The Valley News is falling into the “he-said, she-said” coverage of Donald Trump’s handling of the grieving spouses of the soldiers killed in our endless wars, at the expense of coverage on the rationale of the wars themselves.
On Oct. 24, the front page featured a headline that read: “No Apology from Trump to Widow.” On page 3 was a headline reading: “Pentagon Gives Updated Account of Attack in Niger that Killed 4.” Three years from now when we go to the polls again, no one will care what Trump said or didn’t say to the grieving parent of a slain soldier … but thousands of voters will wonder why we are entangled in the affairs of distant nations without formal approval by Congress. And three years from now voters will wonder why we continue to spend billions on the military while there are more hungry and homeless children, while most of us pay higher taxes, while our Medicare costs are higher, while our infrastructure remains in disrepair.
I encourage the Valley News to take coverage of the fallout of Trump’s tweets off the front page and focus on consequential news like budget legislation and our reasons for being embroiled in fights abroad. The future of democracy hinges on these decisions, not on Trump’s tweets.
Wayne Gersen
Etna
I believe Hartford Selectman Mike Morris deserves the gratitude of the entire town for pursuing a solution to downtown parking problems, which I have felt were somewhat exaggerated to justify solutions such as meters or an urban-scale parking structure (“A Parking Solution in Plain Sight: Municipal Property Might Hold Key to More Spaces,” Oct. 24).
I agree with Town Manager Leo Pullar’s comment that sometimes the best solutions result from out-of-the-box thinking, as in the case of Morris.
What concerns me is that the consultants who were paid to research possible solutions apparently never thought to inventory the town’s landholdings. This appears to be a glaring lack of due diligence on their part, and they might consider refunding to the town a portion of the consulting fee.
I’m reminded of another situation about 30 years ago where I engaged in some out-of-the-box thinking to solve traffic problems on Route 12-A in West Lebanon. I walked into the office of Dan Nash, who was Lebanon’s city engineer at the time, and handed him a rough sketch of suggestions for some very simple changes to the traffic pattern, chief among which was moving the centered jersey barriers in the middle lane to one side to create an extended stacking lane for northbound vehicles turning left onto I-89. Nash viewed it skeptically because I had a degree in electrical, not civil engineering, but said he’d hold onto it. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from him months later telling me that a $20,000 traffic study yielded the same recommendations I had given him for free!
Implementing those simple changes bought decades of relief until a major 12-A improvement project was completed a few years ago.
The Town of Hartford has several infrastructure problems to address, and it’s entirely possible that the most effective solution will not necessarily be the most expensive or complicated one. Let’s have a little more out-of-the-box thinking and save the taxpayers of the town and school district a lot of money that they really can’t afford to waste.
William Wittik
Hartford
Hope, Despite Dire Climate Danger
On Oct. 17, I joined over 1,400 people from over 30 countries for a Climate Reality Conference in Pittsburgh. It was an eye-opening three days, as I truly began to understand the enormity of the climate crisis and the solid science that explains what is happening and how it is happening. The overwhelming amount of alarming data presented would have been crushing except for the exciting news about all the progress toward renewable energy that is being made.
It is clear that we must wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and go to 100 percent renewable energy. Some might think that is a far-fetched fantasy, especially amidst the loud howls of the fossil fuel lobby and the billions of dollars of propaganda they spew out to the contrary. The economics of renewable energy transformation is bringing a positive change to communities in the U.S. and around the world.
Renewable energy sector jobs outnumber and out-pay fossil fuel sector jobs already in places like Pittsburgh. Renewable energy increases air and water quality in communities long polluted by coal, oil and gas production. It is time to change our collective consciousness and embrace a clean energy future together.
Let us look into the facts, have the conversations, speak up, change our habits, embrace new ways to power and heat our homes and new fuels for our cars. We can change. Will we?
Carol Stedman
Hartland
I am writing with concern regarding the special election between candidates Republican Margaret Drye and Democrat Brian Sullivan. My biggest concern is the issue of women’s reproductive rights. In a recent article in the Valley News, Drye talked about her support for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act that passed the U.S. House two weeks ago, legislation that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks.
I would never presume that I have the right to make a decision for another woman about this.
I teach health sciences at the college level. I will not be provoked by emotional details of what a fetus feels or does not feel. I do not want to support a candidate who would support bills or write legislation that would deny a woman’s right to choose an abortion. Based on her public statements, I do not feel confident that she would be the right candidate to represent me in the New Hampshire House.
I will vote for candidates who stand with women. My experience at Planned Parenthood, when I arrived in Cornish in 1979, was a pivotal moment in shaping how I vote. I didn’t have a job or a primary care provider, and didn’t know where else to go for an annual physical exam. It was a welcoming atmosphere and offered its services on a sliding-scale fee. I continued to go there long after paying for the employer-funded health insurance for my annual women’s exams because I trusted the quality professional and careful treatment I received there. I stand with candidates who support Planned Parenthood. I will vote for Brian Sullivan.
Mary Boyle
Cornish
The writer is secretary of the Sullivan County Democrats.
After reading so many negative comments directed at the trooper who stopped Rabbi Berl Fink on I-91, I offer the following.
I am very familiar with the area where it happened, having driven that road hundreds of times. I was a Vermont State Trooper assigned to the Bradford Outpost in the early 1970s. As far as profiling the driver and family, in a dark and secluded area, when a car whizzes by at 80 mph, a trooper cannot see who is driving or passengers. And I challenge anyone, as I just did, to go onto a desolate road with very little traffic, set the trip recorder to zero, and drive 4 miles. Picture a set of headlights behind you, blue lights and siren engaged. The driver says he didn’t know the trooper wanted him to stop. Really.
Then the driver leads the trooper from a lightly populated area to a darker one before he stops. The driver has said he wanted to stop in a safer place. There was 4 miles of unobstructed breakdown lane before he stopped. From the video, it appears the trooper gave commands from a distance. It was still dark — no way he could see who he was dealing with.
I read opinions that the rabbi should be compensated. For what? Breaking the law. When you see emergency lights, pull to the right and stop.
He was speeding 80 mph on a road with numerous accidents from hitting deer. I have seen and been there at those incidents, as have most troopers. My feeling is the rabbi put his family in jeopardy by his actions. Had he obeyed the speed limit, or pulled over, maybe he would have been given a ticket for speeding, but it would have been over.
In the end, the trooper must protect the safety of everyone, including himself, until they know what is going on.
Robert Camarra
West Lebanon