.Letters to the Editor: February 8, 2016

'This president is a miserable failure'

Off with His Head

In your article “Resist, Refuse, Sue” (Feb. 1), Drew Caputo, executive director of Earthjustice, was quoted as crediting Henry VIII with “Won’t someone relieve me of this troublesome priest.” It was, in fact, the Plantagenet king, in Henry II by Shakespeare, who implies an order—”Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”—to his knights in reference to Archbishop Thomas Becket’s challenge to the king’s authority over the Church. Henry VIII, a Tudor king, had his own troubles with Sir Thomas Moore, a Catholic, but not a member of the clergy. Henry VIII, unlike Henry II, had no problem with subtlety in making his wishes known, and ordered the execution of Moore in 1535 for treason because Moore refused to acknowledge Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Rohnert Park

Vows

Congratulations to Charlie Swanson and his bride for resisting the temptation to spend, spend, spend on their wedding (“Slow Wedding,” Feb.1). In 1971, we got married in Michigan in the meadow beside the place where we were living. Invitations were mimeographed (the modern version would be photocopied). My wife sewed her own dress. The potluck reception was on the front lawn, with tables and chairs supplied by the Quaker meeting we were attending.

We selected one of the four cakes brought by guests as the wedding cake, but the kids ate it before we got back from the ceremony, so we picked another one. A friend was the official photographer, and the band was the sound of guests from across the country meeting each other, talking, playing Frisbee and enjoying the day. Total cost in 1971 for renting the lawnmower and meadow, buying Arlene’s dress material and sending out the invitations: $25. Forty-five years later, we figure it must have worked. The commitment and the people there are what matter; the rest is just decoration.

Via Bohemian.com

Miserable Failure

Speaking as a Republican, Donald Trump is one of the worst presidents we’ve ever had. He is not a true fiscal conservative. He intends to build a wall along the 2,000-mile, Mexican-U.S. border, costing billions. He has many conflicts of interest that he doesn’t care to address—foreign dignitaries staying at his Trump hotel, imbibing Trump wine and dining on Trump steaks! He has weakened the NATO alliance by calling it “obsolete” and is friendly with Vladimir Putin, who may or may not have blackmail material on our esteemed president.

Trump fails miserably as a role model for young American boys and men. He is not a family-values kind of guy, already on his third wife! It is obvious that he groped a number of women over the years without their consent.

Trump made a mockery of religious faith at the National Prayer Breakfast by suggesting that people pray for Arnold Schwarzenegger. He lied about the size of the crowds that attended his inauguration, lied about having a plan to replace Obamacare and reportedly created a blacklist to punish Republicans who did not support him in his race for the White House.

Overall, this president is a miserable failure in just two weeks in office. From a Republican or Democratic viewpoint, the destructiveness emanating from the White House’s current occupant is a fact.

Kentfield

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