Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

To the Editor: I grew up in the church. We lived two doors away, and my dad was a deacon. Sunday mornings, I sat between my parents in the pews. I sang in the choir and attended Scouting at the church. Among my keepsakes are pins denoting eight years of perfect attendance at Sunday School. I was President of the Youth Fellowship before I signed up for the Air Force, during Vietnam. In 42 years of military service we moved 17 times. Our final assignment was in Montgomery, Alabama, where we attended several churches—white, black, Jewish—and participated in the civic group One Montgomery, whose members …

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To the Editor: Living under the Trump Administration feels like being a passenger in a speeding car with a texting driver. And it gets worse. The President’s frequent threats to suppress vote-by-mail ballots are the equivalent of engaging the child door locks, trying to trap us in his reckless journey. He’s putting lives at risk because of his feckless leadership in a crisis. The President’s allies might suggest that Joe Biden is just an old man, driving below the speed limit. Given a choice, I’d rather be in Biden’s car. He would be more aware of what is going on around his vehicle. Unlike the …

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To the Editor: President Trump is so afraid of the Covid virus that everyone in the White House has to be tested every day. If anyone close to him or the Vice President tests positive Trump starts popping the pills he claimed were going to be the great cure. Given that, why would anyone think it is safe to go back to work when neither you, your coworkers or customers have been tested at all, let alone daily. Why would you trust the word of our Presidential Coward-in-Chief? Senator Susan Collins and her party believe they can force the 36 million who lost their jobs …

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To the Editor: Under federal law, the U.S. Department of Justice is charged with conducting a “pattern-or-practice investigation” when there is evidence of persistent biased or improper policing, with excessive use of force or other unconstitutional practices by law enforcement. A federal pattern-or-practice investigation is conducted in addition to any criminal charges or other action taken by state and local authorities. The recent killing of an unarmed, handcuffed black man by a white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on the man’s neck for eight minutes while the man said he couldn’t breathe and three white officers looked on, is apparently just the latest in a …

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To the Editor: Naturally, Democrats want to defeat the President Trump in the next election. Trump takes that personally and melts down. When then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking for Republicans, said, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term President,” Obama didn’t whine about how badly he was treated, or insult McConnell with nasty names on Twitter, or blame the media. He got busy. With the help of Joe Biden and Congress he rescued the country from the Great Recession with the $787 billion America Recovery and Reinvestment Act, spurring economic growth, turning around the …

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To the Editor: The Post Office represents the hope for the future of a functional republic. It has endured thousands of cuts from so-called “conservatives” in Congress who seek to break the postal union and impose pension requirements that no for-profit business not awash in billions could survive. Withal, the U.S.P.S. continues to link all in our country with excellent service and the best package shipping rates for working schmucks like you and me who don’t have the bucks or volume to wangle sweetheart deals with UPS or FedEx, who are licking their chops at the prospect of devouring the spoils of a broken-up U.S. …

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