Parking
Re “Parking amnesty” (A1, Jan. 26): If the Portsmouth City Council is going to forgive about 11,000 unpaid parking tickets issued during the last three years and forego more than $450,000 in fines, it seems only fair that they refund the fines paid by those who complied with the law. Council members should refund the fines at their next meeting if they truly want to make Portsmouth parking enforcement “consistent.”
In the future, given this action, why would anyone who receives a parking ticket in downtown Portsmouth be dumb enough to pay it?
Ron Chappell, Williamsburg
Shameful silence
U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans’ refusal to comment on the vicious shooting death of a Veterans Administration intensive care nurse is outrageous. Her silence isn’t just cowardice — it’s political callousness at its worst. By saying nothing, Kiggans signals that basic decency and accountability are optional, so long as they don’t inconvenience the toxic wreckage of the Trump administration.
This isn’t leadership. It’s complicity.
While our community mourns a murdered VA nurse, Kiggans drifts along with those who undermine the Constitution, weaken congressional oversight and erode the values she claims to defend. Constituents deserve someone with backbone — someone such as former Rep. Elaine Luria, who has confronted executive wrongdoing instead of hiding from it.
Damian P. Carr, Chesapeake
Ugly Americans
“The Ugly American,” a novel first published in 1958, supposedly served as a wakeup call for our government. At the time, it so impressed President John F. Kennedy that he sent copies to many of his Senate colleagues. It pointed out the ignorance and arrogance of Americans when it comes to dealing with other governments and cultures.
Now, the “Ugly American” is back. This time in the evils of the Trump administration. Shakespeare wrote in “Julius Caesar,” “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.” The small amount of “good” that Trump has done will soon be forgotten, the “evils” will, unfortunately, last for years. The U.S. was once looked upon as the world’s best among nations.
We were leaders in science, medicine, business, research and education. We also gave to those less fortunate than ourselves. That has disappeared.
Now, we are considered by many to be an egotistical bully that cares only about money and our own well-being. We are consumed at home with a reign of terror by ICE agents rounding up undocumented immigrants. Our Justice Department is concerned mainly with prosecuting enemies of the president while many convicted felons are set free.
But we are still a republic and we can vote. Our only hope is that this year’s election will result in a change that will end this madness.
Arthur H. Jennette, Williamsburg
The destroyer
In the space of a year, President Donald Trump has upended 80 years of integrating global economic infrastructure and has essentially done the same for geo-political relations.
Our friends are no longer our friends, and the rule of law is no longer sacrosanct.
He has undermined the Federal Reserve’s independence by relentless badgering of Chairman Jerome Powell and by pursuing criminal charges against him. He also undermines individuals, such as astronaut and Sen. Mark Kelly, for quoting the Uniform Code of Military Justice correctly.
American universities used to be the envy of the world, producing innovations that led to higher consumer welfare. Why were those research programs canceled?
The Smithsonian Institutes are one of our country’s crown jewels and are having to sanitize verbiage that omits reference to Trump’s impeachments. The Kennedy Arts Center is re-cast, and green projects are canceled, midstream. The new White House ballroom is way out of scale but does parallel his narcissism.
Trump is a destroyer, not a builder. He tears down more than he builds up. He is Conan, a real estate guy who doesn’t know the square footage of his own crib.
Paul English, Chesapeake
