Dear Editor:
In 2016, when running for a second term as Senator, Kelly Ayotte initially endorsed Donald Trump for President. However, after the release of the “Hollywood Access” tapes and Trump’s disgusting comments about grabbing women by their genitalia, she withdrew her endorsement saying, “But the tapes that were released on Friday, the statements talked about in those tapes and the action talked about in those tapes, are fundamentally different. He is talking about assault on women.”
Ms. Ayotte showed some courage and integrity back then, but that was then and this is now. Kelly Ayotte is once again supporting Trump for President. Why is she now supporting a man who she said was “talking about assault on women?” Donald Trump has not changed, or somehow become less of a sexual predator. In fact, since 2016 more information has come out to make him look even worse than in 2016. Since then dozens of women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, dating back to the 1970s, including five Miss Teen U.S.A. contestents, and he has been found liable in court for the sexual abuse of E. Jean Carroll.
Kelly Ayotte has calculated that now supporting Trump is more politically beneficial than displaying any courage, integrity or respect for women. But sexual misconduct is not the only area where Ayotte has now lost her credibility and integrity. As New Hampshire’s former Attorney General and Chief Law Enforcement Officer you would think that she would stand up for the rule of law and justice. Unfortunately that is not the case. In fact she is endorsing a convicted felon who is still under indictment for many other criminal charges for President. So much for claiming to be tough on crime and standing up for the rule of law.
Kelly Ayotte has demonstrated that she cannot be trusted to keep her word. She will flip flop on important issues with the changing political winds. Whatever she states on issues like abortion, IVF, education, the environment or anything else cannot be accepted as being her true position once in office. Her past behavior is proof of that.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
Thanks for “bringing the receipts,” as they say, on Kelly Ayotte’s mercurial nature. She certainly is an expert at trimming her sails to catch a favorable wind.
Slightly less obviously, she can also do an uncanny impersonation of the two-faced Roman god Janus. She loves to blab about “not turning New Hampshire into Massachusetts”—meaning, as best we can tell, don’t tax millionaires—yet Massachusetts donors account for nearly 11 percent of her campaign contributions.
The Editor
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Old White Man Has Opinions on Abortion
To the Editor:
[Note: With time in short supply, we’re unable to critique the following text line-by-line. For reasons which become apparent in paragraph eight, below, we advise readers not to believe anything Don says in this letter. – The Ed.]
Abortions are legal in New Hampshire, don’t be misled. New Hampshire’s abortion law is similar to those in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
Like in New York, abortions are legal in New Hampshire for any reason in the first 24 weeks (essentially until “viability,” i.e., when a baby would likely survive outside the womb). Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts allow abortions until viability (essentially 24-26 weeks).
New Hampshire allows abortions after 24 weeks to save the life of the mother or in the case fetal anomalies. Treating miscarriages and things like ectopic pregnancies are healthcare, not abortions. Doctors know the difference.
New Hampshire’s abortion law is consistent with Roe v. Wade; it’s easy to read, see section 329:44 at: https://tinyurl.com/bdepfnyu.
Fewer than 10 percent of all U.S. abortions occur after the first trimester, and fewer than one percent occur after 20 weeks (https://tinyurl.com/2xxazve3).
While strongly advocating for human life and preferring that unwanted babies be saved for adoption, the New Hampshire Republican party believes today’s abortion law represents the will of the vast majority of New Hampshire Citizens. Our candidate for Governor, Kelly Ayotte, pledged to veto any attempt to further restrict abortions.
Democrats are trying to mislead people about abortion laws.
The Democrat term “Reproductive Rights” is simply a euphemism for killing healthy babies after viability and even after birth. [Emphasis added. – Ed.] Democrat politicians also want abortions without parental consent, thus allowing the cover up of rapes of underage girls. Is that what you want?
Democrats in Washington tried to legalize such extreme abortions in what they claimed, falsely, was just nationwide enactment of Roe v. Wade.
New Hampshire’s abortion law is quite liberal and it reflects the beliefs of most New Hampshire Citizens.
Don Ewing
Meredith, N.H.
Don:
As Rich pointed out in his letter, just above yours, Kelly Ayotte’s word is not to be trusted—any more than yours. “Reproductive Rights” = murdering babies? As the kids say, GTFOH.
At this stage of the game, anyone who takes a Republican’s word that he won’t trample further on peoples’ rights is nothing but a chump. That’s their whole game. That and picking peoples’ pockets.
The Editor
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Vote To Fight Climate Change
To the Editor:
Grass in the Great Plains is dry and crackling, large swaths of the eastern U.S. just got hit with 12-15 inches or more of rain in the aftermath of hurricane Helene, a gigantic category 4 storm that hit the gulf coast. In Nepal there are torrential rains and floods. Phoenix had 113 days straight of 100°-plus weather.
The oceans are rising, islands have had to be evacuated. Salt marshes, vital to the web of life, are dying. The ice caps and glaciers are melting, and the melt rate is steadily increasing. Tick and mosquito borne diseases are spreading farther north as the climate changes and the hosts move into areas where they formerly could not survive. Species are dying off at a faster rate. Coral reefs, with their abundance of life are dying from the increased ocean acidification.
Deserts spread as severe drought covers more and more land world-wide. Whole populations face starvation. In N.H. the winter tourist industry is hurting—less snow and temperatures too high to make artificial snow. Meanwhile, vast forests around the world have burned in giant walls of flame, where water-deprived trees are tinder for any match or spark.
And, the Republican Party calls Man Made Climate Change a hoax! They promise to increase production of oil and gas and end spending on wind and solar projects.
Democrats on the other hand, have taken and will continue to take a strong role in combating climate change. Vote Democratic in this election! Your future depends on it.
Michael Frandzel
Portsmouth, N.H.
Michael:
Your point was certainly driven home this week. We have subscribers in western North Carolina, one of them right in the heart of the flood zone. Ed, if you get this, please let us know how you’re doing.
The Editor
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When Did Ayotte Tell The Truth? Ever?
To the Editor:
For years Democratic candidates told voters that Republicans wanted to take away women’s right to an abortion. Unfortunately, many thought Democrats were crying wolf or they did not have to worry as the Supreme Court would protect them. That protection ended when Trump appointed three more anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court.
Now it is up to the voters in each state to protect themselves by making sure their representatives do not take away their rights. Don’t believe any Republican who tells you not to worry in New Hampshire. That it won’t happen here. It has not happened yet because the GOP held such a narrow majority and Governor Sununu knew passing a ban or shortening the time women could get an abortion would hurt his party.
Sununu won’t be governor next year. Kelly Ayotte might be. As a senator she voted for a nationwide abortion ban. She also helped shepherd Trump’s anti abortion Supreme Court nominee through the Senate approval hearing. Given the chance she will end a woman’s right to choose despite anything she is saying now. In 2016 she said she could never support Donald Trump because she had a daughter. If she was not honest about putting her daughter above politics, why would you think she is being honest now?
This November, vote to protect the rights of yourself, your wife, daughters, granddaughters, aunts and nieces. Vote for Democrats.
Walter Hamilton
Portsmouth N.H.
Walter:
Newspapers and the lesser media have let politicians lie without consequence for so long that some—self-sorting onto the far right end of the political spectrum—now see uttering unchallenged falsehoods as their God-given right.
We invite offended Republicans to complain all they want about any perceived failure on our part to adopt the brain-dead “both-sides” caveat currently in vogue among our less-seasoned colleagues.
The Editor
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Was It a Fake Assassination?
Dear Editor,
Disparaging rhetoric aside, I don’t think the last assassination attempt was an assassination attempt. There are 12 Trump Golf-owned properties in the United States, two in Scotland, and one in the United Arab Emirates. Seven of the current Trump Golf-owned/managed properties are open to the public for tee times, and nine clubs are private.
Apparently, Trump’s stop to play golf was unscheduled—a last-minute decision. Trump has several golf courses in Florida and the guy was camped out for 12 hours. Perhaps that’s all he was doing, camping out for free until he was caught. As for the rifle, Florida is an open-carry state, lots of men carry their rifles with them. But, of course, camping out—free-loading on a Trump property—doesn’t create headlines. An assassination attempt runs around the world as a major news story. And Trump’s martyrdom is cemented and commended. Poor guy, if only Harris weren’t soooo mean.
Genevieve Harris-Fraser
Orange, Mass.
Genevieve:
Our initial reaction to your first sentence was “Uh-oh, where’s this going?” Then we realized you weren’t talking about Trump’s first assassination fiasco, in Pennsylvania, but his second one, in Florida.
Let’s face it, the guy at the top of the GOP ticket puts himself above everyone and everything else—and yet, there is nothing to him.
Take such a pathological specimen, throw in half a billion in ill-gotten gains from his crooked, racist father, and you’ve created a black hole of chaos that operates in reverse: he exudes, he projects, he vomits nihilism. It’s a wonder he’s able to appear in public at all.
The Editor
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GOP: “Here—Have a National Sales Tax!”
Dear Editor,
Would someone please explain to the 75 or so million who plan on voting for the blabbering baboon exactly what a tariff is, and why all of us, not the Chinese, will pay up to $4,000 more for the “stuff” we buy every year? I’m retired and on a fixed income, it’s not in my budget.
John C. Ficor
Richmond, Va.
John:
Once again we see the consequences of the failure to teach basic financial literacy in our schools.
The Editor
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Republicans vs. Rationality
To the editor;
One of the most worrisome aspects of the presidential campaign is the disconnect between Republican strategy and truth. Led by Donald Trump, the Party has offered a litany of lies and half-truths about immigrants, crime, foreign affairs and economic conditions while offering little in the way of substantive policy solutions. Of course, lying is not new to Trump. Deception is fundamental to his character and with his emergence as Republican czar, lying has become a feature rather than a bug of Republican policy.
The foundational lie of MAGA Republicans is that Trump lost the 2020 election because of massive voter fraud. Despite overwhelming facts that contradict the falsehood, MAGA voters support the lie while sycophantic Republican officials use it to justify voter suppression efforts. Additional MAGA fabrications include the disparagement of immigrants’ motivation and character including the recent farcical slander that legal Haitian immigrants are eating the pets of the citizens of Springfield, Ohio. Trump often describes a dystopian vision of crime running rampant in American cities even though statistics show that violent crime has been declining since the end of the pandemic. He claims that illegal migrants are responsible for high crime rates despite data that shows that the crime rate among immigrant communities is less than in the native population. Trump consistently distorts the facts on economic conditions, falsely claiming that the U.S. is in decline. Meanwhile, data confirms that GDP growth is strong, surpassing the rest of the industrialized world, unemployment remains low, and wages have exceeded the inflation rate for several months. He blames Biden and Harris for inflation apparently ignorant that post-COVID inflation is a global phenomenon due primarily to global supply chain disruptions. Republican lies taken together constitute a propaganda campaign reminiscent of Goebbels or Stalin.
In a rational world, Trump’s persistent lying would disqualify him from consideration for high office. Nevertheless, he retains the support of MAGA voters and officials who either cannot or will not separate falsehoods from truth. These individuals have substituted party loyalty and an uncritical acceptance of demagoguery for the critical thinking necessary to evaluate the truth of political statements and the qualifications of Republican candidates. We have seen this anti-rational mindset before among COVID vaccine deniers. By the end of 2020, widely available data had proven that the vaccine was safe and highly effective. The rapid distribution of the vaccine saved millions of lives. Yet a sizeable segment of skeptics rejected the data and refused inoculation, believing false information provided by crackpot internet conspiracy theories or disreputable spokespersons. The Kaiser Foundation estimates that misinformation spread about the COVID vaccine resulted in approximately 230,000 unnecessary COVID deaths. Most deaths were suffered by those with rightist political beliefs and Evangelical Christians.
Facts are real and they have consequences whether making decisions regarding a life-saving vaccine or democratic elections. Misinformation can threaten health in a pandemic and threaten the survival of a democracy. Political loyalty and demagoguery are not substitutes for the critical thinking necessary for a thorough process of evaluating information to separate fact from fiction. Citizens must evaluate the policies and character of candidates using knowledge based in truth. When one candidate and Party relies upon lies and deception, they distort truth and prevent objective evaluation of their positions. Without factual analysis, elections become exercises in tribal loyalty, exactly the situation that Trump and MAGA candidates seek. They should not be considered serious candidates for high office.
Robert D. Russell, Ph.D.
Harrisburg, Pa.
Robert:
We couldn’t agree more. It began, as we see it, with Dwight Eisenhower accomodating Billy Graham’s messianic ambitions in order to pick up the rube vote. From there the descent into madness proceeded like a Hemingway bankruptcy: gradually, then suddenly. The critical question, of course, is how can this catastrophic condition be corrected?
Republican party leaders could begin the process by finding their courage, confessing their sins, and correcting their errors. That seems like a pretty big ask from a gang which has thus far demonstrated a spectacular level of cowardice.
Perhaps at this point the only solution is for Democrats to copy a move from Conan’s playbook. We’re talking the Barbarian, here, not the late night host: “Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women.” At the ballot box, of course.
The Editor
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MAGA: The Opposite of Democracy
Dear Editor,
In the 1840s, Irish Catholics immigrated to America in huge numbers and provoked a secret protest movement known as the Know Nothing Party, founded in 1844 as a precursor to the Republican party.
Know Nothings told of a conspiracy by Catholics to overthrow Protestant-based American government. This was an early version of today’s Republican claim that Hispanic Catholic immigrants will kick whites and other native-born Americans out of jobs and power in America.
MAGA, or Know Nothing II, is thus really a Make America Hate Again party, as they are promoting both racial and religious hatred of Hispanics and religious hatred of Muslim civilians in Palestine.
MAGA also asks us to throw our support to an authoritarian ruler who tells us he will do all our thinking for us and save us from all our problems single-handedly. All of this is the opposite of democracy.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
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Home-Grown Proposals for Downtown
Bonjour!
What’s on the menu today (in no particular order)?
Fire Department needs $
Beautification of Market Square downtown $
Water resources & treatment of $
Affordable housing $
New Police Station $
School budget, Teacher salaries $
Widening sidewalks $
With things changing so quickly, we might need a new city growth plan. Budget for: air and water safety, natural resources, zoning, codes, space, refurbishing buildings vs. new construction: open space, commercial & residential space.
If only we could keep our eye on the ball and finish what we need before spending on beautifying downtown Market Square and widening our sidewalks. We are paying consultants for ideas—a makeover of Market Square? That can’t be!
Let’s hear from our citizens first, with plenty of notice, getting the word out to them to attend meetings.
Let’s put our efforts into essentials: spend more time and money on affordable housing, a new Police station, and Fire Dept. needs, teacher salaries… climate change.
Why not increase safety on our sidewalks by spending more on police presence; not allowing scooters to park on sidewalks, don’t allow A frames on sidewalks in front of businesses, and keeping crosswalks safe with more oversight and signage. Wouldn’t that help the cause and save money?
Beautify with planting more trees and foliage downtown. This would save money and make it healthier.
I want to thank T. Stephan McCarthy for his great letter [in the Herald?] Friday.
Richard Smith (Cuzin Richard)
Portsmouth , N.H.
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Our Eastern European Ancestors Would Oppose Russia
To the Editor:
Anyone who experienced the conditions in Eastern Europe during the Cold War under the Soviet Union should not support Russia’s war against Ukraine. If you were born in one of these countries (as I was) or have ancestors who came from these nations, you owe it to them to oppose the Russian invasion and any political candidate who supports the Russians.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, European countries including the Four Powers: Russia, U.S.A., Britain, and France signed agreements with all the European countries, both East and West, finalizing their borders (including that of Ukraine). That is how newly liberated countries, such as Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Croatia, along with Hungary, Poland, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, and Montenegro, became sovereign nations, with sovereign borders.
All of them celebrated liberation from Russian domination, and developed their own relationships with Russia. Most decided within 10 years to join NATO to protect their country. And then when Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden, and Finland (two historically neutral countries) quickly joined NATO as well. While there is much to admire about the Russian people, their governments have historically been ruthless, undemocratic, and always a threat to Eastern Europe.
The famous Hungarian poet, Petoefi Sandor, is known for his heroic poem about freedom, which includes the phrases “On your feet Hungarians… let us swear never to be slaves again.”
Let us not allow Mr. Putin to recreate the Great Russian Empire again, but stand up against him.
Peter Somssich, Former N.H. State Representive
Portsmouth, N.H.
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Let Us Not Break Faith
Dear Editor:
On NPR I heard male, Mid-West voters state what’s important: to one—lower gasoline prices “because I truck horses to rodeos”—and important to the other—I’ll vote for “higher profit returns on my beef cattle.” Forgotten is history.
Came to mind what my 8th grade social studies teacher had us memorize, the post-WW1 poem, “In Flanders Fields.” Those soldiers who “had lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow” make both plea and threat! “From failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die / We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields.” That torch, pesky and persistent, needs to keep authoritarianism and intolerance down, democracy front and center, up.
The authoritarian leaning of Donald Trump, with his call for “America First,” is dangerous. Abandon our allies. Let dictator Putin “do whatever the hell he wants to do.” Don’t heed laws, including those promoting justice and equality. Calling him dangerous to democracy now are appointees from his administration: Jim Mattis, H.R. McMaster, John Bolton. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, was Trump’s Secretary of Defense from 2017-2019. McMaster, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General, was Trump’s U.S. National Security Advisor from 2017-2018. John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. under G. W. Bush, was Trump’s National Security Advisor from 2018-2019. They call him unfit to be Commander in Chief.
Lynn Rudmin Chong
Sanbornton, N.H.
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Anonymous Is Ashamed, Not Amused
To all Newspapers:
I am sending this to you as I could see the debate was so Biased and Rigged and I as an American am SO ASHAMED OF abc leadership; David muir; lindsey davis and the owners of abc network which I believe is disney world people. The small case letters DENOTES my respect for those people. How could they slap the American people in the face with such a presentation that was so biased and stupid beyond stupid with NOT showing FAIRNESS and being so Prejudiced towards 1 of the candidates. I had almost decided to vote for harris BUT NOT ANYMORE.
Those people proved to me what kind of leadership they are trying to put on the American people. They must think that most Americans are really stupid and could not see what they were doing. And PLEASE POST THIS LETTER.
I am an American; my relations fought in almost all the wars since the United States was born.
So, yes, I am angry at that those people WHO are trying to destroy America AND that is exactly what they are trying to do. But you know what, we are the greatest country on this earth because we have been sustained by Our Heavenly Father. But, when they tear this country down if He allows it to happen then those leaders will be ruled by other leaders from other countries.
I believe that this letter represents the way 10,000 people feel if not more. And this person will now vote for Pres. Trump because of that so called debate that was rigged from the start.
An American
[Photocopied letter, postmarked September 13th at Jacksonville, Fla., addressed to “The Newpshire Gazette.”]
An:
Thank you for writing. We do like to hear from those with a different perspective. We do not generally publish anonymous letters, as we consider them to be cowardly. In your case we will make an exception, perhaps because we cannot always keep our latent cruelty in check. However, we will not be mocking you. That would be too easy.
Also, we suspect that this artifact, which presents itself as a cri de coeur from a pure-hearted patriot, may not be genuine. Your idiosyncratic capitalization and a rambling line of argument quickly conjures up the image of a modest, down-home good old boy. What are the odds, though, that such a person spontaneously decides to mount a national letter-writing campaign so comprehensive that it reaches us? It’s easier to believe it was mass-produced in some Americans for Prosperity-style boiler room.
The Editor