Letters to the editor Aug. 4
‘Weird’ solutions needed
At Tuesday’s rally in Nevada, vice presidential candidate JD Vance remarked on the need to rebuild America’s manufacturing base and shield American jobs from the effects of cheap foreign labor. In contrast with the neoliberal establishment in D.C., Vance has consistently expressed support for protective tariffs. This refreshing inclination to oppose beltway orthodoxy is perhaps why the same D.C. crew is so eager to smear him as “weird”.
Beltway economists have long argued that tariffs are almost universally bad, since free trade fosters economic specialization, and specialization is desirable. To use an example: if country XYZ can grow potatoes more efficiently than other countries, then country XYZ should focus exclusively on growing potatoes. Chamber of commerce types find this notion tantalizing, but the rest of us can draw obvious conclusions from history. Economic specialization didn’t work for Ireland.
To paraphrase the irreverent Nassim Taleb: If economists were put in charge of the human body, we’d each sell one kidney and share the other on an as-needed, rotating basis.
In sum, tariffs reduce the risk of calamity by encouraging economic diversification. Former President Trump and Vance get it, but do the rest of the D.C. gang?
— Jack Kearns, Whitefish
Flawed character
Joe Biden has now dropped out of the race. Trump’s repeated personal attacks on a decent man should now go by the wayside, but who knows.
For the moment we have a very flawed nominee remaining. Separate from the various court judgments that have gone against him, his Jan. 6 lawlessness and his assault on women’s rights; Trump is unfit for office as so many who have worked with him have stated.
Trump calls World War II warriors who gave their lives for this country “suckers and losers.” This of course includes sons and daughters of Montana who lie buried here and in foreign lands. Four-star Gen. John Kelley, who lost his son in combat, attested to this. I’ll take his word over that of Trump any day, who can’t open his mouth without telling another lie.
Even a sophomore in high school would recognize that Trump spews a fire hose worth of drivel and flimflam. Not the least of these falsehoods is his recent statement that he could not testify at his criminal trial because of the gag order. Nonsense! The same is true of his statement that President Biden rigged Trump’s criminal prosecution in New York. But if Biden controlled the justice system, how is it that his own son was convicted of a criminal offense?
Trump claims strength in international affairs. But Trump proved himself subservient to Putin on the stage in Helsinki when he denigrated our national security experts. He called Putin a “genius” when he invaded Ukraine. He fails to criticize Putin when he murders dissidents. Trump also failed to go after Putin even when Navalny died in prison. Trump says little if anything when Putin commits atrocities such as the missile attack on a children’s hospital. In suggesting Putin should be allowed to run amok, Trump and his vice presidential nominee, who unquestionably should know better, are the Neville Chamberlins of our time – give Hitler a little bit and he’ll back off. Ask any WWII veteran how that worked out!
Trump’s flawed character is apparent from the fact that he never takes responsibility for anything, including what happened concerning his deal mandating our withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump placated the terrorists by releasing 5,000 prisoners when he made the deal. We’ll never know how many of those released prisoners were involved in killing our kids at the airport. He left Biden with very few soldiers in the country to fight. Trump’s own national security advisor John Bolton said he demoralized the Afghan army by inviting the Taliban leaders to Washington, with the result that the Afghan army collapsed almost immediately when we pulled out. And during his remaining time in office, Trump did almost nothing to get those out of the country who had helped us.
Trump recently killed a bi-partisan border deal that would have provided for thousands of additional asylum and border patrol agents. It also set a higher burden of proof for those seeking asylum. It authorized extensive technology for detecting fentanyl. Trump killed this deal for his personal benefit and not for the good of the country. He wanted to campaign on the border issue.
Trump attacks all those seeking asylum as criminals and vermin who poison our blood. Anyone looking at the faces of the mothers and children who seek asylum at our border know that this generalization cannot possibly be true.
May all good people look behind the carnival barker’s curtain. God save our country from Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
— Douglas Hughmanick, Polson