I was pleased to see the updated opinion page in last week’s paper. Three local folks with varied opinions who will apparently be a weekly feature.As a relatively new resident of Del Norte County, 3-1/2 years, I’m still learning about local issues & politics, but have fallen in love with the natural beauty and small town flavor of the North Coast.While I enjoyed reading all 3 guest columns, I was a bit taken aback by a couple of Mr. Gitlin’s comments. He mentioned “RINO” a few times referring to some local Republicans, and that label seems to be a dog whistle to the radical Trump wing of the GOP. The faction of that Party that still believes Trump is president and the violent criminals who participated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection are “patriots.”#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');He also appears to have issues with the Tolowa-Dee-Ni Tribe. The original Native Americans of this area who have suffered through some very hard times to finally reclaim some of their land that was stolen from them.I admit I am not yet aware of all the ins and outs of these local issues, but will be very interested in Mr. Gitlin’s future columns to see if he follows the Trump playbook.Lastly, I noticed in Mr. Gitlin didn’t include climate change and the recent attacks on a woman’s right to reproductive health in his list of concerns.I’m looking forward to reading more columns by all the guest columnists to learn more about my new home. Rick McNamerSmith River googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });