David Weisman’s excellent response (“Nuclear power is a dinosaur technology,” Dec.7) to Robert Hargraves’ Forum letter about nuclear power and climate change (“Fission power promises a check on climate change,” Dec.2) rightly branded nuclear a “dinosaur technology” a term well-chosen indeed.
As a trustee for more than 40 years of the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, I had occasion to study the hazards of uranium mining, the many problems (including emissions) of a nuclear plant in operation, the enormous cost overruns, the long time spans required for the building of nuclear plants (15-19 years typically), and the gnawing dilemma of radioactive waste disposal, since there is no permanent storage for the waste — some of which will emit poisons for at least 200,000 years.
What we also studied, however, were the increasingly practical and available solar, wind and conservation technologies, which will provide the promise of jobs across the land and are a real deterrent to climate change.
With enough determination and good effort, Joe Biden’s presidency can once again care for the environment and restore hope to all of us.
SYLVIA FIELD
Hanover
Do we really want to return to the pre-Trump, pre-COVID-19 normal, as called for by President-elect Joe Biden?
Normal was a culturally divided nation that spawned the likes of Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.
Normal was watching China build roads, railroads and pipelines across Southeast Asia and Africa while we bombed Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.
Normal was seeing China build high-speed 21st century infrastructure while our stagnant 20th century infrastructure continued to deteriorate.
Normal was allowing working-class salaries to remain frozen while the salaries and net worth of corporate executives skyrocketed.
Normal was countenancing ever-increasing police militarization and violence directed against people of color and peaceful demonstrators.
Normal was witnessing the accelerating politicization of our judicial system.
Normal was world’s highest cost for health care and medication.
Normal was seeing opportunities and economic growth for younger Americans crushed by massive student debt.
Normal was half-hearted efforts to reduce pollution, generate sustainable energy and combat global warming.
A new normal is vital to the survival of democracy, let alone our nation and the planet.
JOHN KAROL
Orford
Gerald Ford, at his 1974 inauguration following Richard Nixon’s resignation, said, “Our long national nightmare is over.” Since we’re facing the prospect of a Joe Biden/Kamala Harris administration, I predict a national nightmare of epic proportions is just beginning — one we can’t wake up from when the alarm goes off.
Notwithstanding platitudes about “being president of all Americans regardless of how they voted,” Biden forfeited becoming a “healer” and “unifier” by calling hecklers at one of his rallies “chumps.” Meaningless campaign rhetoric? No more meaningless than empty campaign promises he’s incapable of fulfilling, based on his 47-year track record of do-nothingism. Columnist Steve Nelson put it aptly (“Understanding Joe Biden’s apparent victory,” Nov. 7) when he wrote “the 48% (as of his writing) who supported Trump are not our primary community.” He went on to say Biden’s strength was in the “blue” cities and suburbs. Translation: Biden couldn’t care less about rural red state voters. He neither wants nor needs us, except to loot our retirement funds, savings and investments through confiscatory taxation to bankroll programs and giveaways benefiting the half of Americans to whom he’s beholden.
So what is my Christian responsibility? I’m commanded to love him and pray for him. I’ll certainly pray for his health and safety, especially given that the one waiting in the wings to take over is to the left of Bernie Sanders. What’s the most loving thing I can do for Joe Biden? Help him develop character by praying for the failure of most of his policy initiatives, with the exception of coronavirus relief.
In my opinion, Biden and Harris have forfeited the support, respect and trust of half of Americans. Most of what they want to do would be bad for America across the board. Biden lost “the battle for the soul of America.” He claims to have a “moral compass,” but his doesn’t point true north. That doesn’t bode well for America.
WILLIAM A. WITTIK
Hartford
In letters to the Valley News in July 2019 and July 2020, I made a number of comparisons between the Trump administration and events in Nazi Germany. President Donald Trump’s words and the crowd’s responses have often reminded me of newsreels of Adolf Hitler’s rallies. Vice President Mike Pence looking into cages of refugees, children and adults, reminded me of pictures of SS and Gestapo officials peering through the wires at Nazi concentration camps. Earlier this year there were stories about unidentified federal officers detaining demonstrators in unmarked vehicles, and the president’s chief of staff claiming that Trump was ready to dispatch federal squads to more “Democrat-run cities.”
Today, Trump is doing all he can to cancel and undo the November election, which has been called by his own director of cybersecurity “the most secure in American history.” Some of Trump’s supporters were plotting to kidnap a governor, crowds have demonstrated with guns outside of the homes of election officials and Trump and his allies have filed numerous groundless lawsuits attempting to invalidate the election. Threatening to invalidate our very election process, one person/one vote, is as great a threat to our democracy as there has ever been. Since the election, Trump sympathizers have been appointed to high-level positions in the Pentagon. One must wonder whether their loyalty is to Trump or to the American Constitution.
Historians have long believed that the burning of the Reichstag in 1933 was part of a conspiracy by the newly formed Nazi government to permit the Nazis to assume very broad emergency powers. Are we in a period when Trump and his sympathizers will resort to violence in a desperate and illegal attempt to allow him to declare some form of “martial law,” subvert the will of the people as decided in the recent election, and unconstitutionally and illegally attempt to maintain his power?
In the coming weeks, will Trump and his supporters be parties to actions that historians will look back on and compare to the Reichstag fire of 1933?
JOHN MUDGE
Lyme
Kudos to John Lippman for painting the delightful word picture of the life of Ethel Jarvis (“A Life: ‘Her life was a full circle’,” Dec. 7).
My introduction to Ethel was looking at the back of her head as I sat directly behind her at Unity Town Meeting even before I could vote as a new resident in 2006. Her copy of the town report was well thumbed and marked, and the feet of the budgeteers at the table up front readily available to hold to the fire. No vote on the budget was called until Ethel’s hand remained in her lap.
After life in New England towns, I spent more than two decades at my last job in upstate New York, where I learned that voters were content to elect counselors to run the show with little oversight — no Town Meeting, no annual town report. It was good to get back to New England and find Ethel on the job.
JOSEPH S. WARNER
Unity