Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

Dear Sir: In response to President Biden’s mandate that all businesses employing more than 100 people to require COVID-19 vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing, Republican Governors are planning to sue the administration “to protect Americans and their liberties.” These are some of the same Governors that order mandatory evacuations of your home and business during a hurricane, order children to get vaccinated to attend schools, order women to undergo invasive medical exams for reproductive services, prohibit people from getting food and water while waiting in line to vote, passing laws making voting more difficult for minority populations, prohibit the teaching of historical facts in public …

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To the Editor: America is (allegedly) a democratic republic, so if you’re a billionaire wishing to pull the levers of government, you must first con millions of main-street voters into electing malleable candidates willing to do your bidding. Unfortunately, convincing folks to forsake their best interests in favor of yours can be expensive. To keep the gravy train rolling, you’ll need to fund think tanks, feed the right-wing media, hire lobbyists, weaponize your philanthropic giving, and make private payoffs to people you don’t even like. Little wonder members of the wealthy 0.1-percent club whine about paying income tax. After all, isn’t the massive investment needed …

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To the Editor: Tucker Carlson and the folks at Fox News have taken up cooking and the current dish du jour appears to be Hungarian goulash. Guess we shouldn’t be surprised because, in a world where the U.S. is threatened by authoritarian regimes such as China, Russia, and North Korea, it only makes sense to fight fire with fire. Really, we should not underestimate the appeal of a strong-man leader who possess the alacrity to leapfrog Congress, the electorate, and the courts in a single bound. These guys are decisive, agile, and able to get things done. It’s good to get things done long as …

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To the Editor: It’s no wonder that out-of-state corporate control of the New Hampshire legislature spawned a state budget that not only undermines public education, human services, adequate wages and progress toward addressing the climate crisis, but also includes language that perpetuates systemic racism and removes the right of women to make decisions about their bodies. Over the years the populace has not remained vigilant about evolving legislation and how it affects the quality of human lives and the living world. This neglect has allowed our path to democracy to falter. We have stepped aside and surrendered our power to the corporate elite. But as …

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