Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

Dear Editor, Why does Trump deny the efficacy of masks, when doctors agree this simple measure could prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths? Is he intentionally ignorant, or so selfish that the inconvenience of mask wearing to preserve other peoples’ health is beyond his moral character? Why does he actively thwart cooperative efforts to reverse global warming before the climate crisis becomes irreversible? Is he scientifically stupid, or selfishly willing to sacrifice the well-being of our planet to grab short-term petro-profit? Why does he work to remove health insurance from millions, before coming up with a workable replacement? Does he actually believe his slap-dash slogans …

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To the Editor: This is the season for ghosts, ghouls, goblins and reactionary Republicans! Be afraid, very afraid! Messner, Mowers, McConnell and Mr. Chameleon/Mr. Masquerade, Gov. Sununu! First, we have another carpetbagger vying for a New Hampshire congressional seat. Matt Mowers was a New Jersey operative for Gov. Chris Christie (See “Bridgegate”). Mowers is part of a far-right Republican plan to turn New Hampshire’s CD-1, RED! Moreover, “Colorado” Corky Messner is challenging Senator Shaheen for a Senate seat. Moreover, how many New Hampshire citizens know that the current governor has ties to the far-right Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, funded mostly by Koch Industries, …

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To the Editor: A few years back there were lots of stories of parents being unable to help their kids with math homework because the schools were teaching “the new math.” So here’s a little math quiz using the “new math.” Try not to peek at the answers. Question: When is 90 more than 100? Answer: when you are microwaving. 100 will translate to 60 seconds (i.e. 1 minute), and 90 will be 90 seconds, or 1 1/2 minutes. Question: When is two larger than 10? Answer: when you are a Republican senator trying to pack the Supreme Court. The Republican senate held up even …

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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, …

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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 …

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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 …

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