By admin,Heather Cox Richardson

Copyright nhgazette

Dear Editor;

This past week saw the Secretary of Health and Human Services, aka “The Charlatan,” grilled, roasted and fried to a crisp in front of a bipartisan panel of Congress critters. Between gasping for breath and lying through his teeth, we didn’t learn much we didn’t already know. I would like to have heard the senators ask the following questions.

Q: Mr. Secretary, you repeatedly and constantly trash the data produced by the CDC, whether it’s Covid-related or pertains to other health issues. When asked to produce an answer involving data, you first say you need to look at the data, then you say the data is garbage. You have taken a strong stand against vaccines, claiming that they cause autism, are ineffective, can result in death, etc., etc. On what basis do you make these claims? Where is YOUR data to back up your assumptions that vaccines not only don’t work but that they actually are harmful to us? Why do you disbelieve CDC data that is science-based and peer-reviewed? Tell us, is the earth round, or is it flat? Does the sun rise or does the earth revolve? How do you know?

Q: As a follow-up to my first question, if not vaccines to stop the spread of highly contagious and lethal diseases, then what? Bleach? Ivermectin? The insertion of fluorescent light tubes into bodily cavities? What is your view of “herd immunity”? Do you believe that if one has been exposed to and contracted a deadly disease, that that person should just accept it and die? Why is everyone who disagrees with you wrong and everything coming out of your head the gospel truth? What effect do you think your brain worm has had on your cognitive abilities? Do you still use heroin?

There is a sliver of hope. This quack could be gone as of the next issue of this paper, since the dictator was caught on tape yesterday saying that vaccines are effective. As the dictator himself is so fond of saying, we’ll know more in two weeks. Maybe.

John C. Ficor

Richmond, Va.

How would you feel about moving to New Hampshire and running for Senate?

Is Our Economy Great Yet?

To the Editor:

In 2024, under President Biden, job production averaged 186,000 per month. Candidate Trump called that disastrous. He said his tax cuts for the rich would produce a booming economy. Instead, job production has fallen off a cliff. Total job production for the three months of May, June, and July was just over 100,000. August produced 22,000 jobs. June lost 17,000 jobs. Under Biden 592,000 jobs were produced from May through July of 2024.

Before this year, if persons on Medicaid lost their job, they did not lose their health care. Now they will, not because they are lazy, but because the economy is not producing enough new jobs and Trump’s party decided the poor needed to lose benefits to pay for tax cuts for the rich. This applies only to the poor. Congress does not work a day in August, yet they keep their health care. They haven’t passed any of the bills necessary to run the government beginning in September, yet they took August off and kept their health care.

The time has come for voters to realize that Trump and his party are not good for the economy, public health, or anyone except the richest Americans.

Walter Hamilton

Portsmouth N.H.

We have long thought that the public and the media tend to overestimate the degree of influence presidents have on the economy. We are still not sure they can do all that much in the way of improvement. As for wreckage? We stand corrected.

The People of Claremont Deserve Justice

To the Editor:

For more than three decades, the people of Claremont have been fighting for something that most Granite Staters have taken for granted: fair and equitable funding for their children’s education. They have won multiple court victories, and judges across New Hampshire have reaffirmed what we already know: our current method of funding public schools is regressive and unjust.

Yet this fall, the children of Claremont are faced with a school system that is on the brink of collapse; teachers are being laid off, sports teams are without transportation, and residents are bracing for tax increases.

Under today’s system, towns that are property-poor pay a far greater share of their personal income towards public education than towns blessed with property wealth. This structure does more than imbalance the tax burden; it locks in inequality. The rich get richer, while children in struggling communities see their schools starved of resources. The result is an education system where opportunity depends not on a child’s talent or determination, but on their zip code.

That is not justice. That is not the New Hampshire way.

As governor, I will work with the legislature to deliver the justice Claremont has long been denied: a fair, statewide system for funding public schools in which no community is punished for its lack of property wealth. Every child, whether they live in Claremont, Portsmouth, or Pittsburg, deserves the same chance at a quality education.

But reforming funding alone is not enough. If the state is to assume the majority of school financing, as the courts have mandated, then we must also rethink how our schools are managed. That means reducing bloated administration, finding efficiencies through economies of scale, and building real accountability into the system. For too long, the state has taken a hands-off approach, leaving the poorest towns to struggle on their own while wealthier cities prosper.

The Claremont community dared to challenge this inequity thirty years ago. Their fight was not just for themselves. It was for every family across New Hampshire. It is time for us to honor that fight, not with empty words or half measures, but with the meaningful change our courts, our teachers, and most importantly, our children have long deserved. The people of Claremont asked for justice. New Hampshire owes it to them, and to every child in this state, to finally deliver it.

Candidate for Governor of N.H.

Newmarket, N.H.

Scanning New Hampshire’s political landscape, we don’t see many signs of hope. Thanks for providing one.

Our Murderer-in-Chief

Dear Editor:

As reported by Heather Cox Richardson regarding the destruction of a civilian boat in international waters killing 11 people, she quoted retired Navy captain Jon Duffy who wrote an op-ed published in Defense One, which covers issues of national security. Duffy warned that “[t]he United States has crossed a dangerous line” into “lawless power,” operating without regard to the law.

Duffy reminded readers of the Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling in Donald J. Trump v. United States that the president cannot be prosecuted for crimes committed while exercising official duties. He noted that experts warned that the decision would “give the commander-in-chief license to commit murder,” but a majority of the court dismissed those concerns. “Now,” he writes, “the president has ordered killings in international waters. Eleven people are dead, not through due process but by fiat. The defense secretary boasts about it on television. And the president will face no consequences.”

“This is no longer abstract,” Duffy writes. “The law has been rewritten in real time: a president can kill, and there is no recourse. That is not strength. That is authoritarianism.”

Duffy writes that the exact same logic was used when he sent National Guard troops into U.S. cities: “redefine the threat, erase legal distinctions, and justify force as the first tool.” He warned that “the commander-in-chief of the most destructive military power in history has been placed beyond the reach of law.”

Duffy urged military leaders to stand firm. “A republic that allows its leaders to kill without law, to wage war without strategy, and to deploy troops without limit is a republic in deep peril. Congress will not stop it. The courts will not stop it. That leaves those sworn not to a man, but to the Constitution. The oath is clear,” he wrote. “[U]nlawful orders—foreign or domestic—must be disobeyed. To stand silent as the military is misused is not restraint. It is betrayal.”

As a retired military officer I applaud Captain Duffy for his courage to speak out and remind others who took the same oath we did to “stand firm.”

Rich DiPentima

Portsmouth, N.H.

Trump commits lawless acts every hour he’s awake. This one was particularly egregious. That there has been so little pushback is yet another indictment of the rest of our political establishment.

Suggestions for the President

To the Editor:

Some suggestions, Mr. President:

Get rid of the “wanna-be dictator” attitude. It doesn’t suit you, and America hates it!

Put some humanity in your decisions. America deserves no less.

Find some empathy in your heart for people struggling in this economy. America will think more kindly of you, and your legacy will be more positive for America and for you.

Stop disappointing America’s allies.

Get some perspective on the hollow praise that your sycophants and our international adversaries shower on you. There is a method behind them, particularly those from Russia’s Putin.

Stop “terrorizing” your political opponents; it only shows your shallowness and diminished stature.

Scale back on making the U.S. Military the “enforcers” of your clearly illegal program attacking Blue states and Democratic cities. You will not win that battle; the Supreme Court is not that corrupt!

Stop feigning that you care for Americans, our Constitution, and our democratic form of government. Focus on what you are really good at:

Swindling America to enrich yourself and your family.

Cheating at golf.

Read the book, How To Win Friends And Influence People.

Sorry… I forgot! It is rumored that you don’t even read the Daily Briefing Reports that you get from all of your Intelligence Agencies, outlining the daily threats to our nation and populace.

Reflect on how you could improve yourself and your Presidency!

Exeter, N.H.

As if this deteriorating, ambulatory heap of self-interest could ever spare a thought for anything other than his own grotesque desires.

The Many Ways Trump Weakens the U.S.

To the Editor;

The recent celebration in China to commemorate victory over Japan in World War II was not just a demonstration of Chinese military prowess. The presence of the leaders of Russia, Iran and North Korea beside Xi Jinping was an affirmation of their alliance and continued resistance to a U.S. led global order. Moreover, the attendance of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, a long-time antagonist of China, should be viewed as a warning sign of the dangers of Trump’s chaotic economic and foreign relations policies.

China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are united in their view of the U.S. as a common adversary and resent American global leadership. Nowhere is this more evident than in their support of Russia in its war against the Ukraine. China, North Korea and Iran have provided Russia with significant aid in the war. China along with India are the largest buyers of embargoed Russian oil, keeping the Russian economy afloat and helping finance the Russian war effort. North Korea has provided troops as well as ammunition and ballistic missiles. Iran is a major supplier of drones and China supplies computer chips and related military technology. Without the support of these allies, it is questionable whether Russia could continue to sustain its effort against Ukraine in the face of Western embargoes. This collaboration is likely to persist while the support offered to the Ukraine by the Trump administration is erratic. Trump has at times parroted Putin’s propaganda about the war while criticizing Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, an ominous sign for the long-term security of the Ukrainians. NATO countries must be alarmed at Trump’s tepid support for the Ukraine while an alliance of autocracies enables the Russian invasion of a European country.

The autocratic alliance clearly seeks a Russian victory in the Ukraine if only to defeat American interests, but their geopolitical goals are broader than that. They seek to create a new global order, displacing American hegemony not only militarily but also economically, financially and culturally. They are being aided in the effort by Trump’s confused and erratic policies. His harebrained tariff program has not only hamstrung domestic economic growth, but it has also alienated allies who are essential for countering the autocratic coalition. The presence of India’s Modi in China is an example. Relations between India and China have often been fraught with conflict and the U.S. has worked hard to engage India as an ally to counter China’s power in Asia. Trump’s decision to levy a 50 percent tariff on Indian exports as punishment for buying Russian oil, however, enraged the Indians and was a likely motivator for Modi’s visit where he pledged economic cooperation and expanded trade with the Chinese. Other American allies including South Korea, Canada, Spain and Brazil have sought to expand trade not only with China but also within Asia and South America.

World War II was won by an allied coalition powered by American economic might. While Trump policies are weakening our alliances in the confrontation with the autocratic axis, China is emerging as an effective counter to America’s power. China has four times the population of the U.S and twice the manufacturing capacity. It also has significant advantages in battery and solar manufacturing technology and rare earth production. Additionally, China graduates significantly more engineering and science students from its university system than does America. They will provide the cohort which will power China’s development of leading-edge technologies such as AI. Chinese development will not be contained, and its leadership will be enhanced by the significant industrial and technological capabilities of Russia, Iran and North Korea. To counter the resources of the autocratic axis, the U.S. must rely on an effective global alliance of industrialized countries that can counter their advantages. The partnership must be based on shared democratic values and be characterized by respect and collaboration rather than on the coercive tactics of Trump who has sought to withdraw America from global leadership and who seems to admire global despots more than democratic leaders. Trump’s incompetence presents not only an internal danger to American democracy, but it also exposes us to the external threat presented by the alliance of autocrats.

Robert D. Russell, Ph.D.

Harrisburg, Pa.

We have long had a jaundiced view of the U.S.’s postwar global hegemony, largely because the ultimate goal of our foreign policy seemed to be to serve the same beneficiaries that our domestic policy always does: throw a bone to the have-nots, while the haves enjoy their feast.

That said, it’s shocking to see Trump piss it all away, while statesmen like Lindsay Graham don’t even have the decency to do a little performative pearl-clutching.

Constitution Day, 2025

Dear Editor,

Constitution Day is September 17. What Constitution? There is no American Constitution left to talk about, so we may as well take that day off our calendars. That way we can free-up space for something like Downfall Day, or Outlaw Day.

Today we have a Constitution of Diversionary Sports and Music Entertainment, Legalized Loan Sharking, Endless Civic Strife.

Our politicians literally never mention any principle or article of our decrepit Constitution because Democrat and Republican alike are busy violating it every day.

We have adopted a written law put out by judges who for over 100 years have been putting distance between their decisions and the Constitution by way of legal “precedents,” which legalize whatever they think will fly with our ignorant people on any given day.

Recently, our high court figured that these people were ready for monarchy, so they cranked out a precedent that says, “The President can do no wrong during his term of office.” He has immunity from prosecution for any and all crimes he commits.

Welcome to King Day, America!

Kimball Shinkoskey

Woods Cross, Utah

We can’t remember the last time anyone so much as brought up the subject of Constitution Day. Were it not a Briticism, we’d say “Hear-hear.” Meanwhile, guess who’s off to London to hobnob with Prince Chuck?

War and Peace

Dear Editor:

Donald Trump, who was born a year before the United States traded in its battle-scarred old War Department for what became a shiny new Department of Defense, now wants a brand new War Department.

Let us never forget that our very first Secretary of Defense either threw himself out a high window to his death or was thrown out. Can we trust Donald Trump not to throw each new Secretary of War under the bus until he gets one who will do his bidding?

And let us remember that not once since 1941 has Congress declared war.

As an old professor who attained the age of reason during our last declared war, I think it reasonable to suggest that what the world really needs now is for our nation to have not a War Department but a Department of War and Peace—and for Congress and Congress alone to declare it is time to make war to keep or restore the peace.

As we approach the election of a new Congress soon after our nation’s 250th birthday, let us endeavor to place the power to make war of war or peace in the hands of reasonable men and women from both sides of the aisle.

Julian Riggs Smith

Durham N.H.

You want to put our war powers “in the hands of reasonable men and women from both sides of the aisle.” That’s an admirable sentiment, but we see an obstacle. Whatever reasonable people a certain party may once have had, have all self-deported since the Rise of the Newt.

Stop the “Black Fleet”

To the Editors:

Betsy Klein & Kevin Liptak, and three others, write for CNN that “Trump issues an ultimatum for NATO countries on Russia sanctions.” The excellent reporting does not, however, pursue alternatives; that if the Trump administration were truly interested in stopping the war, they would use their vast naval resources to interdict the “black fleet” of tankers carrying Russian oil and gas to the marketplace. Those ships should be off-loaded, the cargo sold on the open market, the proceeds used to support Ukraine, and the ships anchored off-shore and disabled. This truly would quickly stop the war, not Trump’s bluster and insulting ultimatum to other NATO countries, which Trump knows NATO countries will never accept.

The ongoing argument against interdiction of the shadow fleet transporting Russian oil and gas has been that the removal of those products from the global market would cause such a great shortage that the cost of oil and gas worldwide would skyrocket. But seizing of the ships in the shadow fleet, selling their cargo, and disabling them from continuing to take Russian gas and oil to global markets, keeps their gas and oil in the worldwide supply, while denying the Russians the revenue they dearly need to continue their invasion of Ukraine. Of course doing so would do harm to Trump’s imagined friendly relationship with Putin, which appears to be more important to Trump than ending the war in Ukraine.

That’s how to stop the war, not bullying and ultimatums—the usual Trump tactics.

Dover, N.H.

A bold stroke, laden with uncertain ramifications—and a likely insurmountable obstacle: Trump would have to give up any future hope of seeing his name plastered onto Moscow’s skyline.

So Much Bad… But Gaza Is the Worst

To the Editors,

Admit it—it’s clear now, don’t you think? The world’s freedom experiment, staged in the U.S., has produced a bloated, hopelessly malignant culture that epitomizes the experiment’s failure, and you can’t fix it. Faith has been broken. You won’t be able to stuff the genie back into the bottle—he’s grown to size 5XL.

It’s true that along the way the experiment yielded much good but, oh, there are all those bad things that just kept reproducing right under our noses while we looked away. You know what I’m talking about. All that over-the-top selfishness and lack of self-restraint that led us to do whatever it took to get what we wanted while disregarding any harm caused. The signs were there: the lack of genuine camaraderie; the convenient disposability of unwanted things, people, and principles; the mental strain of trying to keep up with the Joneses; the cushiony chair and increased aloofness from the real world; the necessity for installing additional external controls to restrain our behavior through force. Violence got easier, as in things like school shootings, hate crimes, and road rage. It’s not safe to live here—there’s threats around every corner and mulberry bush. And all of this was goosed up a few notches more by the example set by current leadership. Please stop me now—otherwise I’ll be here all day.

Oh, but I haven’t mentioned how these domestic developments spilled over to how we have treated people throughout the rest of the world. Just look at that incredibly long list of U.S. interventions. Where do I even start? The Cuban blockade, 1953 Iran, Vietnam, Iraqi WMD, Chile’s Pinochet… please stop me—space here is limited. But this brings me to Gaza—a live-streamed genocide by a U.S.-supported apartheid state. Can it get any worse? How the U.S. slapped down the Palestinian people for decades is a defining moment for the world’s freedom experiment. Here is the most blatant of all offenses; the peak, the height, the apex.

The envelope, please… the award goes to this horror. It takes a special kind of selfishness to allow what has been happening there. So bye-bye to the American Dream. For the sake of humanity, I welcome the coming new equilibrium, fresh alliances, realignment of nations (but how I wish it was all just a bad dream).

William Trently

Stratham, N.H.

Well, when you put it that way, things do look sort of bleak. Nevertheless, we intend to stand true to our motto: Nil Desperandum.

For one thing, if we we give up, they win. They don’t deserve to win, so we’re not going to just hand it to them.

What else is there to do, except to do what we can? We don’t expect to reverse anything anytime soon, but to live in submission would be mortifying.

The Final Nail?

Dear Editor,

This past week may have seen the final nail driven into the coffin of sanity and democracy. If information about the soon-to-be accused killer of Charlie Kirk is true, here’s where we are as I write this: A far right, no, make that a far, far, far right disciple of some bird named Nick Fuentes who has determined, get this, that Kirk was insufficiently far, far, far right, decides to take matters into his own hands and do the deed on Kirk. It inconveniently turns out that he’s a white, 22 year-old male from a family of gun-loving Republicans, no less. Big problem for the far right, the far, far right and most of all the far, far, far right.

So, right on cue, the Current Thug Regime, somewhere between the far right and the far, far right, predictably blames the rest of us, aka The Radical Communist Marxist Left, for Kirk’s death. Eighty percent of us, or who knows how much of the country, are now caught in the middle of this insanity and quickly being hunted down by the Secretary of Defense/War, fired from our jobs by complicit cowardly employers, and bombarded with blizzards of death threats and vicious invective on our phones and laptops from each of the varying degrees of far right for expressing our opinions on the demise of Kirk.

I don’t know where we go from here.

John C. Ficor

Richmond, Va.

Where do we go from here? We have no earthly idea. Don’t worry, though. The crazies among us will take us all there soon enough.