Letters to the editor, Week of September 15, 2016

Don’t take the bait

To the editor:

An open letter to the 90-plus military generals who signed a letter of support for Donald Trump. All are retired as required by military law.

Most are my age or younger and shouldn’t have taken the bait when Trump said, “I will listen to my generals when president.”

Anyone recall the weapons of mass destruction? One general spoke against an Afghanistan invasion and ended up on involuntary retirement. The commander-in-chief makes the ultimate decision no matter if there is opposition from generals.

This is important and necessary, and my favorite general, Douglas MacArthur, learned the hard way who his boss was. Colin Powell, on the other hand, was dubbed by civilians.

Bottom line is that I’m a Trump supporter but talk is cheap and those 90 generals should have known better, or are they hungry for war?

Frank Slason
Somerville

China not destination place

To the editor:

This is in response to Dale Worster’s letter to the editor, “Ideas for Local Development.” It is very apparent to me that since you moved to our town you have not been happy. Since your arrival in town you have done nothing but try to change everything. You want to make our small, quiet town a “destination” place. The town of China should not be in the real estate business buying property to create retirement community centers with fancy stores, eateries and other attractions. With every new concept that you have suggested there will be increased resources needed by the town which will only increase our property taxes. You also state that “some people might just have to learn to live with progress.” You are dead wrong on that statement. We don’t have to learn to live with progress and we won’t. Have you forgotten that the citizens of the town overwhelmingly rejected the China Lake Park idea?

Laura Pierce
China

What is happening to our small town?

To the editor:

People come and people go all the time but for a lot of us who have been here our whole life – stay because we liked it here.

Those who come from away – well I would think before you buy something you must do a little research and must have liked what you saw or you would not have bought here, and done so in a different town that offered what you want this town to become.

Why do you want us to become a destination place with all these grand ideas?

I do not see why the town wants to be in the real estate business or the lending money business. I think buying land at the head of China Lake and filling it in is a huge mistake for the good of the lake, and all that is associated with the wetland area. I can see no need of fishing platforms or walkways. We have all fished on the bridge and had no need of a platform. We can walk along the side of the tar and respect that the roads are made for cars and not people, and step off the pavement while a car goes by. Can you, as a taxpaying property owner fill in your wetlands? I see buying more land by the town office is of no purpose. It all takes away tax dollars. We do not need to buy land and put in specialty shops and restaurants.

A Senior Center: I really doubt, if you took a poll of the seniors in the town of China, there would be very few who would go to a senior center on a regular basis.

Senior housing: Yes, I have felt for a long time that we needed a place for seniors who have been left alone or just are not able to keep their house anymore, but would like to stay in their hometown. My husband tried that with the grange hall in China Village, but ultimately the town shut that down.

So people, we all really need to take a good hard look at what we really want for our small town.

Do you want to become a destination town? I for one do not.

Susan White
China

Supports governor on drug issue

To the editor:

How much longer will the armchair critics dog the governor over “racism.” Criminal activity including illegal drugs most certainly has a disproportionate number of young black men involved. For someone who doubts this let him check prison populations nationwide or drive a taxi in Boston as I did for a number of years. The high crime rate there is in Roxbury. Most white drivers refuse to take fares there.

One night my cab broke down on Sinoma Street, a neighborhood in Roxbury known for drug activity. It was a black couple who picked me up to drive me to where I could get a cab out of there.

During the spring of the year, Gov. LePage gave a speech at Thomas College, in Waterville, which I attended. He spoke from knowledgeable sources of information. It was a well-organized speech. With a business education, he is well aware that funds for superficial drug treatment facilities and costs for law enforcement are limited. This reflects the increase in the drug epidemic and a decline in productivity. He stressed the need for jobs to hold young people in Maine.

A successful war against illegal drugs must strike at root causes. The overwhelming number of broken facilities, black and white; chemical residue in the environment and food chain. The culprit is agri-business; family neglect out of balance with a workforce flooded with women.
Nelson Mandella marks the coming of age of the black man. When elected president of South Africa, he said, “We will measure our success by the wellbeing and happiness of our children.”
Also to quote [Abraham] Lincoln: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time. But you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

Russell Vesecky
Harmony