Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

To the Editor: I am asking the voters in Portsmouth’s Ward 3 (voting at the new Senior Activity Center on Cottage St.) to support my re-election to a third term in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. We used to say, “All politics is local,” but now it seems that we can claim that for this election year, “All politics is national.” During the last session, as the result of the virus pandemic, many good bills and initiatives were never given a final vote. Too much partisanship and the indiscriminate vetoing of even bipartisan bills by the Governor were the primary causes. While neighboring states, …

Read moreMove New Hampshire Ahead

Dear Editor: Former White House Chief of Staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, has publicly called Donald Trump “the most flawed person I have ever known.” Former Health and Human Services scientist Rick Bright has called Trump “unfit for office.” Yet the people raising their red hats to Trump aren’t deterred. They start to seem like dinosaurs grabbing at the decreasing amount of foliage they need to survive. What have they got left? Trump’s railing with swear words at CNN for reporting the numbers of us dead from Covid-19 and the rising numbers of us infected—how can anyone fall for him? I feel for the …

Read moreA Superlative That Actually Fits

To the Editor: A brief note to those considering voting for Donald Trump. Recall your Civics and U.S. History to remind yourself why our Founding Fathers created our government, with three different but equal branches. It was a specific plan to make sure America would never be ruled by a monarch or dictator. Think how far America has slid toward either of those undesirable forms of government in the past four years. My desire to continue the evolution of America “toward a more perfect union” compels me to confront those considering abandoning your historically fair-minded and reasonable New Hampshire Republican values of honesty, integrity, limited …

Read moreIt Is Time For Introspection

[Note: Ten years ago this month Mr. Ewing began favoring us with his thoughts. Why he continues to bother, considering our treatment of them, we cannot say. Only recently—far too recently—due to his habit of quoting from questionable sources, we instituted a policy of prefacing his letters with a warning to readers against putting any faith in statistics proferred by him. Statistics are not a problem in this letter, but it’s clearly time to expand that disclaimer. The last few years have demonstrated all too well the remarkable efficacy of a technique called the “Firehose of Falsehood,” also known as “Flooding the Zone with [digestive …

Read moreIgnore Slavery, It’s No Longer Operative

Dear Editor: Outdoors yesterday I saw one bird, then a second (sparrow, chickadee) land on my dog’s water dish rim and take a drink, a long one. Earlier this week a traveling-through hummingbird came down out of the sky and refueled at my hummingbird feeder that I keep ready, though my regulars have migrated away. Now migrating hummers might stop briefly. Makes me want to ask – if you are able to do this, put water out for the birds. Now I’m keeping my three dog waters high (so small birds can perch on the rim and reach the water, that height of water needed). …

Read morePut Out Water for the Birds

Dear Editor: It takes a big man to represent this great country. A President worthy of office must stand for the justice, democracy, liberty, and diversity that have created our well-being. He must set an example to the world of the ideals that all can aspire to. He must also show the empathy and moral character we expect of our neighbors, friends, and ourselves. Instead, a very small man is our President. Petty and vindictive, he cares only about making a transactional profit for himself, a bully who worries that any criticism underlines the illegitimacy of his three-million-minority election. Why would the designated leader of …

Read moreSmall Man in a Big Job