My Final Trump Letter to Editor-with a postscript

>Letters to the editor in support of Mr. Trump often refer to Christian morality, and call him the “chosen one”, but that is difficult for the rest of us to understand when the man has broken at least 8 of the 10 commandments. Perhaps being anti-abortion is their motivation, yet in the year following a 6 week abortion ban in Texas, infant mortality rose 12.9 % over the previous year and infant death from fetal anomalies rose 23% compared to a decline of 3% in other states. Saving an embryo may feel right, but a day-old baby dying of malformations, or worse, being forced to live a life of suffering, has been one real world consequence. Look up the John Hopkins study... Contrary to claims by Mr. Trump, most illegal immigrants are not criminals so much as desperate people seeking a better life-just like the ancestors of present day Americans were doing. Many immigrants currently work at jobs like cleaning hotel rooms, roof construction and hard agricultural labor because natural born Americans do not want to do that important work. As for crime, the Texas Department of Public Safety reports that: “From 2012 to 2018, U.S.-born citizens were arrested for violent crimes at a rate that was more than twice that of undocumented immigrants. For drug crimes, U.S.-born citizens were arrested at a rate that was more than 2.5 times that of undocumented immigrants. For property crimes, U.S.-born citizens were arrested at a rate that was more than four times that of undocumented immigrants. “ In 2024, nationwide, the violent crime rate remains 49% below the peak in 1993, so despite fear mongering, crime is not the problem political propaganda says it is. In addition, most mass killings are perpetrated by white people, at 54%, followed by blacks, 17% and Latinos, at 8%. Check the FBI statistics... Despite Mr. Trump's denigration of America, the United States has been rated 3rd in ‘best overall country’ by U.S. News and World Report, behind only Switzerland and Japan. Anyone here earning more than $50 a day is in the top 20% worldwide, so when I see ‘Make America Great’ signs near houses where there are two cars in the driveway, a boat, an RV, a satellite dish and pizza box trash at the curb side, I conclude that Americans would do well to stop complaining and start appreciating what they have. Under Mr. Trump, the S&P 500 rose 58.3 % between January 2017 and January 2021, and in the last four years it has risen 51.1 % with 2 months remaining in 2024. So both presidencies have offered substantial market gains for all those with 401ks or other assets in the stock market. According to Investopedia, the national debt rose 33% under Mr. Trump and 17% under Mr. Biden as of 2023, but inflation has been a worldwide issue that has been the result of many factors- from supply chain shortages to consumer demand to profit taking to government spending. No president or country exists in isolation. The infrastructure being rebuilt under this administration and their support of cleaner energy sources are long overdue investments in the future. Those severe storms in Florida and North Carolina were predicted decades ago by scientists paying attention to reality... Some perceive Mr. Trump as being ‘tough’, yet according to his nephew and other family members, he evaded the draft in 1969 by having podiatrist Dr. Larry Braunstein, who was a tenant in one of his fathers buildings, write a false medical report claiming that he had bone spurs on his feet. Those perks of privilege were common during the Vietnam era, but since then he has mocked members of the military and tried to halt the peaceful transition of power that many veterans have died defending. His stated admiration of Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim Jon Un -both oppressive, sociopathic dictators willing to murder their own citizens-makes the rest of us wonder how those behaviors coincide with the Christian morality people think he represents? But I have no illusions about the sincerity of their convictions, and even close family members can disagree about politics and religion. Just remember that reality is nature's way of cutting through human hubris, and sooner or later truth emerges.< POSTSCRIPT- Mr.Trump won the election and some of my friends and family are deeply upset. While I truly wish the outcone had been different, my tendency is to see the larger perspective where politicians come and go. I encourage everyone to take a deep breath and continue their defense of truth,facts and the things they believe in. If someone or some policy asks you to do something you wholly disagree with, refuse.

Allegany State Park

We walked at Allegany park today (...spelled differently from Allegheny National forest because New York named the park in 1921 and saved that spelling even after the National geographic board adopted the 'egh' for the national forest) The leaves right now are just past their peak color, although compared to other years only certain trees had brilliant hues, with most of them a little muted/rusty.The lake was created by a dam and circling it is about 2 1/2 - 3 miles, with a swimming beach, fishing, kayaking and campsites nearby-the usual state park offerings. The weather this week has been exceptionally clear and warm, 70 degrees under blue skies, so Beth and I are taking advantage of it by hiking and biking and gardening and golfing.

Speaking of Plants...

The small oak tree in the pot is the second one we have found in the yard as a sprouted acorn. Eventually we will plant it somewhere like we did with the tree shown in the other pictures. The leaves of that first tree (a red oak) were eaten to bare wood twice, yet it refused to die, so we planted it in the ground for a year then replanted it in a more permanent location the next year. This year it blossomed to the size in the last photo, and seems to be well on its way. The following blog is about the latest research on plant behavior, which makes me extremely respectful of their will to live.