In the past year, I have sent two suggestions to the Valley News regarding media coverage of President Donald Trump: First, relegate all of his tweets to a box on the entertainment page instead of giving them coverage in the news section, Second, publish a daily “box score” of all of his lies and misstatements.
Now I have another suggestion, which actually encompasses both of my previous ideas: In any coverage of the president having to do with something he has tweeted, just give his Twitter address (similar to the contact information given for senators and representatives) and let people who are interested find out for themselves what he has recently written. That would save a lot of space in the paper and save time for readers who feel obligated to read some of the nonsense that Trump writes if his tweets are actually published in the newspaper.
In my opinion, the media should focus on reporting what the president and people in his administration actually do. What the president says or writes is usually a distraction or is totally unhelpful in terms of rational discourse about our country and its fragile democratic institutions.
John Morris
East Corinth
Thinking about Veterans Day recently, I read some of my uncle William Winter Dean’s 1918 letters from France. On June 27, he wrote from Base Hospital No. 15 in Chaumont: “Dear Mother, … I was slightly wounded (at or near Chateau-Thierry). … The Dutch swine (meaning the Germans) put over on my sector the heaviest gas attack the Americans have yet experienced. … To add to the pleasure and comfort of the evening celebration, Dutch aeroplanes insisted on dropping gas bombs from on high. They also dropped some high explosives. All this took place within four hours. It is due to one of the (aerial) bombs that I am here. …
“The concentration of gas in my sector was so heavy that it was impossible to move around outside and escape without some burns. We knew Fritz would not come over in person to an area he had poisoned so badly so we devoted all our energy to taking care of ourselves. As my eyes are weak the gas naturally affected them some and I also have a few burns on my back and scalp. … I am receiving the most excellent care and treatment at the biggest American hospital in France and my condition is rapidly improving.”
He was visited by an official with the Red Cross, Robert E. Olds, who wrote to his father, William John Dean: “He and his associates have been through the Great Fight which has put the American Army on the map. It is quite impossible to give you an adequate idea of the impression it has created and of the value it has been to our cause. Nothing finer or more important has been done or will be done during the war. … We know now that we shall win the war.”
A week before the end of the war, William Dean was wounded again by a German sniper in clearing out the town of Beaumont-en-Argonne. He received a number of medals for his service.
He died at age 33 of spinal meningitis.
Elisabeth W. Russell
Norwich
I want to thank all the voters in Sullivan County District 6 for their vote on Nov. 6. It has been a real privilege to represent the people of District 6 (Newport and Unity) and District 9 (Croydon, Cornish, Plainfield, Grantham, Springfield, Sunapee, Newport and Unity) for the past six years. Alas, but for 24 votes, I am no longer in the New Hampshire House.
It was a good run, I think I made a difference and I am proud of my record. I look forward to serving New Hampshire in other ways and I thank you all for your support. Please stay involved in local politics because we need good people to engage so that everyone benefits and New Hampshire moves forward.
Rep. Virginia O’Brien Irwin
Newport, N.H.
I read the article about the increase in the mice population (“Upper Valley Mice Are Out of Hand: Explosion of Rodents Gnaws at Homeowners, Pest Control,” Nov. 4). The article advised that spring traps, catch-and-release methods, ultrasonic devices and sealing cracks are the most humane measures, and I would like to support that.
But please do not put out poison to kill mice. The good news is that, with an increase of the mouse population, the predator population — including barred owls, along with barn, screech and great horned owls, as well as hawks — will increase, too. But if a hawk or an owl eats a poisoned mouse, then it, too, will be poisoned. If a turkey vulture, raven or crow eats the dead poisoned predator, now you have an unbalanced system.
Karen Richardson
White River Junction
Regarding the results of the midterm elections: Now it’s a fair fight.
Barry Wenig
Lebanon