‘Truth makes Trump look terrible’

The headline on Milan Simonich’s column (“Liberal vets murder the truth in attack on Trump,” Aug. 13), caught my eye. How could anyone “murder” what Donald Trump had already killed many times over? VoteVets.org’s solicitation for money in question claimed that Trump’s draft deferments led to the death of Gen. Paul Eaton’s father. The claim was sophistical. There was no real link between the two. Simonich was outraged at how the ad twisted the truth, but he overlooked the genius at work. Unfair as the ad might be, how can Trump counter it?

Eaton’s father volunteered to fight, and HEdied, heroically in Vietnam. Trump sat out the war with bone spurs. The truth makes Trump look terrible.

What’s left? His go-to move would be to attack the author of the pitch personally, but he’s a U.S. Army major general. That looks bad, too. Hoisted with your own petard, Donald.

Low road

Grant Franks

Santa Fe

I guess Milan Simonich wrote his column to generate letters like this one, so I’ll oblige him (“Liberal vets murder the truth in attack on Trump,” Ringside Seat, Aug. 13). It’s not a good idea to fight a liar with lies, but compared to the Orinoco River of mendacity that daily pours from Donald Trump’s mouth and Twitter fingers, the VoteVets’ claim that retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton’s father, Norman Eaton, literally took the place of the bone spur president in Vietnam is a drop dangling on the rim of the faucet.

Simonich engages in the journalistic equivalent of trick photography, making two wildly disproportionate figures seem to be the same size: “In truth, VoteVets has much in common with Trump. Both will take the low road. And neither has any hesitation slaughtering truth with revisionist history.” A ludicrous statement like that is enough to make hyperbole sue for defamation of character.

Howard Korder

Santa Fe

Strange bedfellows

President Donald Trump, a Republican, is attacking the Koch brothers for opposing Republican candidates who stray from traditional Republican principles.

Such principles include reduced government spending and free trade, both of which Trump and his followers have jettisoned in favor of a populist brand of politics that often hurts his own base and threatens the economic growth he so often cheers.

Trump’s tariffs have hurt American companies, workers and farmers through higher input costs and closed foreign markets. The Koch network is standing up for the very Americans who helped put Trump in office — farmers, construction and manufacturing workers, and small-business owners — by making the case for traditional Republican policies that help these individuals and the vast majority of their fellow citizens. Real Republicans should, too.

Scott Lincicome

senior policy analyst Republicans Fighting Tariffs Arlington, Va.

Lights and sirens

One of the most dangerous things a first responder will do in a career is respond to an incident using lights and sirens (Code 3). This danger grows exponentially for the officers and the public when law enforcement is engaged in pursuit of a subject. Lights and sirens are designed to draw attention and project a warning that a response is in progress, in a pursuit; this may actually be counterproductive in that our attention is drawn to the response vehicles and possibly away from the imminent threat of the vehicle being pursued.

Modern siren systems have a multitude of tones officers can select; I suggest law enforcement use a dedicated tone, such as the European “Hi-Lo,” specifically for pursuit.

This would provide a warning that police are not on the way to an incident, the incident is on its way to you.

Brian Williams

Santa Fe