Another year, another school shooting?
Another school year is underway, and we can be sure of one thing. Somewhere in this country within the next nine months, children will die during a school shooting. This has become an annual national ritual with minimal legislative solutions enacted. Our leaders have clearly concluded that this tragic loss is acceptable, given some loftier purpose. I, for one, request our representatives clarify that purpose. Steve Elliott
Santa Fe
Right to privacy
I recently spent an hour and a half at the Motor Vehicles Division office waiting to renew my driver’s license. I took a copy of my bank statement to prove my residence, since most of our bills are in my husband’s name.
You should know that the clerk will scan the entire document that you submit to prove residence. Then you will be advised that the computer will automatically redact all of the confidential information, and it’s totally safe “because it’s the government.” Had I known the system would copy my documents, I would have redacted everything before I gave it to the clerk. Debbie Curnutt
Santa Fe
Stay thoughtful
I’ve often agreed with and been amused by Milan Simonich’s pieces. But a recent violation of what he says he stands for made me think again. He used Minnesota wrestler and former Gov. Jesse Ventura’s success as a tickler for why Gary Johnson would be good in the U.S. Senate race. Ventura was not a good governor; he was thin-skinned, always arguing with the press and nurturing his grudges.
The lack of thoughtfulness into the Ventura example underlined Simonich’s point — the entertainment value of Johnson in the race. It made me look in the mirror. If entertainment is our criteria, we’ll get more leaders who can stir up emotions but undercut responsible fundamentals through incompetence, carelessness or worse. If you play the Donald Trump card, Simonich — sizzle versus substance — then your opinions mock themselves. I and others who fall for it will lose the value of truly considered reflection. Greg Stark
Santa Fe
Nothing in common
I find Milan Simonich’s attack on VoteVets (“Liberal vets murder the truth in attack on Trump,” Aug. 13) mean-spirited and intemperate. In “My father took Donald Trump’s place in Vietnam and was killed in action,” retired Army Maj. Gen. Eaton was making a figurative and not literal connection. Who could mistake his point that, in wartime, less privileged or more patriotic citizens go in harm’s way in place of the more privileged or less patriotic citizens who shirk their civic obligations?
Simonich’s text makes it clear that he understands this, yet he disingenuously pretends to take it literally. Simonich concludes that VoteVets “has much in common with Trump” because “neither has any hesitation in slaughtering truth with revisionist history.” This is hyperbole. What truth has Gen. Eaton slaughtered? What history has he revised? Finally, what could any veteran have in common with a president whose smug and empty flag-waving cannot conceal his own cynical shirking of military service? Ed Melton
3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, Vietnam Santa Fe
Fiction meets fact
As an avid mystery and spy reader, the recent firing of Peter Strzok, another FBI agent involved in the Trump-Russian conspiracy investigation makes me think: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy meets The Manchurian Candidate. Edward T. Stein
Santa Fe
Without ‘Reservation’
After reading the paper, I usually need a good laugh, so I save the comic page for last. I’m sorry to say I was deeply offended by the cartoon by Ricardo Caté (“This revolting stuff ? … I could get used to it!” Without Reservations, Aug. 10). Seeing any place of worship being burned down is a grim reminder of intolerance and hatred. This is unacceptable in my way of thinking. In the future, I, for one, will be boycotting this certain cartoon. Johnny Sanchez
Santa Fe