Canada should consider
annexing the United States
The March 18 edition of The Herald-Dispatch had a column titled ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œDemocrats should support TrumpÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s call to annex Canada.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ The writer made some good points, but clearly he missed the mark on which way the annexation should go. It is Canada that should annex all or part of the USA.
Canada has its problems with social cohesion, but ours are worse. As anyone who has contemplated J6 can attest, brand USA is washed up. Some rioters flew standard U.S. flags (Stars and Stripes), but even these were often flown upside down. But the Confederate stars and bars were also seen, and there were hybrids with Christian crosses replacing the stars. Brand Canada is still potent and fresh, while brand USA has run its course.
For now the U.S. is richer, but that may not last. It is Canada that will be benefitting from global warming. As Florida sinks into the ocean and California burns, Canadians who trust their government somewhat more than many Americans trust theirs would be putting more effort into abating climate change.
The temperament of New England and New York is more similar to Canadian values than to the values of a state like West Virginia. At the end of the day we should have the humility to admit that the USA today is nothing like it was 10 or 20 years ago. The rump USA left after Canadian annexation of the better-educated states would provide some stability as those U.S. citizens who are now sick of our politics moved north.
The relatively sane Canadians could relieve pressure by absorbing New York state and those in New England (each state would be a new province) as well as all or some of those on the West Coast. The rump USA could be renamed ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œTrumplandÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ and would feature no income taxes, open carry gun laws and churches allowed to prosecute homosexuals.
As the author pointed out, national identity is strong in Canada ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and any Canadian annexation of all or part of the USA would run into the same problem in reverse. But letÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s face it, there are few red staters who donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t want to be rid of the blue states and conversely.
An enhanced Canada and a wild Trumpland is preferable to what we now have.
John Palmer
Huntington
Trump AdministrationÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s
EPA proposal is reckless
The Trump administrationÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s proposal to reconsider the EPAÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s endangerment finding is reckless, anti-science, and a huge step backward for climate action. This decision isnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t just about politics ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” it puts our health, environment, and future on the line.
The endangerment finding, established in 2009, is based on clear scientific evidence that greenhouse gases harm public health and the planet. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s been the legal backbone for policies that reduce emissions from cars, power plants, and industry. Without it, we lose a key tool for fighting climate change ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s exactly what polluters want.
The reality is, climate change isnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t some distant threat. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s here. WeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re seeing record-breaking heat, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes that devastate communities. Our state is not immune from these catastrophes, and the Trump administrationÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s actions would reverse progress. Gutting this policy ignores science and common sense at a time when we need stronger action, not more rollbacks.
This also sends a terrible message to the rest of the world. While other countries are working toward clean energy solutions, the U.S. risks becoming a climate laggard instead of a leader.
We canÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t let this happen. We need to push back against this dangerous move and demand real climate solutions. The health of our planet ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and future generations ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” depends on it. The EPA should scrap its plan to undo this regulation and maintain the rules that are protecting all of us and the air and water we rely on.
Ann Wiseman
Ashland
ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not the Democrats who lack soul, heart, compassion
A recent letter to the editor said that Democrats have no soul, no heart, no compassion, no empathy. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not the Democrats who are firing thousands of people from their jobs. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not the Democrats who want to take away money from old, sick people by doing away with Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP (the program that supplies a card for poor people to buy groceries). Thousands of old people are trying to live on a Social Security check for $900. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s challenging for them to have a place to live, pay utilities, and still have money for food. The people that have no soul, no heart, no compassion, no empathy are the Republicans in our Senate and House who want to pass a budget to put us more in debt but try to save a little money by cutting programs for the poorest and neediest.
Linda LeMaster
Huntington
