Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

by Ed Palm We lost a great American on March 7th. To my generation at least, he was great. I’m referring to Joseph Allen McDonald, known to his Vietnam-Generation fans as Country Joe McDonald. He died from complications of Parkinson’s disease at age 84 in his home in Berkeley, California. Country Joe burst on the scene at Woodstock with his satiric antiwar anthem “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die-Rag.” That song poses the musical question, “What are we fightin’ for?” And Joe’s answer: “Don’t ask me. I don’t give a damn. Next stop is Vietnam.” If you’ve never heard it, Google it. A video of Country Joe’s original Woodstock performance …

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To the Editor: When protests broke out in Iran, President Trump warned the Iranian government against harming the protesters. He stated the United States was locked and loaded. The protesters believed him. Iran’s government did not. They shot and killed thousands of protesters. Trump did nothing. A month later Trump sent an aircraft carrier to the gulf. It isn’t because of Iran killing protesters. He says it is because of Iran’s nuclear program. A program Trump claimed to have completely destroyed. Our allies in the gulf don’t want to be collateral damage if Trump does attack Iran. They have banned us from attacking Iran from …

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Dear Editor: Throughout Donald Trump’s sordid life there have been many examples of actions and words that were despicable and disgusting. The list is too long to cover all of them, but there was, for example, the Central Park Five episode, his mocking a handicapped journalist, and the disrespect shown to Gold Star parents. Unfortunately, Mr. Trump continues this behavior on almost a daily basis, but recently he may have hit a new low for even him, if that is possible. In a Truth Social clip, Mr. Trump depicted former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as what appeared to be a cartoon …

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Dear Yo-Yo’s [sic]: I just thought I’d write you to check if you are aware that to reproduce a magazine cover w/o that magazine’s permission is illegal, and that if, on top of everything else, that cover is a BOGUS one you are REALLY in trouble? Sincerely, Mr. Bernardo Figuerado Gonic, N.H. Dear Mr. Bernardo: Once again we are overcome with gratitude: the Bard of Gonic deigns to enlighten us once again. It’s an honor and a thrill. Unfortunately our joy is tainted by the necessity of informing you that you are once—no, make that twice—again wrong. The First Amendment gives us the right to …

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Dear Editor: In the news, Trump wants to take Greenland for the U.S.A., “the easy way or the hard way.” He posits that, “If we don’t, China or Russia will.” They’re not NATO members, but we are. So we’d fight NATO to have his old-age craving for glory be satisfied? Question for DJT—Why wouldn’t China or Russia, IF they want it, then take Greenland from us? Not shy of the “hard way.” Now we’ve a nuclear-armed world, a modern-time seriousness. An NPR commentator puts Trump in the 19th Century, “Sounds a lot like James Polk wanting Texas and taking it from Mexico.” At the Concord …

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