Editor, The Smithfield Times:

This is a continuation of my response to Edmond Easter’s Dec. 10 “In sarcastic appreciation” letter, where he thanked Donald Trump for:

• The tearing apart of families seeking safe refuge in America.

The Government Accounting Office found that illegal immigrants generate more in costs than revenues to federal, state and local governments combined. The majority of these families have been reunited. However, “In the current litigation, for example, out of the parents of 485 children whom Plaintiffs’ counsel has been able to contact, they’ve yet to identify a single family that wants their child reunited with them in their country of origin,” said DHS press secretary Chase Jennings.

•  The brilliant suggestion that fires in the Western states would not be occurring if they raked the areas on a regular basis.

In 2003, then Forest Chief Dale Bosworth warned a House committee about forest management: “Americans must decide: We can remove some of the trees and lower the risk of catastrophic fire; or we can do nothing and watch them burn.”

In a July 12, 2012, New York Times column (“To Manage Forest Fires, We Need a Clear and Consistent Policy”), Dr. Kevin Boston said, “Forest restoration and management needs to be taken seriously if we want to reduce the problem of large scale forest fires.”

• The private interviews with Bob Woodward on the real dangers of COVID-19 and then lying continuously to the American people.

During a March 31 nationally televised COVID briefing, the president said, “We’re at war with a deadly virus. Success in this fight will require the full, absolute measure of our collective strength, love and devotion.” President Trump “downplayed” the coronavirus, not outright lied about it. Leaders must stay optimistic during distressing times, not spread panic and fear. The motto I lived by as a leader during my Navy career was “don’t give up the ship,” not “we’re all going to die”

• The refusal to accept the election results.

Several states violated the Constitution by changing voting rules through courts or executive actions, not through state legislatures as required by the Constitution. Incidentally, Democrats still haven’t accepted the 2016 president election results.

 

Joe Naneville

Windsor