Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

Dear Editor, Trump lost the election. As a narcissist, his greatest fear is being seen as a loser. So he built a wall of denial around himself, contending that the election was rigged. His minions brought case after case before judge after judge; all were thrown out for lack of evidence. Nevertheless, his fragile ego compels him to cower behind his Big Lie. Initially, Republicans in authority dismissed Trump’s denial, offering to give him time to get over it. But as the Big Lie reverberated throughout rightwing media, they saw hardcore followers embracing it. Republicans now realize that fostering the stolen election falsehood gives them …

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To the Editor: The right to vote is the most basic human freedom in a democratic society. Yet the N.H. House Special Redistricting Committee has gerrymandered our electoral districts for their own partisan benefit. This will impact our N.H. elections for at least a decade. The Freedom to Vote Act bans gerrymandering once and for all, stops the flow of dark money, and requires that voting machines be made in the U.S.A. In addition, it makes sure that paper ballots are accessible at every poll. It makes Election Day a national holiday so that Americans don’t have to choose between work and voting. Please call …

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Is It Separatism? Or Survival of the Historic Nations of the Spanish State? To the Editor: The Kingdom of Spain has recently improved its image in the EU by releasing the Catalan political prisoners responsible for the 2017 independence referendum. But, at heart, it is utter hypocrisy, as the grassroots independence movement continues to suffer repression from Spanish ultra-nationalism. Spain is now attacking republican targets, minorities and rap musicians, such as Hasel and Valtronyc, prosecuted for insulting the Spanish crown and saying what is public knowledge: that ex-king Juan Carlos is a thief! A French television news programme gave the biased headline “separatists exit.” This …

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Dear Editor: A word most of us are unfamiliar with, but will become commonplace in the months and years to come, is anocracy—or semi-democracy—a form of government that is loosely defined as part democracy and part dictatorship, or as a regime that mixes democratic with autocratic features. The Center for Systemic Peace [CSP] has downgraded the United States of America’s system of government from a democracy to an anocracy. I invite the reader to confirm this on the CSP website. The United States dropped below the “democracy threshold” (+6) on the polity scale in 2020 and is now considered an anocracy (+5). In the process …

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Dear Editor, It is clear that members of the one percent class do not know how to act responsibly with their tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in yearly disposable income. They invest in large corporations rather than small businesses. They invest in American companies who have moved their operations to China. They impose usurious interest rates on the working poor. They invest in news media conglomerates that distort reality, and food conglomerates that sell harmful products and services. They invest in energy companies that do little during the climate crisis. The luxury class invest in industries that are popular with Americans, but destructive …

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To the Editor: Do you know whether your town is getting its own dedicated representative in the New Hampshire State House? Fifty-six towns may lose out. The N.H. Constitution, Article 11 states: “When the population of any town or ward, according to the last federal census, is within a reasonable deviation from the ideal population for one or more representative seats, the town or ward shall have its own district of one or more representative seats.” The “ideal population” in the 2020 Census is 3,444 people, and if your town has that population, you should have your own House district with one or more reps. …

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