Mash Notes, Hate Mail & Other Correspondence

To the Editor: All of us here in New Hampshire and the rest of the country are doing our best to push down the Covid-19 threat so that we can get back to our previous normal lives. However, it is important for our political leaders, the healthcare community and the business community to develop a strategy now to get there after the health threat subsides. Most professional medical experts and worldwide business leaders are already recognizing that a major component in any such strategy must be intensive and comprehensive Covid-19 testing and testing for Covid-19 antibodies. We can assume that if a person has developed …

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To the Editor: Thank you for continuing to publish during this time made even crazier by the coronavirus. Thank you, too, for your generous offer to extend my subscription until you go back to print, but please keep my renewal date the same (November.) Yes, I love the feel of freshly printed cellulose between my fingers, but if I’ve gotten it, even in digital form, you don’t owe me. Please take the small amount that my subscription represents and use it to keep the commentary rolling. Stay well, Nan Graves Cape Neddick, Maine Nan: Aww…. The Editor

To the Editor: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” – Thomas Paine. I sense that the American public has not been so challenged and stressed since the days of World War II. Covid-19 was an act of nature. It has been made worse by the actions and decisions of President Donald Trump. The following quotations are taken from the Washington Post (March 20, 2020): “U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous, classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the …

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To the Editor: Please consider using and promoting the use of the phrase “physical distancing” instead of the somewhat misleading “social distancing.” “Social distancing” is one of the steps everyone has been and is being advised to take to slow the spread of the corona virus. What the experts actually want us to do is practice “physical distancing.” As you may know, the SARS COV2 virus (technical name for it) is transmitted through physical contact and proximity—touching the eyes, lips, or nose with something contaminated with the virus, like your dirty fingers, or inhaling droplets from a sneeze or the exhalation of someone who has …

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To the Editor: It was heartening to read in the New York Times that scientists around the world are collaborating to combat the coronavirus. They have put aside all other work to simultaneously focus on the pandemic and are sharing information across borders on all forms of coronavirus research, including viral genome sequencing, vaccine testing, clinical trials, and medical treatment. Dr. Francesco Perrone of Italy said, “I never hear scientists—true scientists—speak in terms of nationality.” Dr. Yazdan Yazdanpanah of France describes the spirit which unites them,”What is important is to come up with a solution for everyone. The way to achieve that is to collaborate.” …

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To the Editor: When I was a brand new 2d Lieutenant in an engineer unit in Korea, I once told my platoon how we were going to build a bridge. As I was walking away my platoon sergeant said to the troops “What the Lieutenant meant to say was….” Of course, being a new Lieutenant, I took umbrage and went back to set the troops straight. We built the bridge my way. Three months later, the bridge washed out just as Sgt. Gould had said it would. This embarrassing but life-altering lesson was brought to mind when I listened to our Glorious Leader expound on …

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