To the Editor:
Re “‘Botched’ Job, Not Sabotage, Damaged Pool; Charges to Be Dropped Against Ex-Olympian” (front page, Aug. 1):
The Reflecting Pool saga is a perfect caricature of the Trump administration’s immorality.
You have President Trump and his vanity project, approved without due diligence and with no-bid contracts that go wildly beyond budget and then fail.
You have the president refusing to admit responsibility, offering a ridiculous lie to divert attention from the failure. You have yes men and women willing to spread the lie, setting the stage for a preposterous witch hunt. Then you have a Justice Department willing to humiliate and persecute ordinary Americans (even a former U.S. Olympic athlete) with baseless allegations in the service of the president’s ridiculous lie.
The one happy data point in this otherwise absurd story is the administration’s prosecutor, Jeanine Pirro, ultimately, surprisingly, dismissing the case and acknowledging that it was based on nothing but hot air.
If these facts weren’t so disturbing, they would be hilarious.
Max Jacobs Seattle
To the Editor:
Regarding federal prosecutors dropping their felony vandalism charge against David Hearn, the 67-year-old Olympian who Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said had damaged government property: I believe that the public would like to see the “tremendous evidence” that Ms. Pirro claimed on July 2 that she had.
If the evidence is not overwhelming, there should be an investigation into Ms. Pirro and her office to determine how she charged a patriotic American citizen with a felony.
Robert Kowal New York
To the Editor:
This word — botched — describing the problems engendered by faulty work on the Reflecting Pool does not stop at its water’s edge. All too often, whatever the current executive branch of government takes on ends badly for the country and the world. The work on this small body of water reflects so much more than a single botched job.
Peter Gilmour Chicago
Save Head Start
To the Editor:
Re “Plans for Head Start Alarm Its Supporters” (news article, Aug. 2):
The cruelty of our elected officials and their appointees knows no bounds as they move to dismantle Head Start, further harming our nation’s poorest children.
For over six decades, this program has provided free schooling, health care and parental support to low-income families, with positive effects that extend well into adulthood.
Decades of scientific research and experience firmly show that the early years are foundational for all development, from physical growth and well-being to social-emotional learning and ongoing success in school and the work force.
One need only look at children to see their inherent innocence and vulnerability, requiring care and protection to reach their full potential. Head Start serves our most at-risk children by providing a safe environment to learn, play and thrive.
What kind of society fails to protect its most vulnerable — and fails to invest in their success? A cruel one. By decimating Head Start, we diminish the future not only for these children and families but also for society as a whole. Shame on those who vote to destroy a program that gives every child the opportunity to succeed.
Tovah P. Klein New York The writer is the director emerita of the Barnard Center for Toddler Development. She is the author of “Raising Resilience: How to Help Our Children Thrive in Times of Uncertainty” and “How Toddlers Thrive.”
Make Land Acknowledgments Meaningful
To the Editor:
“Please Don’t Thank Us for the Land,” by Reid Walker (Opinion guest essay, July 26), deeply resonated with me.
As an attorney representing numerous Northwest Native American tribes for nearly three decades, I participated in many meetings with state officials. Often the issues involved water rights, with the tribes asking that sufficient water remain in streams to support healthy salmon populations.
In more recent years, land acknowledgments became de rigueur at the start of these meetings. More often than not, however, state officials refused to make meaningful accommodations even when the tribes’ requests were fully supported by state and federal law.
I developed a healthy cynicism for empty land acknowledgments that came with no change to the status quo. As Mr. Walker aptly pointed out, the test “is in what action comes after the words have been spoken.”
Sharon Haensly Shoreline, Wash.
The post Another Trump Fiasco: The Reflecting Pool appeared first on New York Times.
