2 days Ago
DOD gaffesAs a proud grandparent of a service member, I was taken aback by the most recent series of gaffes to hit the Defense Department. More galling perhaps than the inclusion of a journalist on a sensitive group chat was the transmission of what was demonstrably classified material over an inappropriate communication channel, including to participants in compromised locations. Equally troubling is the response, which entailed belittling and insulting the journalist, who was the only one who acted to protect the secret material; denial the events even took place; declaring there were no classified material exchanged; and, for good measure, blaming former President Joe Biden.
All of this speaks to what I believe is a fundamental malady destroying our American ethos; it is a sign of weakness to admit a mistake. I was taught to learn from mistakes and I believe that to this day. Truth cannot and is not surviving under this scenario.
President Donald Trump, who preaches never to apologize and to deny everything, is responsible for some of this, but so is our algorithmically driven unchecked media and a recent penchant for abject lying without any consequence.We need less confirmation bias and more critical thinking. This is going to require a huge paradigm shift, and I don’t know how to even get started on it.
D. Sean Horan, ChesapeakeCapitalismI taught “capitalism” in China in 1985 and in Russia in the early 1990s. Profit was a dirty word in both cultures, viewed as exploitative of fellow citizens.
I remember driving by a 15-story building in Kaliningrad, but no one lived above the third floor, as there was no general contractor and hence no plumbing or electrical above that floor. I drank vodka with the plant manager of industrial turbines who did not know the cost of his product or the sales price. This was the logic of their system.
When Putin gained power, Friend A got the timber rights in Siberia, Friend B got aluminum, and Friend C got gas.This arrangement is eerily like the relationship between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — in short, oligarchy. It’s money and power inextricably intertwined with a high risk of abuse.
The idea of a big tax cut in the face of already unsustainable debt seems reckless beyond belief. Countries fail when debt expense is bigger than national defense, as ours is now.Paul English, ChesapeakeCitizens’ rightsOn the Opinion page on March 24, there was a cartoon depicting an illegal alien being loaded onto a plane with the caption on his back stating “due process.
” This is obviously a satirical cartoon critical of President Donald Trump’s decision to deport illegal immigrants.I am confused by the amount of concern for the welfare of gang members, murderers and rapists shown by the left and mainstream media. We often hear the argument that violent crime among illegals is no higher than that of legal citizens.
One is one too many; percentages are of little comfort to those that have lost a loved one to someone who should not have been here in the first place.The deportation criticizers complain that some illegals that are not criminals are being deported; when they cross our borders illegally, they are all criminals.It is understandable that most illegal immigrants want a better life, but reality must dictate restricting their numbers.
We live in the greatest country in the world but we cannot support the world living within our borders. Illegal immigration costs the U.S.
taxpayers billions of dollars, money that could be spent improving the lives of our legal citizens.Ashton Haywood, HamptonSign up for Viewpoints, an opinion newsletter.
