Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

A Somewhat Ambiguous…Mash Note?

“While we no longer want to receive the paper version, we believe it is still worthwhile to keep reading the digital version no matter how distasteful it is.” – E.F.R., Beaverton, Ore. –=≈=– “If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress. If you pull it all the way out that’s not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made. And they haven’t even pulled the knife out much less heal the wound. They won’t even admit the knife is there.” – Malcolm X; b. May 19, 1925 “Healthy does not mean ‘healthful.’ …

Read moreA Somewhat Ambiguous…Mash Note?

Trump Botched All This

by Tom H. Hastings OK, I have seen, in my life, Eisenhower and Kennedy and Johnson and Nixon botch Vietnam. I have seen Reagan botch the Euromissile crisis alongside the AIDS outbreak. I watched George Bush the Younger and Dick Cheney utterly botch Iraq. But in my lifetime I have never witnessed any U.S. president botch anything so disastrous as Trump has botched the response to Covid-19. I didn’t know so many mistakes were even possible and he just won’t stop. His coronavirus denial was lethal and health care experts knew that, and were trying to advise him, but Trump takes no advice. That, he …

Read moreTrump Botched All This

We Need Joe Biden

To the Editor: Joe Biden has provided us with a good model for the “she said/he said” situations so common today. He respected his accuser’s right to speak and be heard. He did not attack her personally, question her motives or attempt to destroy her reputation. He has asked the National Archives to release any relevant Senate records and has called for an investigation. We may never know the full truth of what happened 27 years ago, but whatever it is, it will not change the reality of Donald Trump’s catastrophic handling of the Covoid-19 pandemic and his inability to coordinate, collaborate, unite and lead. …

Read moreWe Need Joe Biden

A Stimulating Use of Stimulus Funds

To the Editor: In March, President Trump signed a “relief” bill that relieved the U.S.A.’s 43,000 wealthiest taxpayers of (an average) $1.7 million each, costing the rest of us $90 billion. This after wasting two months before finally showing some seriousness concerning the pandemic. Now we are in the midst of a chaotic situation where underprepared states are “opening up,” with no clear direction from the White House. We, a married couple, are responding by donating our stimulus money to Democrats who will defeat Donald Trump and enough of his Republican enablers to re-take the Senate as well as the Executive Branch. That is the …

Read moreA Stimulating Use of Stimulus Funds

Who Are You Calling “We”?

To the Editor: As I watch TV and walk around the block, I see signs all over that say, “We’re all in this together.” Then, I read the story in the Portsmouth Herald (April 23rd) about a stand-off with a guy who had a loaded shotgun. The guy thought three construction workers “of Hispanic descent” were conducting drug deals according to the police affidavit. Evidently, the lawyer for the guy with the shotgun told the Herald (p. A5), “I am completely convinced this man is not dangerous.” On that same day, I scanned the police log. I see that someone called and hung up calling …

Read moreWho Are You Calling “We”?