Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

To the Editor: [Note: Mr. Ewing writes to us frequently. His letters repeatedly present the same set of editorial problems. Disregarding his letters altogether would the simplest solution. Doing so, however, would deprive our readers of a view into a pervasive mindset which, if left unchecked, ultimately will reduce mankind’s chances of survival. It would also deprive the editor of his fun, and we can’t have that. Therefore we advise our readers that by publishing Mr. Ewing’s letters, we do not endorse his views. Nor do we accept any assertions he presents as if they were facts. Further, we remind our readers that Mr. Ewing …

Read moreThe Latest…Whatever From Don Ewing

To the Editor: Congratulations, Mary. Having reached your twelfth year as an American citizen, you are hereby required to register for the draft. No, not for Military Service, but for the U.S. Female Fertility Service. The mission of our agency is to ensure all unwanted pregnancies, especially those initiated through rape or incest, are carried to term in a manner that protects the life and wellbeing of the developing fetus. Under U.S. law, should you become pregnant due to an unfortunate circumstance, you will be required to report to the FFS within ten working days for service as a surrogate mother on behalf of the …

Read moreThank You For Your Service

Dear Editor: The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The phrases within this single sentence are connected, and together they form a single concept or meaning. The words “a well regulated militia” are directly connected to the words about the right to keep and bear arms not being infringed. They are not two separate concepts or ideas. At the time of the writing of this Amendment, the United States had no standing army to defend against any …

Read moreWhat Does the 2nd Amendment Really Mean?

To the Editor: Palestinian authorities have concluded that Shireen Abu Akleh, killed in May in Palestine, was murdered with a bullet from a Ruger gun. Palestinian Attorney General Al-Khatib said tests showed that the bullet that killed Abu Akleh was a 5.56 mm round fired from a Ruger semiautomatic rifle, which is used by the Israeli military. This rifle is produced by Sturm Ruger whose headquarters are in Fairfield, Connecticut but it has a factory in Newport, N.H. It is possible that the weapon that took the life of this reporter was manufactured in New Hampshire. Abu Akleh was a prominent Arab journalist, known all …

Read moreNew Hampshire’s Sturm Ruger, the NRA, and an Executed Journalist

The unelected hard-right faction now in power on the Court is poised to allow the most restrictive laws possible to be applied to women’s bodies while ruling hands-off of regulating corporations whose products are harming our planet. by Lisa Graves The reactionary, right-wing legal movement powered by dark money appears to be on the brink of achieving a nearly 50-year goal of reversing Roe v. Wade. The leaked draft opinion obtained by Politico confirms the worst fears of anyone who took the reactionary right at its word: It’s simultaneously not a surprise and a punch to the gut. The most partisan Supreme Court justices in …

Read moreThis Is Not the Culmination of the Right-Wing Legal Movement—It’s the Dawn of It

by Jean Stimmell I was mesmerized by a scene I saw on TV at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: A group of neighbors with rifles guarding a suburban street leading into Kyiv against approaching tanks, their faces illuminated by fires they had lit in trashcans to keep warm, fearless and immovable, belting out in unison the Ukrainian National Anthem. When everything is on the line, we forget our differences and come together as one.  Of course, we do: as social animals, it has been bred into us. That’s why we have survived as a species. Although much less dire, I once was …

Read moreOne For All, And All For One