Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

To the Editor: The Washington Post recently published an article pointing out that trust in institutions—government, media, the law—has plummeted, and is having a measurable effect on Americans, especially young Americans. For many close observers, the Post reported, “a direct line can be drawn from today’s civics crises to a long-standing failure to adequately teach American government, history and civic responsibility.” Maybe—but even though a diverse collection of academics, historians, teachers and education leaders subscribe to that premise, I think the problem extends much farther and far deeper. In an interview in 1908, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931, a U.S. inventor) stated that “the most necessary …

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Dear Editor: On Friday, April 9th, an historic moment took place with the passage of HB177 in the New Hampshire House. Despite HB177 coming out of the GOP-controlled Environment and Agriculture committee as ITL (Inexpedient To Legislate), along party lines 10-9, representatives from both parties worked behind the scenes, on the last day of the House session, to overturn the ITL and PASS HB177 with bi-partisan support, 197-159. In light of the fact that this battle to save Forest Lake State Park is now entering its third year, perhaps now is a good time to connect the dots and tally the score. Since Casella Waste …

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To the Editor: As the State Representative for Ward 3 in Portsmouth, which includes the Peverly Hill Road, I have heard from many residents over the years regarding their need for a sidewalk on that street. That is why I am very happy to learn that they are finally getting the sidewalks that will make their neighborhood safer. I live only ¼ of a mile off of Peverly Hill Road and have often walked that street to get to the Toyota dealership and Market Basket. It is indeed a very dangerous road to walk on, and I understand families who are concerned about their children …

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To the Editor, Way back in 1931, Winston Churchill predicted the rise of cultured meat. For those who don’t know know, this revolutionary protein is grown from animal cells, without slaughter. It has only recently been granted regulatory approval in Singapore. An Israeli company has reduced its production cost to $7.50 for a quarter pound of cultured chicken. “With a greater knowledge of what are called hormones, i.e. the chemical messengers in our blood, it will be possible to control growth,” the future British leader wrote in Strand Magazine. “We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast …

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by Dan Weeks In 1645—decades before the colony of New Hampshire was independently established—historical records show that the purchase and sale of human beings began in the “Live Free” state. In that year, an African man was kidnapped in Guinea and brought to Portsmouth for a life of servitude. His European enslaver would later be punished by the local Puritan authorities—not for owning another human being but for working his human chattel on the Sabbath. On the eve of the Revolutionary War in 1773, official statistics showed that 674 persons of African descent were enslaved in New Hampshire. One of them, Prince Whipple, fought for …

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