Letters to the Editor: Trump 01.12.17

No Need

East Hampton

January 9, 2017

Dear David,

It doesn’t surprise me that the Donald’s Congress doesn’t feel a need to have all his nominees complete ethics vetting before confirmation hearings. That’s who they are.

With the confirmation of Jeff Sessions and the inauguration of the Donald, it could very well be that there would be no need for a wall and no immigration issues — because who in their right mind would want to come?

STEPHEN A. GROSSMAN

Political Violence

East Hampton

January 8, 2017

To the Editor:

In 1968, the presidential candidate Richard Nixon sent emissaries to South Vietnam to derail the Paris peace accord to end the war. He succeeded in derailing the peace talks and kept the war going for another five years. John Fallon’s new book on Nixon gives proof of what Nixon did, from H.R. Haldeman’s notebooks from that period. Nixon’s crime was one of the most heinous, violent, repugnant crimes committed by any Amer can politician. It went unpunished.

In 2003, President George W. Bush lied to the American people about the threats to our safety from Saddam Hussein. The ensuing war cost the lives of 4,000 U.S. soldiers and 750,000 Iraqis. The war is in its 14th year and has completely destabilized the Middle East. The crime did not provoke the same level of death and destruction as Nixon’s. It went unpunished.

In 2016 Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party refused to give a hearing to President Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court. McConnell’s action violated the Constitution and his oath of office. The Republican Party’s behavior from 2008 to the present was a case of the same violations. The extraordinary racism that provoked and propelled McConnell and the Republicans was an act of extreme cruelty and violence perpetrated against the American people. (Racism in any form is violent. Physical, psychic, economic, or social are all the same.)

If you are caught selling crack you can spend 15 years in prison, but if you intentionally undermine the country’s democracy, like McConnell, you are applauded for being clever. The hypocrisy in our treatment of politicians engenders a level of criminality that has no limits. Acts of political violence almost always go unpunished. Napalm and Agent Orange in Vietnam, Iran-Contra, Allende in Chile, etc., are excused as ugly political realities, rationalized by political expediency — “saving American lives” or some other drivel. Yet the recipients of the accepted violence are never white, rarely Christian, always poorer than we are. Holding politicians to a lower standard then the rest of us guarantees that they will screw the system to their advantage.

In 2017 we are asked what we are to do about McConnell. Do his racism and criminality go unpunished, applauded, or should the solution be radical and violent? Violence only breeds more violence, especially in the most violent country in the world. To pretend McConnell is not a criminal fosters a delusional sense that we are okay when we aren’t — the idiotic fallacy of a smiley face instead of outrage and a demand for punishment.

“Defective” is the operable terminology. Common sense supplies the solutions.

NEIL HAUSIG

The Wrong Person

Springs

January 4, 2017

Dear David:

Not many Americans — including, apparently, President-elect Trump — actually know what the Department of Energy does. If Mr. Trump, or the Trump transition team, had researched the responsibilities of the department and put some thought into what its leadership requires, he would not have nominated former Texas Governor Rick Perry for secretary of energy.

The Department of Energy administers, monitors, and safeguards our stockpile of nuclear weapons, runs our nation’s nuclear weapons labs, manages the safe storage and security of nuclear waste, and makes sure our nuclear reactors are managed safely, among other scientifically demanding responsibilities. The department’s work is complex and highly technical, and the penalties for wrong decisions can be devastating.

These are important reasons why the past two appointments to this position have been scientists. In an age when we are trying to reduce and limit the spread of nuclear weapons to countries such as Iran and North Korea, we need this department to be led by someone who actually knows what goes into producing a viable nuclear weapon and what’s required to detect treaty violations. It would also be helpful if the secretary had working knowledge of the issues surrounding the risks of nuclear waste and storage technology. At the very least, the secretary should understand the science behind the department’s work and be able to interpret and communicate the issues — and the best responses — to the public, and, when necessary, to the president. Mr. Perry is woefully deficient in each of these areas.

The Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Senator John McCain, and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Senator Lisa Murkowski, will be holding confirmation hearings on this nomination. We need to let them know the United States needs and deserves a more responsible choice for this crucial position.

Rick Perry may well be a nice guy, and his political instincts may align with those of the president-elect, but that’s not enough for this job. He is the wrong person for secretary of energy.

BRUCE COLBATH