Enough Disappointment to Go Around
I was sorely dismayed by the publication of your editorial as if Hillary Clinton had won (“Between the Lines: What Might Have Been,” Nov. 9-16, 2016). I am a supporter of Mrs. Clinton, but your decision to print the column you’d hoped would be relevant was not what good journalists do. Rather than working hard to write a poignant, meaningful and real column, you chose to fall back on the column you were clearly emotionally attached to. We need harder working journalists, not fantasy writers, if we are to live in this brave, new world.
Deborah Rolski,
New Salem
Fighting for Health Care
I am a nurse psychotherapist with 40-plus years of experience and have never witnessed the collective despair following the terrible election news. I appreciate the “Election Over; Fight On: How to work against some of the president-elect’s most odious plans,” Nov. 9-16, 2016, article but would add one more “fight on” subject.
Many of us fear that the Affordable Care Act and the resulting medical health progress will be destroyed by the regressive administration and congressional majority. Trump’s threat that Medicare may be privatized is only one of a list of concerns re: possible health insurance destruction. A return of the legal right of insurance companies to ban anyone with a “pre-existing condition” would also push us back to the pre-ACA dark ages. The best interests of insurance companies would again be prioritized over the majority of Americans. How would you define the fight regarding this critical issue?
Susan L. Williams,
Greenfield
Pull a Palin
I’m having some trouble dealing with the new president-elect — I can’t bring myself to write his name. When I woke up and heard the election results, my first reaction was to go back to bed for four years. He won because more people hated Crooked Clinton than hated Donald Drump. When Chris Christie led his transition team, I assumed that the first thing he’d do is close all the bridges over the Potomac. But now we don’t really know what Donald Drump will do as president. He doesn’t know; why should we?
It seems that people who graduated college voted for her; those who didn’t go to college voted for him. So if he runs again, that will be enough time for everyone in the country to get their BAs before the next election. On the positive side, it was a very good election result for Alec Baldwin and Vladimir Putin. Frankly, I feel sorry for Drump because he’s not going to like being president very much. Nobody listens to you, you get blamed for everything, and there’s always some guy trying to make a name for himself by spreading lies about you. If he’s smart he’ll follow Sarah Palin’s example and quit after two years. That’s real leadership. Actually, I heard that Drump can’t legally be president because he was born in Kenya and because the election was rigged. But I digress. Don’t worry Democrats, this too will pass — I’ve had kidney stones, and I know.
Andy Morris-Friedman,
Hadley
Give Trump a Chance
I am neither celebrating nor despairing over the Trump win. My feelings are wait and see. The man is very proud of his name and I think he will want to have a great legacy. To do that, he’ll have to be a proud and considerate president — and intelligent! I totally disapprove of violent protesting — that’s nonsense. We are the best democracy in the world, and when the U.S. changes its leaders we do not have revolution and chaos. If he’s really bad in the next few years, we can ask our representatives to impeach him. Or, in four years, we will vote him out of office. God bless the U.S.A.
Hazel Trenner,
Florence
Correction: Thank you to the two letter writers who pointed out the error in “Between the Lines: What Might Have Been,” Nov. 9-16, 2016: Geraldine Ferraro became the first female VP candidate of a major party when she ran with Walter Mondale in 1984.
