Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

Project 2027: A Democratic Agenda

To the editors: This past weekend I stood on the grass edge of a sidewalk for an hour and a half, holding a “no kings” sign, and I watched as hundreds (perhaps thousands) of cars and trucks drove past. Literally several hundreds of drivers and passengers signaled their reaction to the protest, by their thumbs-up expressions of support. By my careful count, only seven drivers expressed their distaste for the protest with either a thumbs-down or middle-finger-raised gesture. If this is even only somewhat indicative of the will of the people, then the 2026 midterm elections bode well for the Democratic party. But as the …

Read more

Did You Notice the Devious Smirks?

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, …

Read more

Gun Rights Über Alles

To the Editor: Charlie Kirk, of Turning Point U.S.A., had a byline, “Prove me wrong.” Unfortunately, events appear to have proved him right. Mr. Kirk was killed by gun violence on September 10, 2025, while speaking at a college in Utah. According to Newsweek, in 2023, Mr. Kirk said, “I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights… .” The premise of Mr. Kirk’s argument is that the Second Amendment must be read such that any restrictions on guns are unconstitutional. Until the …

Read more

More Pertinent Questions for The Charlatan

Dear Editor; This past week saw the Secretary of Health and Human Services, aka “The Charlatan,” grilled, roasted and fried to a crisp in front of a bipartisan panel of Congress critters. Between gasping for breath and lying through his teeth, we didn’t learn much we didn’t already know. I would like to have heard the senators ask the following questions. Q: Mr. Secretary, you repeatedly and constantly trash the data produced by the CDC, whether it’s Covid-related or pertains to other health issues. When asked to produce an answer involving data, you first say you need to look at the data, then you say …

Read more

Where is the Outrage?

To the Editor, Trump’s FBI invades the home of John Bolton, a critic of this administration, and where is the outrage? The tepid response shows how much we have normalized the Republicans’ full-steam-ahead transition to fascism that such an abuse of government power is just ho-hum. Our rickety media wants to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, though, by remarkable coincidence, every person being harassed is an opponent or a Democrat (He is even accusing Obama of treason). Taken right from the playbook of Trump’s favorite dictators Orban, Erdogan, Xi and Putin, though, in fairness, they would just toss the offending party into prison …

Read more

Dumbest Move Since Smoot-Hawley

To the editor; President Trump has issued his list of “final” reciprocal tariffs which became effective Aug. 7th. They apply to almost all goods exported to the U.S. from sixty countries and the European Union with base rates ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent. Along with previously applied sector tariffs, the U.S. now charges an average tariff of approximately 18 percent, the highest rate since the disastrous Smoot-Hawley Bill of 1930. Trump has levied the tariffs on countries that have a trade surplus with the U.S., making the false claim that surpluses indicate unfair advantage. Trump states that countries with a trade surplus have …

Read more