Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

To the Editor: How is President Trump doing on his promise to Make America Great Again? The 2020 Social Progress Index measures quality of life in countries around the world based on the research of Nobel-winning economists. The top 10 countries are: Norway, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Iceland, and the Netherlands. The U.S. ranks 28th. It ranks No. 1 in the quality of universities, but No. 91 in access to quality basic education. We lead the world in medical technology, but are No. 97 in access to quality health care. The U.S. has the most wealth, but the highest income inequality …

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To the Editor: I very much appreciated Curtis Springer’s August 22nd [Portsmouth] Herald letter explaining how he would describe white privilege. A small example from my life is that I was at a yard gathering in Rye a number of weeks ago. I had evidently parked in a place on the road that wasn’t designated as safe for oncoming traffic. Midway into the gathering, I saw the lights of a police car. I knew immediately what the problem was. I moved my car. Incident done. Neither the policeman nor I was threatened by the other. I am a white, graying, middle class woman, and he …

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Generally we are not inclined to toot our own bosun’s whistle. In this case, though, we’ll make a happy exception. Our Tidal Guide for September 21st included this item: “1989—The Chase Manhattan Bank accepts for deposit a check sent as a prank by Spy Magazine. Endorsed by ‘short-fingered vulgarian’ Donald J. Trump, it’s for $0.13.” On Wednesday, this showed up on Twitter: “The ‘this day in history’ feature in the @NHGazette is the best I’ve ever seen—and not just because one of their events for yesterday was Donald Trump in 1989 becoming the only rich American of the dozens to whom Spy sent increasingly tiny …

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Dear Sir: It was with great disappointment that Allan Kerr, a person I almost always agree with, has decided to continue to support Senator Susan Collins. In his September 20th opinion piece, Mr. Kerr seemed to overlook many of the times Sen. Collins has supported Donald Trump in ways that were contrary to the best interests of Maine and America. He gave a great deal of credit for supporting the Bath Iron Works (BIW) and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY). He also praised the Senator for her support of the Thresher Memorial. It took absolutely no political courage on her part, or cost her any …

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