To the Editor,
If you’re looking for the Antichrist look no further than His Excellency: the antithesis of Jesus, who preached love, compassion, acceptance, truthfulness, fidelity, and humility among other beatitudes; the epitome of Lucifer, a faithless, deceitful, hate filled narcissist devoted to demeaning, misleading, and corrupting.
So shame on all who identify as Christians who voted Lucifer over their professed Savior; were Speaker Johnson to read, and understand, the forgoing, it might occur to him that should the Rapture to which he seems to so look forward materialize he will likely find himself among those the Celestial Finger flicks into the fire.
Shame, too, on all veterans who voted for a man who evaded service in the manner of the privileged ever since Washington, who disrespected veterans not only en masse, but individually within his own party (“I prefer heroes who weren’t captured), and who is compromising the integrity and effectiveness of the armed forces with his picks for his cabinet of clowns.
Shame as well as on all in law enforcement who voted for a man who within days of his inauguration released hundreds convicted of assaulting police officers, who flouts the justice system and, convicted felon that he remains, so far, has no regard for what is legal.
Shame, shame on every woman who voted for a man who has already set about legislating their bodies and even legislating them out of positions of responsibility and authority in the military, and for assuring that the children they bear, whether by choice or force, will, thanks to other picks for his cabinet of clowns, be duly indoctrinated (and not, heaven forfend, inoculated).
As for those who thought gas and food prices excessive under the former president, they will pay at the pump and checkout as the effects of His Excellency’s tariff and mass deportation policies become manifest (oh, you thought the foods with which you stuff your face were all harvested by John Deere machines; not so, much of that’s done by immigrants paid less than minimum wage and subjected to barely human living conditions).
With respect to Republicans, shame, alas, is lost on the shameless. Those with consciences have retired or left the party or been sidelined; how does one shame the likes of Senator Tommy Tuberville, who, professing to decry violence against police even as he’s shown video footage of same, states, “I didn’t see it.”
These are folks who in confirmation hearings cannot answer “yes” and “no” questions, who simply repeat stock phrases like the toadies they’ve become. It might take a miracle, but as long as we’re entertaining notions of salvation and perdition, why not posit the possibility of some subset of that party blatantly threatened with having the fortune of some rich witch—pardon me, Wiccans, I used the wrong consonant—deployed in the unseating of any who dare stray from the party line respond by leaving that party.
And as for those who parrot the MAGA chant, when has America ever been great? When it engaged in genocide against the native inhabitants? When it built its early economy on the backs of imported slaves? When it brought in Chinese laborers to build its railroads and then tried to expel them? When it . . . need I go on?
America has had its moments, but “great?” Perhaps if our revolution had failed and we were today still a colony of Great Britain we might have become as great as Canada. But we are where we are and may the Great Spirit, or God, or Allah, or Hayyi Rabbi, or Ra, or Bhagavan, or Xwedê, or Khu, or Odin or Thor, or those monitoring the devolution of Earth from the Mother Ship sequestered behind Mars preserve us.
John Simon
Portsmouth, N.H.
John:
How about Ptah, the ancient Egyptian god of creation?
Do MAGAns suffer from an irony deficiency, making them unable to see their own internal contradictions? If science was legal, maybe we could find out.
The Editor
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The Signs Were There
Dear Editor,
Donald Trump’s out-of-the-gate national policy agenda involves removal of security details for enemies; firing of FBI employees who did their job; sweeping up non-criminal aliens along with criminals; removing media privileges for good guys and giving them to bad guys; a choice of trade war with friendly nations or conquest and annexation of them by means of the new “lethality” in our military; illegally impounding federal spending on programs that irritate him like infrastructure, clean energy, and international aid programs; undermining the nation’s hallowed federal civil service to make career employees into political minions; blaming random events on DEI… .
And he is just getting started with the sacred work of the new Republic of Trump.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
Kimball:
“The sacred work… .” Exactly—though it’s a bit odd considering the man’s penchant for fornication.
The handwriting was on the wall, to use another Biblical reference, at the CPAC gathering where believers took selfies next to a golden idol of the guy who has since claimed that God saved him from assassination so he could save America—and woe betide us heathens, who through disbelief have forsaken any claims to mercy. At least, so believe the followers of his cult.
Apparently they never read the Book of Daniel: “You, O king… [beheld] a great image! … whose splendor was excellent… its form was awesome [its] head was of fine gold… its feet … of clay.”
Nebuchadnezzar II, in his wisdom, placed the prophet Daniel “over the province of Babylon.”
The Lord of Mar-a-Lardo just put Elon Musk in charge of the Treasury’s check-writing apparatus.
The Editor
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Straight to Hell in a Fast Handbasket
Dear Editor,
Well, you gotta hand it to him. Hitler took 53 days, our guy did it in a mere 14. Musk’s got our money, and everything and everyone else belongs to him. Well done, sir and Sieg Heil!!
John C. Ficor
Richmond, Va.
John:
It was to be expected. Did you think our Fearless Leader was keeping that volume of Adolf Hitler’s speeches next to his bed for decorative purposes?
The Editor
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Our New, Bible-Based Foreign Policy
To the N.H. Gazette:
Yes, indeed, “interesting times” doesn’t begin to describe the new Administration.
In the last few weeks, I’ve learned that two likely ambassadorial positions use the Bible as their reference for diplomatic decisions. Mike Huckabee (likely the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel) and Elise Stefanik (likely the next U.S. Ambassador to the UN), both stated they believe the current state of Israel should encompass all of biblical “Judea and Samaria,” terms not currently used by geographers, citing The Bible.
Do they have Biblical texts to justify renaming the Gulf of Mexico also?
We are truly in the age of magical thinking, à la Alice in Wonderland.
Beth McCarthy
Tamworth, N.H.
Beth:
Motorists who rely on their car’s GPS run the risk of driving off non-existent bridges.
Surely, though, when navigating international relations today, we can rely on the Bible—after all, it’s God’s word.
Things could be worse—at least our State Religion is monotheistic.
The Editor
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Down the Highway to Tyranny
Dear Editor:
During the campaign Trump was asked if he would be a dictator. He replied “no, other than day one.” Unfortunately, like in the movie “Groundhog Day,“ the day-one dictatorship will continue to repeat itself every day for months and years to come. On the first day one Trump violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution by issuing an executive order ending “Birthright Citizenship.” A Federal Judge nominated by President Reagan called the order “blatantly unconstitutional.” On subsequent day one’s he has issued executive orders that are in violation of various laws including the law regarding the firing of Inspectors General. This law requires that the President give Congress a 30-day notice before firing an inspector general and provide “substantive rationale, including detailed case-specific reasons” for removal actions. Trump ignored these requirements He also violated the law that prohibits the President from impounding Congressionally approved spending when he stopped spending on the bipartisan infrastructure law passed during the Biden Administration, as well as having the Defense Department end all foreign aid approved by Congress except for military assistance to Israel and Egypt. As he did in 2017, he took little time to violate his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.
As we have already seen, Trump’s dictatorial goals will be extended far beyond his “day one” pronouncement, and there is little that can be done now to stop it. Any President has already been prevented from being prosecuted while in office, and the Supreme Court went even farther, deciding that a President is immune from crimes committed as “official acts.” Anything a President does could be considered an “official act,” leaving Trump free to do almost anything he wishes without any legal consequences.
But, you say, he can be impeached, convicted and removed from office. True, however, with Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress, the chance of him being impeached is small, and even if impeached, the chance of him being convicted by the Senate is almost zero. Even if he were to be convicted, since he has all the legal protections stated above, he could ignore any impeachment and conviction by refusing to leave office, by declaring martial law, suspending the Constitution, and using the Insurrection Act to have the military enforce his orders. And, with his hand picked loyal servants in control of the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and other major Cabinet departments, his illegal orders will be faithfully carried out.
I am certain that some will object and criticize my comments, saying that they are too pessimistic and that it can’t happen here. For the sake of the nation I hope they are right. However, a study of history will show that the scenario I painted is exactly how dictators have taken control of other democracies. Considering the current makeup of the Supreme Court and the Congress we can not expect that our traditional constitutional checks and balances will protect us as has been the case for almost 250 years. If we think it can’t happen here we only have to look at what has already happened, and to ignore it is being dangerously naive. Denial and complacency will not change the fact that we are speeding down the highway to tyranny, and all the exits have been blocked.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
Sounds bad, when you put it that way. [Sorry, but around here, as the situation worsens the humor darkens.]
We do have some more hopeful thoughts, which we’re reserving for the Rant.
The Editor
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Navy Vet Demands Action From ACLU
[No salutation]
President Trump’s order to reverse “Birth Right Citizenship” is a legal and righteous interpretation of America’s Constitutional laws.
… “illegal migrants” … “Right to an American Citizenship” … 14th Amendment … “Tortious Interference” … America’s established Legal Immigration laws … DEFRAUD the American people’s Rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness … the financial burdens of that child’s existence.
… 1856 Dred Scott decision … 3/5ths of a person … DACA … “Tortious Interference” … the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations … I demand the American Civil Liberty’s Union file a Writ of Certiori [sic] with the Supreme Court and present the case that President Trump’s Executive Order is LEGAL and CONGRUENT, with all U.S. Constitutional laws, protecting the American people, our American representative government and the U.S. Constitution, as per our first established act of 1776 “Self Government” in accordance with all our Rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
I took an oath as a member of the U.S. military to defend the U.S. Constitution from “ALL Enemies, foreign and domestic,” and this writing affirms my continuing commitment to that oath.
Very Respectfully, CTI2 Jacques Porche, U.S.N., Ret.
Las Vegas, Nev.
Jacques:
Your Navy crypto rating is all fine and dandy, but in our editorial judgment it does not qualify you to wield legal jargon. That stuff is bad enough in the hands of professionals.
As you will see from the many ellipses, we have reduced the bulk of your letter by half; please don’t complain, it hasn’t lost much in the way of coherence.
It could have been worse. Our first thought was to simply 86 your letter. We retrieved it out of admiration for your audacity in making such a demand of the ACLU. We’d never be that presumptuous, and we’ve got a membership card around here somewhere.
The Editor
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Well, Governor Ayotte… ?
Dear Editor:
As a result of the tariffs Mr.Trump imposed on Canada, Irving Oil, a Canadian Company which supplies much of New Hampshire’s home heating oil stated that their prices would rise to cover the tariff. This means that thousands of New Hampshire residents will be paying much more to heat their homes this winter. Irving Oil will not be paying this tariff, New Hampshire consumers will be experiencing what Mr. Trump now admits will create “some pain.” Of course the pain will not be felt by Mr. Trump or his billionaire friends, but by the average Granite Stater struggling to make ends meet.
Another potential financial threat to New Hampshire will be the loss of tourism revenue. Canadians are very angry at the U.S. because of Trump’s tariffs, as witnessed by the crowd booing at a recent professional basketball game in Canada when our national anthem was played. Each year according to Plymouth University over a half million Canadians visit New Hampshire, spending on average $250 per person. In addition, Canada is the number one market for New Hampshire goods, with exports of $1.4 billion to Canada annually. New Hampshire imports $2 billion in goods from Canada each year. A trade war with Canada will seriously hurt the New Hampshire economy and our residents.
Governor Kelly Ayotte endorsed Mr. Trump for President, even though she was aware of his promise to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. As such, she is partially responsible for the consequences of that support. What plans does Governor Ayotte and the Republican-controlled legislature have to ease the burden of the increased cost of heating oil for New Hampshire residents? Will the Governor recommend that the Legislature increase its fuel assistance program to help families? Will the Governor and legislature provide funding to support a damaged tourism industry this summer and beyond? Will the Governor send a message to Mr. Trump telling him that his actions are hurting her State and request that he reconsider his actions? I will not hold my breath.
Elections have consequences, and what we are seeing now is just the beginning of the dire consequences that are yet to come.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
It ain’t easy being Kelly. Her smiling predecessor left her with a ticking budget time bomb, and now the guy she backed is about to blow up the economy with his ham-handed whims.
Given the position she’s in, you might think we’d be able to rustle up a little empathy for her, but no. She rose to prominence by putting a figurative rope around a Black man’s neck. Whatever her fate, she deserves it.
The Editor
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Political Parties Are Hiding Secret Agendas
To the Editor:
I am struck by the fact neither major political party wants to disclose the real reason for the huge battle over the Southern border today. The history of the United States reveals that immigrants from northern Europe tended to join the Republican party and immigrants from southern Europe tended to join the Democrat party. Therefore, each party has long wanted to restrict immigrants that build up the other party and welcome immigrants that build up their own party’s dominance.
Today, immigrants from south of our border tend to join the Democrat party, worship in Catholic churches, and often require public welfare services while they are boot-strapping themselves out of poverty. Immigrants from Europe and Asia today tend to be more inclined to the Republican party with its self-help orientation and many lean Protestant. Politics in a democracy is a numbers game, people. The MAGA party believes in big business, not big government, and it needs the votes of the religious Protestants who work for big business. Democrats believe in big government, not big business, and they need Catholic immigrants from the south who come from nations reliant on big government.
Trump’s war against immigrants is therefore only partly a racist policy. In large part it is an economic class issue. The big corporate donors of the MAGA party are billionaires and centi-millionaires, who, like the Robber Barons of the 19th century, do not want to have to share the wealth with newcomers or to suffer attempts by the opposing party to control corporate monopoly, usurious interest rates, and the current regressive tax rate structure. They are jealous and hateful of anyone that joins the other political party and anyone that is not evangelical Protestant. They also want to assure the poorer members of their party that they won’t have to compete for jobs.
Trump wants to stack the political deck long-term in favor of a privileged class in America, and that is why so many rich Republicans have converted over to his side. They dig the idea of becoming a protected, untouchable class with immunity from prosecution for any of their misdeeds.
This is what the prophet Isaiah railed against in once-democratic ancient Israel, when the wealthy landowners turned into an aristocratic class and lorded it over the rest of the country. They had no empathy for the poor and for immigrants from the north like the Samaritans, from the west like Philistia, from the east like Moab and Ammon, but welcomed immigrants from Egypt where the people embraced a wealthy class. Their only concern was land, money, and their special privileges in the discriminatory social structure. Their political interests were inherited from the political party that Aaron headed among those who left Pharaoh’s Egypt. Aaron’s party wanted to gild their culture with a golden calf to show their solidarity with oriental kings and their aristocratic and oligarchic tendencies.
A privileged class is also what happened in England when the French conquerors encouraged a class of dukes and barons to sprout in the soil of England to complement and support the new dynasty of Norman kings. This new nobility in England wanted to lord it over the middle and poorer classes there just like wealthy MAGA Republicans do today.
In like manner, Democrats don’t want America or even their own rank and file to know why they are so liberal on immigration. They don’t want them to know their equally crass agenda of boosting their party’s power, boosting the growth of big government in Washington D.C., and consolidating the personal power of their party leaders. Many of our early immigrants to America came from southern European countries like Italy and Greece and those immigrants wanted big government here to mimic the political and religious climate of the places they left. Democrats want that trend to continue well into the 21st century, this time with Hispanics.
Both parties need to come clean on their secret agendas and start compromising with each other in the interests of the survivability of the republic and of our whole commonwealth, not just the interests of their own constituencies and their own personal power. They need to act like the Congress did on the border security bill that Trump killed. They need to resurrect that kind of bipartisan action before the current Oval Office administration destroys every last one of the Constitution’s seven articles and a host of its amendments as well.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
Kimball:
We don’t know whether to applaud the broad vision you’ve brought to this topic, or dismiss it as an overwrought case of imposing a predetermined pattern onto random historical events.
We can say this: the Democrats have shown, and continue to show, a willingness to negotiate with the devil himself, whereas the Republicans appear to have lost their grip on reality altogether.
The Editor
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Portsmouth Democratic Roundtable Slated for Feb. 11th
Portsmouth Democrats hold a roundtable at a local restaurant on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. The next will be on February 11th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. It’s an opportunity for new residents and old friends to socialize without any agenda or rigid structure. New residents can meet those involved in the Portsmouth Democrats and learn of opportunities to get involved, suggest new ideas, or be supportive of planned initiatives. For location and other information contact Peter Somssich at (603) 436-5382 (No Texts Please) or email peter.somssich@gmail.com. In March the Roundtable will be held on March 11th.
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Portsmouth Democratic Committee Elections, Feb. 20th
The Portsmouth Democrats will be holding an Election Caucus to elect members of the Executive Committee for a 2-year term on Feb. 20th at 6:30 p.m. by Zoom.
Only Democrats registered to vote in Portsmouth are eligible to run for an office and to vote at this caucus. All Democrats are encouraged to attend.
There are 24 officers to be elected. They include a Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, and a Secretary, along with four officers from each of the five Wards (Ward-Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary). Only registered Democrats in Portsmouth who live in a particular Ward are allowed to run for or vote for Ward officers. The Ward is identified by the polling station that a voter uses to cast a ballot: Ward 1, New Franklin School; Ward 2, Middle School; Ward 3, Senior Center; Ward 4, Dondero School; Ward 5, Little Harbor School.
To register for the caucus, both to vote and to run for a position, please contact the Portsmouth Democrats at: portsmouthnhdems@gmail.com.
For information or questions please contact Peter Somssich (member Portsmouth Democratic Outreach Committee) at (603) 436-5382 (No Texts Please) or peter.somssich@gmail.com.
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From the Portsmouth Halloween Parade
This was a dark week for our community, and not the darkness that we normally revel in. We have lost two people that had ties to the Portsmouth Halloween Parade. Tom Coletta was a larger than life presence in the local music scene and known for both being the lead singer for the local rock bands Ghandi’s Lunchbox and Jupiter 2 as well as a living encyclopedia of music knowledge that he has been dispensing for decades at the local music stores Rock Bottom Records and then Bull Moose. He was our Grand Marshall in 2008 and supported the PHP by performing at the annual “I Gotta Rock” show, sometimes even when his band wasn’t booked. Heather Lessard was the proprietor of Tulips in downtown Portsmouth, a shop that featured art by local artisans. She was a poet and was the host for a time of Beat Night, an ongoing monthly performance of poetry and jazz. She was a supporter of, and a Minion (volunteer) for the parade for many seasons. The two of them were true pillars of the community and the void left by their passing will be felt by many for a long time to come.