I recently read the Dec. 9 opinion column, “About the President: He is not Well,” and an idea came across my mind. This article is about Donald Trump and the widespread impression among those close to him that he is mentally ill. Can’t we require President Trump to have psychological testing to settle the question? Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution suggests that a president can be removed from office for an “Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office.” If he failed the test, for example demonstrating that he is unable for some reason to complete his duties as president, he would be removed from office. Why are we letting this man rule the most powerful country in the world if he is showing strong characteristics of mental instability?
Nori Teller-Elsberg, age 10
Norwich
After President Donald Trump’s Dec. 12 tweet against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, it’s time to apply the 25th Amendment. Though it may spare him criminal indictment on the ground that he is mentally incompetent to stand trial, it’s far more important to cast him out of office. The nation’s future demands it.
John Raby
New London
Professors Jack Goldsmith and Adrian Vermeule of Harvard Law School in their recent column, “Why Conservatives Don’t Love the Ivies” ignored factual, scientific evidence before labeling a position liberal or progressive or conservative.
Universities are places for intellectual fact-finding using the scientific method of observation, hypothesis, experimentation and conclusion. In all those steps the researcher must be honest about the evidence. Honesty dictates following the scientific evidence, not one’s personal beliefs.
It is dangerous for our society and the Earth to ignore scientific evidence because it differs from “traditions and moral values widely seen as legitimate in the outside world.” Those very traditions and moral values depend for their legitimacy, in many instances, on false assumptions. The current accusations of sexual harassment are an example of the false assumptions about women that dictated their role in human societies over the centuries.
Our education systems from early childhood to graduate school must be based on factual scientific information, not “tradition.”
Babette L. Hansen
Lebanon
Fuel for the Picking
While I fully support alternative energy programs, including solar and wind-powered technology to minimize carbon dioxide in our air and avoid the use of coal and non-replaceable sources in the ground, there is a concept that should be considered more actively in New England.
If you look into our woodlands — particularly when the leaves are down — there are a huge number of fallen limbs and dead or fallen trees. It is significant that these limbs and fallen trees, if not picked up, will ultimately rot and will give off the same CO2 that they would if they were burned in some manner.
We have a 2.5 acre lot in Lebanon, and particularly after heavy wind storms there is a lot of wood that we collect to burn. Like many homeowners, we have a wood stove that will burn most any wood — particularly if it has been cut and put under cover and allowed to dry — even for a short time. We try to run our efficient wood stove for heating 24/7, and our oil furnace rarely goes on. This costs us nothing except some labor to collect the wood and, of course, helps save the environment.
Instead of buying freshly cut firewood, I would encourage others to pick up these fallen limbs that you see from the roads — perhaps with property owners’ approval, and burn them more aggressively in their own wood stoves.
One other alternative would be to assign nonviolent criminals who are often assigned to our overcrowded and costly jails to collect this wood and deliver it to a customer pickup location or even to the plant in Springfield that burns wood to generate electricity.
I hope this leads to further discussion.
Clark Griffiths
Lebanon
Dartmouth College is constructing a new bridge across Girl Brook in Pine Park in Hanover.
The site is just south of the high bridge over the ravine that connects the two sides of the golf course. A section of the path that leads across the brook is closed during the month of December.
Once the work is completed, runners, skiers, hikers and dog walkers will no longer need to negotiate slippery rocks. In the meantime, individuals will need to heed the signs and exercise caution in that part of the park.
The Pine Park Association greatly appreciates the college’s generous effort in improving public safety of the Pine Park trail.
Linda Fowler, President, Pine Park Association
Hanover