To the Editor:

Martin, I will temporarily refrain from mentioning women’s self-determination, human rights, and “precious babies,” because that will obviously produce another hysterical defense of your version of men’s purpose and authority. Men and women respecting and promoting each other’s well-being, freedom, and happiness, and protecting their families in the best way each can, is a commendable human experience. But men like you, who insist that women are assigned to “venerated” chattel status, completely miss the point and defy rehabilitation. Perhaps you were imprinted in the 1930’s by, “Me Tarzan, you Jane.”

Whatever your inspiration, how about explaining why you and the Republican Congress are determined to control pregnancies, but once the “precious babies” pass the birth canal, they become invisible, as in the “big, beautiful bill” of which you apparently approve, which reduces nutritional and health support to poor families. Let’s move on to avoid another triggered reaction.

Are you offended by Trump’s statement about the inhumane tragedy in Gaza, “Netanyahu is a war hero…and I guess I am, too”? Trump claimed ownership of that disaster for America, along with Israel. It is not anti-Semitism to criticize Israel’s governance, or anti-American to criticize Trump’s leadership. And it’s hardly “cynical” to point to the truth.

Apparently, no bells ring for you in the fact that Trump is demonstrating here the same undemocratic controls that he so admires in the world’s worst dictators. Trump has Invaded areas on false pretenses to signal power and control of populations, ignored the written lawful rights of people against the government (Bill of Rights and subsequent Amendments), has attempted to pervert law enforcement and the Court System, restructured history to minimize inconvenient truths (reframing the Smithsonian exhibit to advertise slavery as on-the-job training), forbade any criticism of the dictator’s schizophrenic tariffs, defunded world-recognized medical research and health agencies, dumbed down universities so they won’t promote dissident ideas, threatened the Free Press with possible prosecution, and planned and executed revenge on those who have criticized or disagreed with him. Just yesterday, Trump executed an EO attempting to ban mail-return ballots on the advice of - Putin. And Trump II is only 8 months in.

Now the window on Trump’s soul is opening on the Epstein Matter. The question: If he is innocent and no incriminating documents exist, why is Trump making such underhanded, unrelenting, ferocious attempts to conceal the Epstein List and other hidden information on potential high-flying rapists, and giving convicted rapist Ghislaine Maxwell incredibly special and legally unsupported favors in her new “country club prison” closer to her family, with a “work release” exception for which she is ineligible as a sex-offender? Perhaps because in a DOJ interview, she “spontaneously” praised “the president” as “always a gentleman” who never did anything untoward with women. She knew what she had to say.

Trump demands his way by lies and roaring. Putin, with a whisper of a smile, says, “Nyet,” and sends Russian tanks into Ukraine carrying our American flag.

Kelly Scoles,

Fillmore, CA