Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

Dear Editor: One of the more common responses of gun rights supporters, besides offering “thoughts and prayers” after another mass shooting, is that “this is the price of freedom.” According to a 2019 report by the Pew Research Center there were 96 democracies in the world including the United States. The only nation among this group where an epidemic of gun violence is the “Price of Freedom” is the United States. There have been over 200 mass shootings in the United States this year, with over 250 deaths and counting. (ABC News, May 2, 2023) This begs the question, why are other countries able to …

Read more

To the Editor, During a thirty plus year career teaching in higher education, I have engaged in numerous dialogues with students and colleagues as part of learning and problem-solving processes. This experience suggests that successful dialogue relies on three critical principles. First, parties to the discussion must agree on a common set of facts before any evaluation or analysis can begin. Without this, there is simply no basis for mutual understanding or reaching a common conclusion. Second, the examination of the facts must be guided by rational analysis and critical thinking in a give and take process. Without this, no realistic conclusion can be reached. …

Read more

by Roy Morrison Merrimack Station, the coal fired power plant on the banks of the Merrimack River in Bow, New Hampshire, has recently passed its fiftieth anniversary. It’s New England’s last remaining coal plant. It’s also N.H.’s largest point source of carbon pollution. The plant owners, Granite Shore Power, proclaim that they scrupulously comply with EPA and state regulations. The plant uses the Merrimack River water for cooling and dumps heated water into the Merrimack as the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions and asthma-causing particulates pour into the air. I spent a lot of time in the N.H. winter being able to kayak south of the …

Read more

To the Editor: This month Roe, the landmark Supreme Court case which ruled that the right to choose an abortion was protected by the Constitution, would have turned 50. We should have been celebrating 50 years of legal abortion, but unfortunately, this past June a conservative Supreme Court struck down this critical precedent. As a result, more than half of our states have imposed harmful abortion bans and restrictions, leaving millions of people without access. It’s important to note that as reproductive justice advocates, we have always believed that Roe should be the floor not the ceiling. Even during the Roe era, abortion was not …

Read more