Editor:
Mr. Brennan’s letter (Mailbox, Dec. 15) shows how democracy fails when the electorate is uninformed and unwilling or unable to think.
Our system led to the election of a man who spent eight years spreading a racist lie intended to delegitimize the first elected mixed race president; a man who has left behind a trail of shafted colleagues, contractors and clients; a man who denies climate change, among other realities; a man who seems incapable of treating women like people; a man who has the gravitas of a delinquent and damaged fifth grader.
Mr. Brennan finds this exciting because, he says, “Trump believes America and Americans should come first.” Which candidate was arguing against America and Americans? Take a moment, Mr. Brennan, and see if you can come up with a coherent sentence explaining how Mr. Trump will help “Americans” in a way Ms. Clinton would not. By building a wall? By abandoning our alliances? By aligning our country’s 0.01 percent with the kleptocrats running Russia?
I agree that neither party has successfully addressed the needs of American workers who have been trashed and impoverished by automation and world trade. In my opinion, it’s as simple as this: The parties have built and preserved the wealth of the people who bought and own them, rather than respond to the increasingly desperate needs of the people they have pretended to represent. President Obama, in my opinion, was an example of the absolute best that a good, kind and brilliant man could accomplish peacefully, given the constraints imposed as a result of the long-ago collapse of any semblance of true democracy in this country.
I agree with Mr. Brennan about one thing: The country faces problems. People who would vote for a person like our new president-elect, fantasizing that he will improve things, are about the largest problem the country faces. How can anyone hope to improve things when their neighbors are so easily fooled by a classic demagogue?
Mitch Trachtenberg, Trinidad
Editor:
Rick Brennan (Mailbox, Dec. 15) can gloat about how the “elites” got “shellacked” all he wants. (Your candidate — for all your attempts to spin it otherwise — lost the popular vote by a significant margin, and was only declared the winner by virtue of a system ironically intended to prevent unprincipled demagogues from seizing control. But that’s a long story in its own right into which we won’t delve at the moment.)
He can insist that his guy “believes America and Americans should come first” until the end of time, if he so chooses. It remains that, when applied to an unabashedly self-aggrandizing 1-percenter who ran on a campaign of open divisiveness and the disenfranchisement of the most vulnerable citizens of this nation, such rhetoric verges on self-parody. (And the less said of lionizing him as a “revolutionary,” the better.)
Here, I’m sure, is where the usual reactionary battle cry of “sore loser” goes up. In the interests of taking the high ground, I will refrain from comparing and contrasting people’s concerns about the ramifications of this fiasco with the behavior of McCain and Romney supporters — who had far less at stake — after the last two elections.
K.A. Green-Wall, Eureka
Editor:
The election of Donald Trump is an American Tragedy. Every day he proves he is mentally unfit and morally bankrupt. He is a chronic liar whose word means nothing. Trump does not give a damn about the damage he is causing our democracy. He promised to drain the swamp, but is busy filling it with oily vulture capitalists, corrupt billionaires, climate denial experts on the payroll of big oil and wacko chicken hawks that have never been in a war, but are dying to start one.
Trump is so arrogant, ignorant and egotistical that he doesn’t believe the FBI or the CIA. He is not even in office and is already spreading false rumors and making trouble with China. Trump supporters put him in office, so don’t cry when you can’t breathe the air or drink the poisoned water. Expect corruption on a scale that has never been seen before.
Larry A. Lange, Bayside
This article appears in Top 10 Stories of 2016.
So long sixteen, youve been quite the year
Now, with the election over, its the result that I fear
With tweets from a twit in stunning array
Trumps taken this country to my painful dismay.
How dumb can folks be
Who threw in their lot
With a guy whod brag
About grabbin a twat?
A campaign bully, a trust funded jerk
He dumbed down his message, and made it work
Ignoring history, hed make up a fact
False news they called it Fox News backed!
Spewing mismis…misogyny
Marked by his disdisdishonesty
He found some appeal, he did find some backers
Like David Dukes and white Southern crackers
I still marvel how he with the mighty thin skin
Could convince even ducks that they couldnt swim
And sell real dumb fucks theory best found in comics
Case in point: trickle – down economics
Ill always remember, in a not so fond way
The revisionist drivel spawned by Kellyanne _ _ _ _ _ _
And that kiss-ass suck-up Chris Christie
He with the integrity of your average rice krispy
Explain to me how this electoral college
Lacks walls or classrooms to the best of my knowledge
Yet can validate 2nd place losers by popular vote
And turn them to winners that so get my goat?
Is this college a fraud? Is it open to folks like me too?
Or is it an illusion like the notorious Trump U
Its scary to think what was done to Al Gore
But its happened again, add one Dem more
As this year ends and Mr. Obama retires
Weary from eight years of fighting the fires
I want to thank my President, with his tested tough chin
Who weathered raw racism again and again!
To be succeeded by a new leader of the pack
The pack leader to be who told Putey to hack
Who tweets away like hes strung out on crack
Who means what he says but dont know Jack
Hes an entitled man child, thats putting it mild
He walks like a man and talks like a child
But theres more to this boy its the sum of his parts
That clouds the air like smelly old farts
When that air is polluted by more corporate profit
The water unfit because Trump thought little of it
When the country goes broke building some stupid wall
Tell me people, who ya gonna call?
With a soul which is sold through conflicts of interest
A prep school general who quite clearly pimped us,
will be deep in the swamp – with his ass nipped by gators
And when the economy flips, well all be Trump haters!
The redeeming knowledge held by each democrat
Is our Prez is still young, therell always be that
And old Don will have a sound critic, the one whos been there
The man still respected, for whom we still care
The man who came in / saved the economys ass
Who spoke with eloquence, the one who at last
Pulled us out of Iraq and stopped the damnation
Of dropping bombs on that troubled nation.
I cant wait for Barrack to lead the opposition
The public rallies are gonna be YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!
To all GOP who ducked Clinton for this?
To Mitch McConnell
To Ted Cruz
To Chris Christie
To Kellyanne Conway
To Paul Ryan
To Trey Gowdy
To FBI Director Comey
To You Trump Sucking Lovers of guns, One per centers, Climate change deniers, Sexist misogynists and Racial bigots
You can lie to yourself that youre not the sexist, racist xenophobe that our next commander in grief is. You can also try convincing sheep that theyre really kimono dragons. But while you Trump stumpers practice your patriot tea party swagger, history will remember you for what your vote did to set this country back in 2016.
Ten Questions Trump and his Voters Fail to Ask themselves because they wont look at the uncomfortable truth facing them in the mirror:
Just ask yourself Trump Voters
1. Why did Donald initiate and maintain the birther issue / question the Presidents citizenship for more than six years without acknowledging he was racist in doing so? Was it (a) to pander to white supremist ideology? (b) because he doesnt care but lacked reasonable evidence Obama was not a citizen? (c) he truly doesnt think any black man is smart enough to be president? (d) some other invalid reason for prompting racial division.
2. Why do both Donald and Ivanka Trump enlist foreign manufacturers to produce clothing line items they market under their Trump name brands? Is it (a) more profitable for them to do so than have American manufacturers do the same? (b) because Donald is duplicitous when he criticizes American companies for doing the same? (c) because they think off-shore labor produces a higher quality product? (d) some other invalid reason.
3. Why does Donald Tweet his opinions rather than express them in detail in front of the press? Is it (a) because tweeting is one way communication only? (b) his followers cannot process information beyond 140 characters? (c) he fails to think things through in depth and lacks cognitive ability to present a cogent argument in support of his views? (d) it avoids intelligent discourse when he paints the press as biased and unfair to justify his avoidance of them.
4. Why did Donald settle his case re: unfair practices of Trump University? Was it (a) because he duped students into enrolling with false promises? (b) because he would have to be deposed by opposing attorneys and have to answer direct questions or embarrass himself with the answers he would give? (c) because some of his unfair practices were disclosed and publicized? or (d) he chose to quell further embarrassing disclosure.
5. Why does Donald promote getting himself and others like him richer on the premise it will improve the economic lot of blue collar workers? Is it (a) because trickle-down economics has failed miserably under previous Republican administrations only to recover again under each successive Democratic leadership since WW2 a fact workers who support the Republican party never seem to grasp? (b) because trickle-down economic theory always begins with the premise of lowering the corporate tax rate which then provides he and the fellow 1%ers in his cabinet more profit? (c) because it gets himself and others like him richer? (d) because the nonsense of trickle-down economic theory Republicans promote slips through amongst the false news and fear mongering they obscure it amongst.
6. Why is Donald on his third marriage? Is it (a) his wives and girlfriends like money and the luxury it affords them but cant tolerate him for any extended period of time? (b) his hands really are that small? (c) he objectifies women and treats them as means to an end? (d) his attorneys are very facile drafting pre-nuptial agreements that cover his infidelity.
7. Why does Donald like and promote beauty pageants so much? Is it that (a) without money or acclaim to be had beautiful young women dont usually associate themselves with horny old orange men sporting combovers? (b) he makes money at it that then makes beautiful young women want to associate with him? (c) it feeds his ego and provides a key to celebrity status? (d) because in his own words If youre a celebrity they just let you grab them?
8. Why does Donald deny climate change? Is it that (a) the Democratic party would never let him run as their candidate but, as a Republican, that party has painted itself into a corner as science disclaimers lacking common intelligence? (b) Donald doesnt really understand scientific theory? (c) Scientists what Donald says repugnant and therefore refuse to educate him? or (d) Donald digs coal because voting coal miners dont dig a future of clean air without coal mining.
9. Why does Donald fail to reveal his tax returns / provide details re: the extent of his investments and potential conflicts of interest? Is it (a) potentially embarrassing? (b) information that would require him to divest profitable holdings? (c) revealing in terms of why he supports specific causes and/or ideology? or (d) those details contain information that upon investigation would reveal fraud and/or illegal business practices.
10. Why does Donalds support come primarily from the South and rural mid-America? Is it (a) because thats where the issues prompting our civil war still reign (in the case of the South)? (b) because those areas are struggling in their attempts to assimilate diversity and fear-mongering finds audiences in those regions? (c) bias and stifled intellectual curiosity has been conclusively linked to agricultural chemicals, bar-b-que, and country music? or (d) all the above.