Letter to the Editor - The Millerton News - 3-11-21

Take issue with Veteran’s Corner column

This is a response to a curious opinion published in the Feb. 18th issue written by Mr. Larry Conklin’s Veteran’s Corner column.

I am not sure that the intent of the column was to sustain the unfortunate memory of the previous president or to actually whitewash the record of what really happened, or both. Mr. Conklin does no service to his idol by relating the former president to the virus that is still killing thousands of citizens everyday after his constant denial and downplaying of its potential and selfish consideration of himself over the lives of the people he swore to protect.

Hero? I don’t think so! Operation Warp Speed was an amazing success up until it came to the delivery of the vaccine.

Apparently they got a little distracted at that point. From what I read, Alex Azar, head of Health and Human Services, developed and executed the plan initially — not revealed to the president or vice president until it was underway. White House staff had involved the president as little as possible, and not for the right reasons.

The former president was little more than a mouthpiece for Steve Bannon and Steve Miller. After Bannon left, he continued to be used by Miller and Fox News. The White House became so opaque any news out of it for a period of time came from Sputnik out of Russia. 

To give the former president any credit for fighting this virus would be like thanking the captain of the Titanic for the use of a lifeboat.

The opinion is curious also because the writer emphasizes his military status as a veteran. I don’t know how he, as a veteran, can support a person who paid a doctor to falsify a medical record to attain a deferment from the draft and stood at the graves of fallen soldiers and called those who sacrificed their lives “suckers.”

The House of Representatives is not responsible for delaying COVID relief. There is ample evidence that the Democratic members of the House have been proactive and responsive to the needs of the American people. 

The Republican members of the House and Senate have delayed, obfuscated and attempted to thwart any progress toward getting relief to the citizens of this country. Their reasons: They say they don’t want taxpayer funds to go to states that vote Democratic. This is coming from congressmen and women who represent states that receive federal funds, taxpayer money, from those states that they are trying to restrict the accessibility for relief funding. 

The Republican Party has every right to end its credibility and viability as a political party in the U.S. It has no right to disable the U.S. while on a suicide mission.

Scott Culbreth

Millerton