To the Editor:
In looking at the results in Georgia and Miami, Florida, the Republican Party is in a complete meltdown. For the first time in 30 years, a Democrat will represent the City of Miami. In Georgia, a Democrat won a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. It should be noted that the Republican Party gerrymandered the seat, for the record.
The 2025 elections are a warning sign for the 26 elections. Even in the strongholds where the GOP does well, nowhere is safe. If the trend holds (which is a strong possibility), the GOP will be wiped off the map, the likes of which would mirror 2006. Affordability was the winning issue in Miami and across the nation. The President can tell the world that this issue is a “hoax,” but this is not the case. Even at the rally in Pennsylvania, attendees mentioned that affordability was a key issue. This issue propelled him back into the White House.
The President can try to gaslight the American people all he wants, but it won’t work. Peggy Noonan’s column in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Trump Maybe Losing His Touch,” hit the nail on the head. The President is a lame-duck, and 2026 will be a wave election year.
Aidan J. Bain
Elma, N.Y.
Aidan:
There are indeed signs that 2026 might be an historic setback for Republicans. There are many, many reasons, though, to temper one’s expectations.
First, once you get past the surface buffoonery, some of these creeps can read a room. If only from sheer momentum, since they’ve been at this for decades—they’re constantly working on their electoral chicanery skills. We can safely assume that they’ll have a few new tricks up their sleeves.
Second, these are desperate people with more to lose than the average American can even imagine. Never mind fiddling with the count here and there. January 6th was unimaginable—until it happened. As was the Reichstag fire.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Logical Inconsistency
Dear Sir:
A recent letter at Seacoastonline.com called for the abolition of the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship. The author stated that when that Amendment was written “immigrants were primarily from Europe, not from countries like Somalia.” I guess the author forgot about the millions of African “immigrants” brought here by force to work as slaves at the time the 14th Amendment was written. Of course, these “immigrants” and their offspring were not granted birthright citizenship until after the Civil War. The author also forgets that when the 2nd amendment was written people only had single shot muskets and pistols.
The author then speaks about the Immigration Act of 1924 (the Johnson-Reed Act), transitioning its quota system from using the 1890 census to a new, more restrictive “national origins” formula based on the 1920 census, which capped total immigration at 150,000 yearly. This is true, however the author fails to mention that this act heavily favored Northern & Western Europeans, while severely limiting Southern & Eastern Europeans, and banning Asians, solidifying America’s restrictive, racially biased immigration policy for decades.
In fact, the Immigration Act of 1924 placed strict limits on those coming from Italy, where my parents came from, because they were not considered as white as immigrants from Northern and Western European nations. My parents immigrated here before the Immigration Act of 1924.
So now the Supreme Court will decide the fate of birthright citizenship. I wonder if they will use the same logic of the aforementioned letter that when the 14th Amendment was written “immigrants were primarily from Europe, not countries like Somalia,” and limit birthright citizenship to those whose parents come from only white European nations? If so, then they should also use that same logic to restrict guns to what was available when the 2nd Amendment was written.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
Perhaps we’re too jaded, but we suspect the Supreme Court will rule in a manner that tracks exactly with their own blind prejudices.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Ehrhart Sets the Record Straight
Dear Editor,
In his letter posted in the December 12th issue, Aaron Carine chooses to ignore essays I’ve published about the Middle East in the Gazette on June 4, 2022, October 20, 2023, November 23, 2023, December 1, 2023, December 29, 2023, March 22, 2024, April 20, 2024, October 18, 2024, April 4, 2025, May 16, 2025, May 30, 2025, August 8, 2025, and November 14, 2025.
Instead, he cherry-picks a single sentence I included in a response to another critic of mine in which I posit a hypothetical conversation that I never actually had, and uses this to assert that he knows what I think and how I feel about the state of Israel and its right to exist.
W.D. Ehrhart
Bryn Mawr, Pa.
W.D.
Thank you for taking time to compile this, and thank you for the admirable forbearance it reflects.
The Editor
–=≈=–
What’s It Going to Take?
Dear Editor,
Watching the complete mental collapse of the dictator in real time leaves one wondering: when will some intrepid reporter ask the Second Banana, or any member of his North Korean Cabinet, what point on the insanity-o-meter must the dictator reach to trigger the 25th Amendment?
John C. Ficor
Richmond Va.
John:
This is exactly the question that’s been on our alleged mind.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Corporate Welfare Coming Up for a Vote
To the Editor:
I am writing to express my concerns regarding HB 155—a new piece of legislation rapidly making its way through the State House. It will be voted on January 7th.
Too many of us are being left behind, or are not even a consideration in regards to our local and national governments. HB 155 is largely a corporate tax cut that will put a burden on working families, and will strain already depleted education funding. The projected $23 million revenue lost from HB 155 will more than likely be passed on to the people of New Hampshire in the form of raised property taxes to make up for the shortfall.
I’m sure that most Granite Staters are more interested in being able to afford housing, education, and healthcare than they are in giving tax cuts that benefit the largest one percent of corporations.
I implore you to report on HB 155. Speak to the average person and see if they are aware of it. Ask them what they think of this corporate tax cut. Also, ask our politicians what they hope this legislation will do to help the average person in this state. There is data to support the fact that HB 155 will not benefit the majority of Granite Staters.
Sincerely,
Russell Greene
Whereabouts: unknown.
Russell:
Letters without a home address usually go into into our round file. Yours was headed there, but then we thought, what if he is be one of thousands of unhoused people in this state? If so you don’t need us piling on—Republicans are already trying to make your life harder.
We concur: HB 155, by cutting the rate of the Business Enterprise Tax, would comfort the comfortable while afflicting the afflicted.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Will Today’s Dorothy Please Stand Up?
To the editor;
In the iconic fantasy of “The Wizard of Oz,” after being transported to Oz, Dorothy expresses her confusion and bewilderment in the words, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Most Americans living in the second Trump regime would understand her state of mind. Using Project 2025 as a template, the President has pursued radical restructuring of international trade, foreign policy, immigration and healthcare practices. He has persistently violated norms and laws dealing with the separation of powers and has sought to use the DOJ and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue his self-interest and punish his perceived enemies. The MAGA right views these actions as revolutionary, but while revolutions produce chaos and uncertainty their outcomes are not always benign. It is doubtful that the chaos Trump has generated will produce beneficial outcomes.
Despite Trump’s claims to the contrary, the economy is in disarray. Tariffs have raised the price of both direct imports and domestic goods that require imported components, and the price increases have just begun. It is estimated that the Trump tariffs will cost the average American household $1,800 yearly. The small business sector, which cannot mitigate tariff costs as well as large corporations, has been among the first to suffer ill effects. Many small business owners facing supply chain uncertainty and loss of markets fear that they will not survive with tariffs at current levels. Data indicates that small businesses, which account for 46 percent of American workers, have cut 107,000 jobs since tariffs have been levied. Manufacturing jobs have also decreased during this period. Despite Trump’s claims that inflation has been eliminated, rates remain at three percent, the same as they were when Biden left office, and prices remain high from previous rounds of inflation. While Republicans claim that their budget bill reforms healthcare, it cuts Medicaid and eliminates subsidies for health insurance provided under the ACA. As a result, healthcare costs for the middle and working classes are set to skyrocket. Additionally, the budget reduces food subsidies for the poor just as tariffs drive up food prices. Astonishingly, these reductions are made while taxes on the rich are cut.
As the middle and lower classes face austerity, the elite prosper as the stock market booms. Approximately 90 percent of stocks are owned by the top 10 percent of the population, whose wealth increases as the market grows. Stock market gains, however, provide little benefit for the remaining 90 percent. This explains why the top 10 percent now account for 50 percent of consumer spending. Recent estimates indicate that approximately 80 percent of the recent gains in the stock market, and virtually all gains in GDP, are due to AI spending. Speculation in AI stocks is reminiscent of the real estate bubble that produced the 2008 Great Recession and the dot.com bubble that burst in 2000, causing the loss of trillions of dollars in market value of internet firms and the recession of 2001. The wealthy may do well to ponder the risks underlying their current wealth gains.
While Trump decries the “affordability hoax” and his cryptocurrency policies increase the wealth of his family and rich speculators, his immigration policy has produced chaos and fear throughout immigrant communities in several American cities. Acting like a third world despot, he has unleashed masked ICE and Border Patrol agents whose vicious tactics resemble the Gestapo rather than a professional police force. While claiming to arrest only the worst criminals among illegal aliens, Trump’s cosplaying thugs snatch and detain without due process any brown-skinned person they encounter including American citizens. Trump’s foreign policy has recently included extra-judicial murder as the military blows up boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that are claimed to be running drugs although proof has yet to be provided.
Americans have ample reasons to believe that we aren’t “in Kansas anymore.” The cause of our consternation is the misguided leadership of Trump, who shares characteristics with the Wizard of Oz. Both are inept charlatans who wield power through fear and delusion. The Wizard was exposed through the courage and perseverance of Dorothy and her friends. Where are our modern-day Dorothys who will confront and expose Trump?
Robert D. Russell, PhD
Harrisburg, Pa.
Robert:
We don’t know where all the requisite Dorothys are at the moment—“No Kings Day” is not on our December calendar. We just hope they all show up on November 3, 2026.
The Editor
–=≈=–
The Confessions of Susie Wiles
To the Editor:
The President’s Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, recently told Vanity Fair that her boss governs with “a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.”
This can be taken to mean he believes he is so talented he can accomplish anything. Or he believes he has unlimited power to rule however he sees fit, or perhaps both.
The part about being super talented does not seem well substantiated by reality given the President’s limited success in establishing world peace and his management philosophy of just firing people.
The second part about being an absolute dictator has found some success given #47’s announced intention to act like a dictator on “day one,” his manhandling of the Constitution, and his clear statement made in August 2025 during a video-taped cabinet meeting, “I can do whatever I wanna do. I’m the President.”
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
Kimball:
Maybe it’s just our morbid turn of mind. When Wiles said Trump believes “… there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing,” we thought of that picture from a few weeks ago, showing Trump on the roof of the White House.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Again: Will We Survive?
Dear Editor:
We are going to finish 2025 much like it began, a towering question mark atop our Capitol; will our Republic survive Donald Trump’s attempt to dismantle our 250-year adventure, building a strong and unique democratic form of government?
Trump has created (with considerable help) precisely what the founders feared; a dangerously corrupt and incompetent authoritarian government that not only threatens our own liberty but international prosperity and world peace.
As expressed succinctly in the December, 2025 issue of The New Republic, “ours is not just a bad government, it’s a sociopathic government that takes pleasure in killing fishermen who may or may not be transporting drugs; arresting and deporting children; halting cancer-drug trials; and inventing crimes committed by people it doesn’t like.”
Our country was not always plagued by unscrupulous and irrational leaders. Some were pacesetters who faced future unknowns with vision, morality and courage. We were directly warned by Robert F. Kennedy Sr., in the 1960’s: “Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak up or speak out, we strike a blow against freedom, decency and justice.” Is that not exactly what many Americans are doing right now?
Kennedy’s son (Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.) is presently assisting President Trump in manufacturing chaos, because neither man has anything more to offer. They proffer no vision, they propose no worthy ideas, they know only to tear down what others have built and then blame the builders for their own shortcomings and inadequacies.
One significant precept seems to have escaped many Americans, or maybe we’ve just forgotten: truth matters. Truth is “the heart of morality” (Thomas Huxley), and I believe it must be accepted as an axiom (a rule to live by) for democracy to survive and flourish.
Unfortunately, in the United States at the present time, political insiders, GOP legislators and governors, the president, even the Supreme Court, are consciously and flagrantly engaged in an unconstitutional conspiracy to destroy democracy through gerrymandering. Donald Trump knows that if he loses control of Congress he will likely go to prison for his crimes.
To prevent that from happening, this president and his loyal, badly frightened Republican Party, seem willing to attempt any procedure, go to any extreme however outrageous or imprudent, to suppress opposing voters or, if necessary, prevent the midterm election from taking place altogether.
Donald Trump is a liar, conman and corrupted failure, and it’s nothing short of a national tragedy and embarrassment that so many Americans (especially veterans who took an oath and know better) have been brainwashed into believing that abandoning our Constitution, due processes of rules of law, civil liberties, human rights and dignity, and violating our own oaths in order to placate a narcissistic uncontrollable convicted felon will somehow make America great.
David L. Snell
Franklin, N.C.
David:
A Venn diagram of the Trump administration and Constitutional government would show two circles, not touching, and, in fact, approximately ten light years apart.
On a more optimistic note, as your letter shows, even such sober-sided publications as The New Republic have largely abandoned the standard “everything will work out in the end” editorial line.
The Editor
–=≈=–
Appalled From Afar
To the Editor:
My European friends and I were totally shocked to see what the White House 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) paper contains regarding the current situation in Europe. We all assumed that such an official U.S. document would provide a true fact-based evaluation of the geopolitical factors influencing this region. However, what we read is a distorted, false and one-sided view originating from the far-right groups associated with the Trump administration. The study claims that the activities of the European Union and other transnational bodies are undermining political liberty and sovereignty, creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition. This is totally ridiculous and an absolute lie. There is no governmental censorship of free speech or of the media, nor of suppression of political groups (with the exception of Victor Orbans’ Hungary). That Trump and his administration actually dare to make such ludicrous assertions is truly remarkable in light of the fact that they are the ones who constantly attack journalism, exclude critical reporters from official press meetings, harass and prosecute the news media, remove unfavorable exhibitions from museums and selected critical books from libraries.
The document goes on to state that “European officials hold unrealistic expectations for the (Ukrainian) war perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition. A large European majority wants peace, yet that desire is not translated into policy, in large measure because of those governments’ subversion of democratic processes.” It is true that most people here pray for peace but they are convinced that this can only be achieved by stopping Putin’s imperialistic dreams. But with respect to Russia, the U.S. document barely mentions the country and surprisingly does not see it as a global threat to peace. Trump is always very soft on the aggressor Putin who continuously and ruthlessly bombs the civilian infrastructure of the Ukraine, but is extremely hard on Zelensky and his small sovereign state fighting to maintain its independence.
The people here in Germany just shake their heads in disbelief at the content of the NSS paper and constantly ask me what is wrong with Trump and his government. Does the U.S. no longer uphold and care for the values of freedom and democracy? As a U.S. citizen I can only bow my head in shame and admit that I am sincerely embarrassed by it all.
Dr. Imre Somssich
Cologne, Germany
Imre:
Your astonishment is a credit to you. Residing, as you do, far from MAGA-land, you may be less inured to the routine inversion of values now prevelant in this, the former alleged home of the free and the brave.
If there is a future—something which seems increasingly in doubt—scholars will struggle to explain how the nation Ronald Reagan called a “shining city on a hill” turned into an immoral cesspool. If one of them should happen to stumble upon a yellowed copy of this issue, here’s the short version.
Reagan declared government the enemy. His corporate cronies, who had long subsidized their photogenic but dimwitted pal, flooded the think tanks with funds diverted from the Treasury.
Those propaganda mills churned out ready-made excuses for politicians. “Sorry, Citizen. We can’t help you. It’s all we can do [laughing up their sleeves] to keep the Pentagon stocked with enough weapons to kill everyone on Earth ten times over.”
To which catastrophe the Democrats responded by attempting to cultivate, not two hundred million disenfranchised working people, but two hundred thousand fat cats of their own.
Then came a serially-failed so-called businessman whose self-esteem is so unwarranted that it can only be measured in light years.
The good news is that things are now so appalling that the need to fix this mess has become undeniable.
The Editor
–=≈=–
The Nixon Tapes Redux
Dear Editor:
The extreme behavior of Mr. Trump and his allies to prevent the full disclosure of what is contained in the Epstein files, and Trump’s involvement, reminds me of the extreme actions Nixon took during Watergate to prevent the release of the tapes of his conversations in the Oval office. The reason Nixon took such drastic actions was because he knew exactly what was on those tapes and how devastating the consequences would be if they became public. We know how that story ended.
On Friday, the Department of Justice [DOJ] released an extremely redacted and edited version of the Epstein files which violated the spirit and the requirements of the law passed by Congress. The law required that the DOJ “make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the DOJ, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorneys’ Offices, that relate to: Jeffrey Epstein including all investigations, prosecutions, or custodial matters, flight logs or travel records, including but not limited to manifests, itineraries, pilot records, and customs or immigration documentation, for any aircraft, vessel, or vehicle owned, operated, or used by Jeffrey Epstein or any related entity…. Individuals, including government officials, named or referenced in connection with Epstein’s criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity or plea agreements, or investigatory proceedings…. Entities (corporate, nonprofit, academic, or governmental) with known or alleged ties to Epstein’s trafficking or financial networks.”
It required the release of “[a]ny immunity deals, non-prosecution agreements, plea bargains, or sealed settlements involving Epstein or his associates” and “[i}nternal DOJ communications, including emails, memos, meeting notes, concerning decisions to charge, not charge, investigate, or decline to investigate Epstein or his associates.”
It required the DOJ to produce “[a]ll communications, memoranda, directives, logs, or metadata concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement, or concealment of documents, recordings, or electronic data related to Epstein, his associates, his detention and death, or any investigative files.” It demanded “[d]ocumentation of Epstein’s detention or death, including incident reports, witness interviews, medical examiner files, autopsy reports, and written records detailing the circumstances and cause of death.”
The law stated that the DOJ could withhold only information that was classified or that contained “personally identifiable information of victims or victims’ personal and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;” images that “depict or contain child sexual abuse materials… [or] would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary”; images that “depict or contain images of death, physical abuse, or injury of any person; or…contain information specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order.”
The law required that the DOJ must justify all redactions with “a written justification published in the Federal Register and submitted to Congress.”
The law stated that records could not be “withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
Like Nixon and the tapes, Trump is doing everything possible to prevent the public from learning about his involvement with Mr. Epstein and his child sex trafficking operation. Like Nixon, Trump knows exactly what is in those Epstein files and how devastating the consequences will be if the full truth is revealed. History repeats itself in strange ways.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
“We know how that story ended….” Yes, we remember all too well.
Though rightfully forced to resign in disgrace, Nixon was eventually rehabilitated. Our brilliant corporate media and our morally-upright politicians allowed him to resume the role of elder statesman. Tens of thousand of young Americans who were killed in Vietnam in service to his cynical strategy for winning a second term got no such second chance—to say nothing of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese.
Our apologies for the flashback. Where were we?
The present? Ye gods! Can we re-run that flashback, please?
Slightly more seriously, here’s the difference between now and a half-century ago. There were plenty of crooked politicians around, but some of them apparently retained the vestigial ability to feel shame. Nowadays, herd immunity prevails against any such weakness, at least on one side of the aisle.
The Editor