Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

To the Editor: I sure wish Donald J. Trump would consider something other than getting himself re-elected as an important part of being President of the United States of America! For instance, he could promote and support: the safety and security of all the American people; the economic security of America and its small businesses, the backbone of our nation’s employment; nurturing and supporting the sustainable environment of the earth, from which we derive our food and economic resources; the health and wellness of our people; the cooperative working relationship America has had with most of the rest of the world under virtually all past …

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To the Editor: President Trump just said the Corona virus was worse than the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the World Trade Towers. How stupid does he think the country is? Over 2,400 died when Pearl Harbor was attacked and almost 3,000 at the World Trade Center. Six died at a nursing facility in Kirkland, Washington which was the first major outbreak of the virus in this country. Presidents Roosevelt and Bush called those attacks acts of war. Trump said the virus was like the flu and an attack on him. Roosevelt got the country producing ships, planes, tanks and everything needed for war. He …

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To the Editor: These United States of America were founded upon dissent, civil disobedience, direct action, and defiance against a tyrannical government. On one hand, this nation proclaims pride in that fact and on the other, it works non-stop to suppress any expression of opinions that vary from the status quo Ameri-capitalist economic machine. Our founding fathers even went so far as to enshrine the suppression of dissent and defiance in the U.S. Constitution (Art. I., Section. 8.) Is there any wonder why the majority of U.S. inhabitants cannot seem to forge the kinds of structural change in governing powers that are truly necessary to …

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To the Editor: It is hard to keep up with an almost daily outrage from this Administration. From the Postal Service to the rape of the environment to “Obamagate” to hydroxychloroquine to dismissing Inspectors-General and on and on. “…a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Today I would like to address just one of these abominations—the “hard stop” of the Federal deployment of National Guard troops on Day 89 of their deployments, June 24th. This means that the troops will not be able to claim the GI Bill benefits to which they would be eligible if they were deployed …

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To the Editor: The U.S. Constitution’s 15th Amendment guarantees all citizens the right to vote. But until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, literacy tests suppressed voting in many states. Many hurdles for pandemic-wary New Hampshire voters promise novel forms of voter suppression. Hooray! The Governor and Secretary of State say anyone can vote absentee—just claim a disability (fear of Coronavirus). What about those hurdles? New Hampshire is the only state without registration by mail or online. The only way to register to vote is in-person at your Town Office… …which is probably closed. If applying (by phone, mail, email) to vote absentee, be sure …

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by Lawrence Wittner On March 19, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security issued a memorandum identifying the nation’s 2.5 million farmworkers as “essential” workers. Soon thereafter, agribusinesses began distributing formal letters to their farm laborers, also declaring that that they were “essential.” Of course, it shouldn’t have required a government-business effort to establish this point. Without farmworkers, there is no food. And the American people need food to survive. But, remarkably, over the course of U.S. history, farmworkers, although essential, have been terribly mistreated. Whether as slaves, indentured servants, sharecroppers, or migrant laborers, these millions of hardworking people endured harsh and brutal lives, enriching others …

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