Pondering ‘Massive Development’

Let me get this straight: The proposed 900-acre “massive development” described on the front page of the March 24 Valley News will house and support up to 20,000 people.

I figure each person will consume, at a minimum, 5 gallons of water a day for personal use (bathing, drinking, cooking, laundry, etc.). That would mean a daily consumption of 100,000 gallons of water per day for personal use.

Add in water for food production — some with hydroponics) and the amount would probably double. That would be 200,000 gallons per day.

Where will all that water come from? And where will all those people come from?

And what will happen to all the wildlife that would normally inhabit those 900 acres: songbirds, deer, turkeys, squirrels, butterflies, bees, etc.?

Just wondering . . .

Fran R. Haugen

East Thetford

A Long, Pleasant Trip

After 43 years, I am retiring and would like to thank all of my wonderful client-friends, some who have been with me from the beginning, for enriching my life. I am very sad to give up the wonderful conversations about history, culture, politics and culinary delights.

I’ve traveled from Afghanistan to Antarctica to educate myself so that I would have both the experience and insight to make sure that your travel would be as fulfilling as possible. From school groups, family reunions, weddings, opera trips and individual travel, it has been a marvelous adventure.

Come say goodbye at my Norwich office any afternoon through Friday, and do come visit me in my garden.

Janet Flanders

Norwich

Feelings Aren’t the Issue

Jim Newcomb criticizes a Valley News editorial and justifies Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s stance by explaining that supporters would feel the same way if Ruth Bader Ginsburg had passed away with a year to go in G.W. Bush’s last term (“Explaining Ayotte’s Stance” March 24). He’s exactly right — Democrats would have felt the same way, and Sen. Ayotte is perfectly entitled to her feelings. The problem is not her feelings, it’s her behavior. Democrats have always been concerned when a Supreme Court vacancy occurs under a Republican president. The difference is that they have never acted on those feelings by refusing to consider the nominee. Like Donald Trump, Mr. Newcomb misunderstands the rule of law, much like a small child who has yet to learn what it means to act responsibly despite one’s feelings.

Jon Spector

Woodstock

The Blame Game

The blame game has started. Alarmed by terrorist attacks in France and Belgium, several leading Republican voices are calling not for solidarity with our European allies, nor for more cooperation between American leaders, but are simply scoring political points. Said former Republican candidate for president Rudy Giuliani last week, “Hillary Clinton could be considered a founding member of ISIS.”

Said former Republican congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, “Obama’s slavish press corps was forced to turn their gaze from adoring him to revealing the newest carnage in Brussels.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, in a rebuke to Obama’s call for working with our Muslim allies, many of whom serve in public office, said we must now “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods.” What better way to marginalize those who would help us? No need to mention Donald Trump as he is busy trying to circumvent the Geneva Convention so he can torture suspected terrorists and wipe our their families.

What’s happening to the Republican Party? The voices of division, fear-mongering and hatred become more shrill after every terrorist incident. Rather than call for unity, they increasingly point the finger at our president and our former secretary of state. Wearing their blinders, those who blame fail to see what’s happening around them. They are destroying their own party. And as the bullies and blamers pile on, we are trapped underneath it all gasping for air.

Don McCabe

Norwich

Cognitive Dissonance Now

Thank you for the letter of March 18 puzzling over Trump’s strong-man appeal.

Psychologists are generally familiar with the combination of tribe mentality and “cognitive dissonance.” For those less familiar it goes like this:

“I am a good person but I find the world to be scary and confusing. To feel safe again I will try belonging to the strongest alpha male, which means he must also be a good person, because I am a good person. But if I cannot belong to him personally, I will belong to his group. Never again will I feel afraid or confused. Hooray!”

What Trump adds to that time-honored survival recipe is the bully’s habit of “gaslighting,” or trying to make honest people appear and feel crazy.

The Forum writer called the loyal response to Trump “frightening.” Frightening maybe, but not rocket science.

Robert Spottswood

Norwich

Power of the Purse

As a non-lawyer, I suspect that the Senate performs in accordance with the Constitution when it — however unwisely — refuses to act on a presidential nomination to the Supreme Court. I also suspect that the House with its “power of the purse” could and should suspend the Senate’s pay until the Senate gets back to work.

Jim Hughes

West Fairlee