I will try to address Mr. Ready’s letter, which was published in the Feb. 23 edition of the Bulletin, in an orderly, comprehensive fashion.

First, please reference the First Amendment: I don’t have to shut up.

Second, not being an elected official, I am in no position to govern. If you would like to nominate me for some office, I am open to the possibility.

Third, I don’t whine or make ad hominem attacks, unlike many liberals who seem to make a habit of it.

Fourth, I don’t beat dead horses — I profess my beliefs, and will continue as long as I have the power to do so.

President Donald Trump has made tremendous progress cutting taxes and burdensome regulations, appointing judges, and decimating ISIS.

He has been blocked in certain areas by threats of filibuster and lack of cooperation by Senate Democrats. He made a very generous offer to resolve the “Dreamer” problem, a problem created by Obama fiat. President Trump was well within his constitutional power and existing law to expel the “Dreamers” if he so wished, unconstitutional decisions by liberal judges notwithstanding.

The president’s policies have sparked economic growth, increased employment, spurred increased investment by companies large and small, and allowed Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money.

I will stick to my “quaint, nostalgic ‘Reaganesque’ principles.”  They serve much better than the failed Keynesian and other leftist economic models (see Venezuela for a current example). Free markets actually work to improve people’s lives.

Mr. Ready, your reference to a church shooting was more than just snarky — it was grossly inappropriate. I would remind you that it was a trained NRA member who stopped the Texas church murderer from committing further carnage.

As for having God on my side, as an atheist, I have no position on that. I also have no problem being respectful of those who do. I judge people by their character and actions, not by the color of their skin or their religious beliefs.

The Justice Department statistics show that illegal aliens commit crimes at a much higher rate than American citizens and legal residents. As a recent arrival from Long Island with numerous law enforcement contacts, I can attest to the damage done by the MS-13 gang, most of whose crimes are committed against fellow “immigrants.”

Statistics also show that half of all mass shootings (including the Orlando night club attack) are committed by immigrants. We need to tighten up our borders and our admissions policy.

Mr. Ready calls anyone opposed to open borders a racist.

His ignorance of me and my situation is no barrier to his loathing.

As it happens, my wife is the daughter of legal immigrants from Colombia, South America. Unlike Sen. Elizabeth Warren, my wife has DNA testing results that prove her Hispanic and Native American heritage.

Is it difficult, Mr. Ready, to wrap your head around my belief that a country has the right, and indeed the duty, to secure its borders and protect its citizenry while I simultaneously love my wife, children and grandchildren, despite their “darker skins?”

My ire, thank you very much, remains firmly turned against totalitarian, murderous ideologies, whether they are called national socialism, communism or fascism, and even against the “soft” tyranny of Barack Obama’s executive order administration.

Eugene Comiskey, Tryon