A proposed letter to editor in the style of Krugman?
Please allow me to write a 350-word letter on information I will develop regarding Paul Krugman; it will not be ridiculous, but given everything we know about Paul Krugman, what I would write (to quote Mr. Krugman) will be “well within the bounds of possibility, even plausibility.”
Despite what Krugman says, I realize this proposal of mine is truly ridiculous, because no editor would print such speculation. Still, I am ready to do it, hoping you will use the same judgment you used when you printed Mr. Krugman’s May 19 article titled, “Did China just bribe Trump?” Krugman asks whether Trump betrayed the nation’s security, and says the suggestion is not ridiculous because “given everything we know about Donald Trump, it’s well within the bounds of possibility, even plausibility.”
The article is full of such conjectures: The Republicans are “entirely complacent in the possibility of raw corruption” and “Trump and his family, by failing to divest from their international business dealings, have basically hung out a sign declaring themselves open to bribery.”
So Mr. Krugman never actually accuses; he just hints that almost anything he thinks about Republicans and Trump is possible, even plausible.
I promise to use the same careful journalism, only bordering on treason as Krugman suggests Trump does, while avoiding any lawsuit in the article I would write about Mr. Krugman. Or maybe I can include some false info, like Dan Rather wrote and announced years ago concerning President George Bush and his military service. When the information proved false, Rather said it may not be true but we know that is the kind of person Bush is. I did not look up the exact quotes because precise truth is apparently not a criterion in a Krugman column. Rather did learn a lesson. CBS fired him for using false information that might have been possible, even plausible. Feel free to fire me after my article on Krugman. Possible and probable? Because that is the kind of person he is? That is ridiculous journalism, even for a columnist. Speculation about complacency and bribery (etc.) are more fun, even if ridiculous.
TOM MURRAY
Bella Vista
Smartphones do little
to make people smarter
The dumbing-down, devil-approved, brain-sucking handheld phones are making zombies of the first generation of 21st century students who after their school years are expected to pick up the banner and carry on the great achievements of the 20th century.
Reading still is the four strong supports holding up the stairway to learning.
This generation is wasting their time, obtaining nothing of value and have become robots to the clever, destructive toy that steals valuable time from their productive study. Without an education that will prepare them for this new high-tech world, youth should ask the question: In a few years, what jobs am I qualified to apply for to make a living? Answer: Read, read, read and read, now!
We can’t visualize home dental surgery but we are seeing home brain surgery in millions of homes, allowing pre-frontal lobotomies on a clueless, gullible generation. Most of these people have never opened a dictionary. To test one, have the student look up “ridgling.” Then look up “osteoporosis.” This is a challenge even to a high school senior.
WILLIAM PAGE HILL
Springdale