves. We know a puppet of Donald Trump when we see one.

And, Mark, when you are willing and able to speak the truth to me and to Donald Trump’s face, I’ll be happy to listen to you… but not until then.

Sincerely,

Janet, an angry citizen of North Carolina’s Eighth Congressional District

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.