Trump’s dangerous embrace of Russia
The direction in which the U.S. will head in our relations with Russia under President-elect Donald Trump remains to be seen, but by all indications it will make a radical and dangerous departure from our present position.
This shift in policy, should it occur, will play right into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands. Make no mistake, Putin is a wily character, adept at his former tradecraft as a lieutenant colonel in the KGB. He has demonstrated his ability as a master of manipulation, deception, misinformation, as well as orchestration of chaos on the world stage.
Trump’s unusual fascination with Putin and his nebulous and nefarious financial ties to Russia are suspicious. Trump repeatedly has defended Putin’s actions around the world, called on Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton’s emails and denied Russian tampering in our recent presidential election, despite overwhelming and irrefutable evidence to the contrary provided by U.S. intelligence officials.
Putin is playing Trump like a harp. He is exploiting a weakness in the president-elect that has been exposed over time. If you stroke Trump’s enormous ego enough, he is your friend. In reality, he appears to be a deeply flawed individual, and he is a mere neophyte in world affairs and politics.
I hope and pray that enough Americans can see the trends, exercise critical thinking and stand up against a shift to an alliance with a regime that in no way reflects what we believe in as a people. Such an alliance would compromise our values as a democratic nation and a force for good in the world.
Daniel Murley
Southwest Harbor
Proud of Bangor police
If anyone still has the Dec. 29 edition of The Weekly and hasn’t read the Duck of Justice column, I highly recommend it. I don’t know who the writer was, but it was without doubt the best narrative of how one Bangor police officer handled a domestic dispute — and there are, sadly, all too many — that I have ever read. I often have said that today’s police officer has to be part law enforcement person and part social worker. If a job of family mediation and display of compassion can be termed a work of art, this was it. Further embellishment of the incident on my part will not do it justice. You have to read it.
When I finished the column, I could only feel deepened pride and respect for our city’s police officers and how they are trained to approach these difficult and sometimes dangerous incidents. And they are routine. There can be no doubt that the writer’s feelings about the couple and the child involved were genuine. How he handled the matter was professional and compassionate and just reading his reflections on the home visit he made, says it all.
Bill Shook
Bangor
Give life a chance
It appears that the oft-quoted figure that abortions account for only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services is meant to minimize perceptions that the agency is a major player in this activity. Planned Parenthood has performed more than 7 million abortions since 1970.
Many of us are not fine with this. Public funds for women’s health care can be allocated effectively without contributing to this horror. Elected leaders might take a courageous step and support life. Our shrinking schools could use these little ones. Think of the future doctors, teachers, scientists or public servants who might be saved by giving life a chance.
Donald Mendell
Palmyra
Trump nominees are amoral crew
The president-elect and all of his nominations are amoral. Donald Trump is perverting the very meaning of morality.
Trump’s nominations prove that he has no interest in governing in any inclusive way. Stephen Bannon, who Trump has picked as his chief strategist, provided a platform for dangerous white supremacists. But opposing him is not enough. Trump’s other nominations have included an attorney general who has been accused of racism, an EPA administrator who denies climate change and is an ally of the fossil fuel industry, an education secretary who would kill public education, a labor secretary who is a corporate CEO and a critic of proposals to raise the minimum wage, and a treasury secretary who foreclosed on a 90-year-old woman over a 27-cent payment error.
If that’s not perverted enough, how about putting the current CEO of ExxonMobil at the helm of the State Department?
I call on our senators and representatives to block each and every nominee who has advocated the destruction of the departments they are required to manage.
Judy Judkins
Belfast
Why a walkable city matters
When my family moved from Germany to Bangor in 2001, my daughter and I went to live in a nonwalkable-, nonbike-friendly city for the first time in our lives. My daughter’s high school was less than 10 minutes away, but crossing major roads without traffic lights was too dangerous. And without paved sidewalks, walking in winter right on the streets no option. I couldn’t bike to work or to the supermarket because there were no bicycle lanes, and drivers were not used to paying attention to cyclists, anyway.
I soon felt the impact of this new, unhealthy lifestyle by gaining weight, and I found my enforced immobility depressing. For me, this was the main reason I wanted to relocate, and I was very happy when my husband retired and we could move to Mount Desert Island. I love the beautiful scenery and Bar Harbor’s many amenities, but I especially enjoy the walkability of the town.
Finally I am able to get around by walking or biking to do my shopping, go to the bank, visit the movie theater or a restaurant. I do hope that Bangor, after having made so much progress in other areas, will soon be offering these benefits to homeowners and visitors, too.
Karin Anderson
Bar Harbor
Subsidizing the simple life
The Jan. 2 BDN article about a couple embracing the simple life was a heartwarming story until I read that the family receives fuel assistance and SNAP. Why should two able-bodied adults who chose to give up their $50,000 combined annual income to try farming be subsidized? Surely our poor state could better direct its money to people who really need it.
Brenda Sullivan
Camden