Trump took bait and lost control
A victory for the Democrat psychologists? Maybe a strategy to pressure Trump on personally threatening issues, knowing he will remain on script for only so long, then he will revert to type, which yesterday’s Washington Post article in the Herald describes as “stunningly self-absorbed and uninterested in others”. He took the bait and disappeared down rat-holes of rambling self-justification and obfuscation (tax returns and birthers).
He lost composure in his selfabsorption to such an extent that he couldn’t recognise gift opportunities, such as bringing up Clinton’s emails in the cyber-security discussion. Clinton just watched him lose coherence, stoking the fire when needed.
A 90-minute televised debate is daunting. It was his first and Clinton has done several, he was at an experience disadvantage so we could expect mistakes. But his behaviour was a chilling rehearsal of temperament under pressure from a presidential aspirant. He was psychologically unpicked then publicly dismantled. Steve Mason, Epsom.
Trump’s fresh ideas
Hillary Clinton was clearly better prepared and deserved to be declared the winner. No doubt she would have been hugely relieved that Donald Trump didn’t raise the question of her husband’s alleged infidelity with Monica Lewinsky and longterm affair with Jennifer Flowers. However, I think we can take it as given that he most certainly will in either the second or third debates.
I was hoping to hear ideas about policy and substance and on that score Donald Trump seemed to be the one with fresh ideas. He is right on the money when he says trillions of dollars have been wasted in the Middle East which could have been spent upgrading airports, hospitals, schools, roads and bridges in their own country. He has always been quick to bag Mexico for its illegal immigrants and drug dealers so it was refreshing to hear him almost show admiration for Mexico in that they have lured Ford Motors’ small-car plant from Michigan across the border using cheaper labour and lower production costs.
Last,, it was refreshing to see Hillary Clinton smile and show some modicum of humour. Let’s hope Helen Clark was watching and can learn from this, as in my opinion she would have a much better chance of becoming Secretary-General of the UN if she were to smile.
Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.
Vocational subjects
I visited New Zealand two years ago to find out about the new NCEA vocational pathways. I was impressed by the way vocational subjects are taught alongside core academic subjects. I was even more impressed by the enthusiasm of students who might otherwise have dropped out of school.
I was therefore very interested to read your reports on the NCEA this week, but totally dismayed by yesterday’s unfair headline, “Spurious courses under fire”. The headline was based on comments by one person, a retired grammar school head. The real story was on the next page. Southern Cross principal Robin Staples said, “In the past we would have only had around 20 students in Year 13. Now we have 150 . . . because they can see the point of what they’re doing.”
You should be proud of that. What’s more, having heard what New Zealand has already achieved, the Government in Scotland is also implementing vocational pathways in high schools. David Harbourne, York, England.
Emergency housing
Where are the fathers of all these families who are being housed in motels? When you father children with three or four different women, who all need separate accommodation, the scale of housing need just becomes unmanageable. Responsibility for the upkeep of all these children is yours.
Yes, there are some working families in these motels but in general they are solo parents who are having to be supported by the taxpayer. Let us hope Winz is keeping an eye on the behaviour of these people being accommodated by them; if they can’t respect emergency housing will they respect a Housing NZ house offered to them? Sue Gallahar, Mangere.
Elected judges
With another case of a vicious thug getting off with just a slap on the wrist, perhaps it is time we changed our legal system to something more in line with the US. As our judges get more and more out of touch with reality, perhaps we should introduce a system whereby judges are elected by the people for five-year terms instead of being appointed by their cronies. That way a weak and ineffectual judge can be voted out of office and replaced by one more in tune with society’s values. Wayne Carpenter, Glen Eden.
Useless justice
The judge in the Filipo case is saying the career of the assailant is more important than the ruined career of the person he assaulted. Same career (rugby), but an idiot with an anger management problem gets precedence over the innocent victims. What a useless justice system we have.
I was assaulted 18 months ago. The police secretly laid charges, then withdrew them without telling anyone. And their promotional info emphasises putting the victim first. What a joke.
Time for an MP to shine and get the law changed so this sort of nonsense doesn’t keep happening. Who will step up? Paul Henson, RD Taupo.
Immigrants’ English
An interesting news story in the Herald on Tuesday caught my eye. In the courts a foreign purchaser and a foreign seller were arguing over the return of a $730,000 deposit on a failed deal. The seller’s excuse, not understanding English. Sorry, I thought, and I may be wrong, there was a requirement for immigrants to pass an English proficiency test before entry was permitted. Perhaps it’s time the rules were enforced? Nigel Bufton, Pauanui.
Legalising euthanasia
Maryan Street’s reply to John Roughan’s article attacks the man while ignoring the main issue. This is that it has proved impossible to grant the right to die to some while simultaneously preserving the right to live for others. People insist there are legal safeguards, but all the safeguards in the world mean nothing at all if the medical profession determines to flout them and the courts not to enforce them.
Legalising euthanasia is a cultural turning point. Once the euthanasia genie is out of the bottle, medical and rest-home care can never be the same again.
A steady slide to euthanasia without consent has been its inevitable outcome in the Benelux countries of Europe, which were the first to take this path.
In the Netherlands about a quarter of euthanasia cases are no longer even reported. In addition, terminal sedation has become back-door euthanasia by legal fiction, and is not included in official statistics.
In these countries legalising euthanasia has proved to be a profound cultural turning point. G.W. Tremain, West Harbour.
Unelected officials
Greg McKeown has it right in his “It’s time to put elected officials back in control of council” article.
It reminded me that there were those of us in the smaller burghs, which were forced into a takeover (rather than a merger) by the then Auckland City Council, who could have predicted the future situation of the elected officials visa-vis the unelected ones.
It has become a mockery of our concept of democracy. Let other regions beware, it could be your turn soon enough. David Paterson, Kawerau.
Okura appeal
We who live in the Long Bay-Okura area, and the tens of thousands of visitors who walk its once green hills and swim in the marine reserve, had hoped the developer’s actions had been halted by Auckland Council’s rejection of housing development all the way to the Okura Estuary in the Unitary Plan.
No so. Okura Holdings Ltd (Todd Property Group) is appealing against the council’s decision.
At a Sunday mayoral electoral meeting in Browns Bay, the mayoral and local board candidates were asked whether they would fight for protection of Long Bay Marine Reserve and the Okura Estuary. They made the right noises, but will they?
We were told we needed to raise $300,000 to fight the Todd appeal in the Environment Court. Perhaps Todd will argue they are addressing Auckland’s housing crisis by building an intensive 750-1000 unit housing development. But they are not. Their housing on offer is way too expensive for the average New Zealander. Mark Meredith, Torbay.