To the Editor:
On the day the first phase of the ceasefire was signed, did you notice the devious smirks on the faces of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu?
Both these “peacemakers” knew they had pulled off a peace propaganda coup for the moment, but the deep dark recesses of their hearts could not help but rejoice at the inevitable crumbling of peace that would come in either the very short term of weeks, or at worst in the months or the next few years to come.
Trump and Netanyahu do not have love in their hearts for Palestinians. They have everlasting hate. And why, pray tell, do Christians and Jews hate Muslims so much?
A very few commentators have rightly pointed to the religious chauvinism characteristic of both Jews and Christians.
All three denominations of the Abrahamic monotheistic religion claim to have the fullest revelation of God’s will ever given to humankind. Some 400 years after the last Jewish prophet spoke to ancient Israel, Jews decided that God was finished speaking to humankind, so they sealed up their scripture and took exclusive charge of that book.
At about the same time, Christians were claiming a new and more comprehensive revelation of God’s word through Jesus that superseded the Jewish revelation to Moses and the prophets. This explains the Christian antisemitism underlying Jewish-Christian “friendship” throughout time.
When no substantial Christian prophet spoke to Christianity after Jesus and the apostles, Christians took up the process of codifying their revelation into scripture and strongly assumed an end to God’s communication with humankind. Soon after, an Arab prophet arose in the desert and published what he claimed was the latest, best word from God. The three western monotheistic traditions have largely unfriended each other since that time.
The high priests of all three denominations have long claimed that they, and they alone, are the true shepherds of God’s will and that the other two denominational claims to superiority are scams. The memberships of all three denominations seem never to have become acquainted with the clear teachings of their founders that their own special status or chosenness was designed to be contingent in its longevity upon humility, inclusivity, peace and justice, democratic governance, and openness to God’s ongoing word whenever and wherever it happens to pop up. Why would they not share such an important teaching with their own parishioners? Because that teaching might diminish their haughty claims of sainthood and dominance in the world of western religion.
All three Abrahamic religions have demonstrated again and again that they have fallen far away from God’s peerless graces and teachings and thus have frittered away their specialness.
This point helps explain why there will never be an end to the conflict in Palestine, which has been going on since 1947, and in truth, since 600 C.E. Power-hungry leaders on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides want to stay in power more than they want peace for their people. Those leaders deliberately corrupt both religion and government, church and state, in order to facilitate their nightmarish dreams of superiority and hegemony.
Israel’s “leader” Netanyahu is a persecutor of religious belief. He is the anti-Moses, anti-Israel, anti-humanitarian abuser of both the Palestinian and Israeli people. Moses and Jesus laid out the correct humanitarian way to deter crime and war and the path to establishing real peace and domestic tranquility. They said the punishment for evil must be a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, and a life for a life—in other words, proportionate. But Netanyahu has taken perhaps 20, 30, 40 Palestinian civilian lives or more for every Israeli life lost on October 7th and thus has clearly demonstrated he is no ethical leader.
Netanyahu fell as a true leader because his highest priority from the beginning has not been peace, or hostage-release, or child welfare, or education, or democracy, or ending Hamas, or religious freedom for Muslims and Jews. His real objective has always been to stay in power for the rest of his life as the despotic ruler of Israel. His real objective is to exploit and enflame religious enmity between Jews and Muslims. His real objective is ducking criminal prosecution for his many crimes committed while in office. His real objective is to glorify Benjamin Netanyahu, even if he must denigrate and destroy tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza to do so. And he and his American partner in religious intolerance are not done yet.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
Kimball:
Thanks for this interesting take on recency as a possible factor behind the widespread antipathy toward Muslims among Jews and Christians. Could it be that your locale, with its own unique religious history, has enhanced your perceptions in that regard?
The Editor
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Trump’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Dear Editor:
Trump’s descriptions of a nation consumed by violence, in which cities like Portland, Oregon are “a wasteland of firebombs, beatings and brazen attacks on federal officers and property,” as a result of the “Radical Left’s reign of terror,” amount to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
By activating National Guard troops from Texas and Illinois and sending them to Chicago to protect ICE agents, Trump is using his administration’s false perceptions of rampant violence in Democratic cities to justify the use of excessive military force in hopes that these actions will in turn result in the exact violence that they imagined. This would allow Trump to justify the enactment of the Insurrection Act, and send troops into any city he feels is a threat to him.
Gov. Pritzker of Illinois stated that Trump “wants to militarize major cities across the U.S., especially in blue states, because he wants us to get used to the idea of military on the streets before the 2026 elections. I believe that he’s going to post people outside of ballot boxes and polling places. And if he needs to in order to control these elections, he’ll assume control of the ballot boxes and let the administration count the results.”
Trump is clearly attempting to create the violence that he is imagining as a way of preventing free and fair elections and to subvert democracy. A self-fulfilling prophecy that gives Trump the justification that fulfills his authoritarian desires.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
We wish we could muster up some kind of skepticism about your analysis of this situation.
The Editor
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If It Wasn’t For Double Standards…
To the Editor:
Sophie Roske, a transgender woman, was sentenced to 97 months in prison for her plot to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Prosecutors sought a minimum sentence of 30 years.
Judge Deborah Boardman explained that Roske voluntarily abandoned her assassination plan, expressed remorse, had no prior criminal record, and was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Boardman also questioned whether Roske would receive adequate mental health treatment in prison, citing President Trump’s executive order banning gender-affirming care for federal inmates.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and conservative media outlets like the New York Post and National Review have expressed outrage over the 8-year sentence.
Yet by their standards, the scores of January 6th rioters who breached the Capitol while chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” should also have been sentenced to at least 30 years in prison. After all, they are domestic terrorists who attempted to execute the Vice President. Instead, they have all been pardoned by President Trump.
Appallingly, in an interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News, Trump actually defended the January 6th rioters’ “Hang Mike Pence!” chants.
How can anyone claim to oppose political violence while supporting a person who pardoned January 6th rioters who assaulted police officers and publicly defended their violent chants?
Terry Hansen
Milwaukee, Wisc.
Terry:
You end your letter by asking “How….” Apparently it’s quite easy if you have sufficient contempt for the truth.
The Editor
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Where’s the Leadership?
To the editor:
A Le Monde headline claimed the Polish president said Putin is ready to invade other countries. Still, the article explained that Poland closed its Belarus border for the upcoming Russian and Belarusian war games and will hold its own.
During the 2016 contest and his first term, Donald Trump proudly claimed a close relationship with Putin, raising concerns about his influence over U.S. foreign policy. In the 2024 election, he boldly promised to end the war on day one, suggesting a decisive stance on peace. However, in his current second term, he is turning a blind eye as Russia commits inexcusable war crimes in Ukraine, and Europe faces the threat of Russian aggression. This is a betrayal of our values and a failure to uphold our commitments to our allies. We must demand leadership that stands firm against aggression and champions human rights.
Before our eyes, Russia is actively trying to redraw the map of Europe, aiming to forge a new Soviet Union and dismantle NATO. This is a critical moment that demands unwavering support from the United States for Ukraine and NATO. The question is whether this administration will stand firm, and that uncertainty should concern us all. Our collective security depends on decisive action now.
Aidan J. Bain
Elma, New York
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The Trump Effect
To the Editor:
Many historians say America is now living through a severe Constitutional Crisis. The “Rule of Law” has been replaced with “Rule of the Strongest and Richest.” America has lost prestige and esteem around the world. America is more susceptible to international and domestic terrorism due to this administration’s penchant for un-funding anti-terrorism units within the FBI and the IRS white collar crime units. The cost of living for many Americans is skyrocketing.The administration has packed the Cabinet with unqualified members. Trump is deporting millions of undocumented residents without due process. Many of these “removals” are violent, involve personal harm and the destruction of property, and are warrantless.
The smart and thoughtful men and women throughout our history who sought to “Form A More Perfect Union” are now represented by an administration illegally trying to “Militarize” the country, by sending troops against American Democratic cities and states.
This administration pardoned thousands of felons, convicted of trying to overthrow our government, who beat many Capital Police, resulting in numerous deaths. American values and norms are being undone. The Administration is attempting to muzzle and challenge “Free Speech” (part of The First Amendment) by our media companies, our colleges’ and universities’ curricula, and numerous law firms. Top government officials can neither discern nor speak the truth. Most Republican Senators cannot find their backbone and “moral code” to do their jobs. Illegal campaigns by this President, the Justice Department, and FBI to indict and jail Democratic opponents, and to “claw-back” Congressionally-approved monies for projects in “Blue” cities and states. Republicans have launched a coordinated assault on our Constitution and our Democracy. The President and his family are enriching themselves by repeatedly violating the “Emoluments Clause” of the U.S. Constitution. Our “Supreme Court” has members who have violated normal rules of justice and impartiality in their decisions, many of which operate without any “discussion” or explanation in what they call a “Shadow Docket.”
Herb Moyer
Exeter, N.H.
Herb:
Jeez—add it all up like that, and it starts to look bad!
The Editor
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Your Capitalism Ate My Exceptionalism
To the editor;
Virtually all nations generate a mythology to explain and justify their creation and growth. Although the stories that comprise it may be based on historical events, they rarely provide an historically accurate portrayal, exaggerating items that glorify while glossing over those that disparage. One of the founding myths of America is the concept of “American Exceptionalism.” It is the belief that the U.S. is unique among nations because of its founding values and political system. Exceptionalism claims that the U.S. is the first nation to be founded upon universal principles of liberty, equality and natural rights as stated in the Declaration of Independence. These values are enshrined in the Constitution and incorporated in the unique institutions of American democracy. Although the Exceptionalist myth has been tarnished by the existence of slavery in the early Republic and the wars of extermination waged against Native Americans, it remains a key element in the American origin story.
A central tenet of Exceptionalism is that any American, no matter what their station at birth, can rise to wealth through hard work. Freed from restrictive European class systems and empowered by equality and liberty, all had the opportunity to achieve prosperity. This idea found support in the emerging economic theory of Capitalism which promoted private property rights, free markets, unrestricted individual choice and minimal government intervention. Capitalism was quickly adopted as the vehicle for achieving prosperity. The American Dream was born.
Unfettered Capitalism, however, soon proved to have negative consequences. During the “Gilded Age” (late 19th century), the predations of industrial Robber Barons generated great wealth for a few and delivered grinding poverty for the working class. Rapacious financial speculators amassed personal fortunes while causing a series of financial crises and recessions including the Great Depression. The egalitarian promise of a classless society went unmet, trading a system of feudal exploitation for control by a Capitalist plutocracy.
Following World War II, there was a 30-year period of widespread growth and prosperity. Since the late 70’s, however, there has been a re-emergence of wealth and income inequality not seen since the 1920’s. Working class wages have been essentially stagnant since the 70’s and the middle class, once buoyed by blue collar prosperity, has shrunk. Owners of capital have vastly increased their wealth while working class families are increasingly unable to afford the costs of housing, healthcare or higher education for their children. The idea of a meritocracy where anyone could rise to prosperity has become a cruel joke. Social mobility has declined so that America now has lower rates of social mobility than several European countries. A meritocracy for all has been replaced by a meritocracy for the wealthy where affluent families provide the benefits of a good education and social networks to their children while the poor are locked into a repetitive cycle of poverty.
There is no doubt that the Capitalist system has facilitated industrial growth and generated great wealth. Contrary to the ideas of American Exceptionalism, however, it has not produced widespread prosperity. The top 1 percent of the population owns approximately 30 percent of America’s wealth mostly in the form of capital investments. The next 20 percent, comprised largely of salaried professionals, owns approximately 54 percent while the bottom 50 percent, largely made up of the working class, owns approximately 3 percent. The bottom group endures economic insecurity, living paycheck to paycheck, fearing that an unexpected crisis may drive them into insolvency. For the bottom 50 percent, the American Dream is largely out of reach. An economic system that was supposed to reinforce democratic values, offering equal opportunity to all, has become an engine for the creation of an oligarchy that uses its wealth and power to seek political advantage and perpetuate itself. Capitalism has not lived up to its promise. Only a major re-structuring to break the power of the oligarchs can restore its association with democratic values. This is unlikely to happen soon given the power of wealth to sustain itself and, despite its rhetoric, the self-aggrandizing Trump administration is more likely to ally itself with the oligarchs rather than the working class.
Robert D. Russell, Ph.D.
Harrisburg, Pa.
Robert:
For the record, we have never read Marx. Just being alive, though, has taught us this: exploitation of the masses by the upper classes seems to have been the rule for long stretches of history. The elder third of Americans may vaguely recall a period of some slight exception.
Our rulers—make that our would-be rulers, we’re not conceding a damn thing to them—are now trying to make that arrangement permanent, ruthless, and irrevocable.
We have other ideas, other intentions… other plans.
The Editor
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Sorrow For Kirk’s Death, But No Respect
To the Editor:
The death of Charlie Kirk was a terrible tragedy and my condolences go out to his family. However, people including many children die of gun violence every day in our country and our President and the Republican Party do not seem to care.
When our city, like many others, followed the lead of the President and lowered flags to half-staff on municipal buildings and properties as a sign of respect, I was frankly a bit angry. Aside from his advocacy of Donald Trump’s ideas, Mr. Kirk did not contribute anything democracy-enhancing to our nation, unlike most who are so honored by the lowering of the flag.
I refuse to express respect or to honor someone with the following racist, misogynistic, and homophobic views that were recently highlighted in both the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor:
• He was critical of the rights of the LGBTQ community.
• He was an opponent of the separation of church and state.
• He was convinced that all Americans should own guns, and that gun deaths were inevitable but acceptable to preserve our 2nd Amendment freedom.
• He saw the religion of Islam as a threat to America.
• He claimed that he supported free speech, but encouraged students to report professors that had so-called “leftist views.”
• He supported Replacement theory, suggesting that Jews and non-white people are threatening to replace the jobs of white people.
• He believed that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a destructive force for Americans.
With respect to our flag, many citizens may not be aware that we are not obligated to go along with the president’s directive to lower the flag to half-staff. After I conducted some research online and consulted with a local law professor, it appears that a municipality like Portsmouth is not required to follow the suggestion of either the President or the Governor when it comes to lowering flags located on municipal buildings or property. In fact, federal, state and municipalities are allowed to act separately. That is, an order from the President only applies to federal buildings and properties, and this is also true for a governor when it comes to state buildings and properties. Similarly, municipalities likewise can honor or recognize a local hero (e.g. firefighter) or local tragic event (e.g. a tragic fire) by lowering the flags on municipal buildings and on municipal properties.
This information is essential, should the President choose to recognize the passing of one of his large donors, or a leader of the Proud Boys who dies in a motorcycle accident. This flag is not the president’s flag; it is our flag. We as a municipality are not legally obligated to show respect or honor to people unless we chose to do so.
All of us should be outraged about our country’s gun violence epidemic and we should join to do something about it so we don’t have to lower the flag so often in our country.
Peter Somssich, former Portsmouth State Representative
Portsmouth, N.H.
Peter:
With things as they are, this information seems increasingly pertinent. The Flag Police salute you.
The Editor
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How Fascists Out Themselves
Dear Editor:
Mr. Trump and his loyal followers hit any American who opposes their policies with a series of labels, including domestic terrorists, Communists, and more. My favorite slur for Americans who stand up for democracy is “Antifa.” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) recently called the “No Kings” rallies planned across the nation for October 18th a “Hate America rally. It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the, you know, the Antifa people, they’re all coming out.”
Unlike groups like the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and the KKK, Antifa is not an organization. Antifa is an acronym meaning anti-fascist. It is a statement of a philosophy, not unlike say a person or group of people who might call themselves Anticom or Anti-Communist.
I find it interesting that Republicans seem to think that being anti-Fascist now is some sort of an evil concept, something to be ridiculed and to be attacked for. As I recall America fought a World War to rid the world of fascism. On June 6, 1944, an armada of tens of thousands of Americans, British, Canadians, French and other allies stormed the beaches of Normandy to rid the world of Hitler and the Nazis. Earlier, some of these same nations landed in Italy to rid the world of Mussolini and his fascist regime. Over the course of the war in Europe millions of allies lost their lives fighting fascism and its cousin Naziism. If ever there was an Antifa group, it was then.
My question to those who oppose Antifa is, are you pro-fascist? After all, if you think being anti-fascist is bad, then it’s logical to assume you think fascism is good. You cannot be anti-fascist and anti-Antifa at the same time.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
New Hampshire used to be famous for its conservatism. Yet somehow, in the 1930s, more than a handful of New Hampshire men went to Spain to fight fascists in that country’s Civil War. When they got back they were called “premature anti-fascists.” The New Criterion, a right-wing magazine, claimed in 2002 that the term was a myth. Brandishing receipts, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (albavolunteer.org), cites its use in the newspaper PM in May, 1943: “‘Premature’ Anti-Fascists Still in Army Doghouse.”
The Editor