To the Editor:
Re “Don’t Surrender and Call It Compromise,” by Jamelle Bouie (column, Dec. 22):
Isn’t Mr. Bouie burned out on the rancor yet? The fury over every Donald Trump musing? The barrage of fund-raising emails and doomsday scenarios triggered by cabinet nominations or policy suggestions?
As a Democratic voter who donated money, wrote postcards and traveled out of state to knock on doors for Harris-Walz, I say we need to step back. Let’s see what transpires versus imagining the worst and tying ourselves into tighter knots.
If the Trump administration unleashes the mayhem and pain we expect, let his voters witness, experience and repent for what they’ve done. If that chaos doesn’t happen, any catastrophizing by Democrats will appear unwarranted and thus be self-defeating. Either way, circumspection will set the party on firmer ground to claw back legitimacy in the midterms and beyond.
Christi Whittemore
Costa Mesa, Calif.
To the Editor:
I totally agree with Jamelle Bouie. I am a Democrat, and the Democratic Party makes me furious.
Some Democrats want to work with a felonious incoming president and find common ground. There is none. Donald Trump was supported by billionaires and voted in by a bewitched electorate who believed his lies. His goals are tax cuts for the wealthy and tariffs for the rest of us. Does that sound democratic?
The Democrats should do what Senator Mitch McConnell did to former President Barack Obama. Mr. Obama came into office naïve, thinking he could work across the aisle. Mr. McConnell’s goal was to make Mr. Obama a one-term president. He didn’t succeed in that, but he made it impossible for Mr. Obama to achieve his full potential as president.
Democratic politicians, please fight, don’t fold, or the party will forever flounder.
Donna Sloan
Los Angeles
To the Editor:
Jamelle Bouie provides an excellent game plan for a resolute but responsible opposition to the Trumpian craziness soon to beset our country.
An unrelenting critique of the Trump administration’s policies and actions will not only expose Donald Trump’s efforts to “put lawlessness at the center of American government.” It will also provide an opportunity for the American people to see and evaluate Democratic politicians who aspire to higher office.
The Democratic Party has a deep bench of articulate, young leaders who can, through their critiques, showcase their oratory skills and their commitment to the values of the Democratic Party.
Edmund McWilliams
White Oaks, N.M.
How U.S. Benefits From Trade With China
To the Editor:
In “What Economists Could Learn From ‘Seinfeld’” (Opinion guest essay, Dec. 24), Oren Cass writes that economists were wrong to welcome China into the global economic system. He says that American workers are worse off, not better off.
Clearly, Americans have benefited from globalization, especially including China. China supplies us with a lot of very inexpensive products that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. And the Chinese are buying our high-tech products, like airplanes (plus our movies).
If American workers are worse off, it’s not so much because of the decline in manufacturing due to competition from China. It’s because a much greater share of economic benefits have gone to the owners of capital (shareholders and C.E.O.s) rather than to the workers. That’s not China’s fault; that’s a failure of capitalism and an example of why we need a higher minimum wage.
And to top it all off, even after doing everything the opposite of what his instinct told him, George Costanza continued to be the same doofus he always was on “Seinfeld,” albeit one with a more interesting occupation.
Shaun Breidbart
Pelham, N.Y.
Rising Rates of Autism
To the Editor:
Re “Study Clears Vaccines for a Surge in Autism. So What Is Behind It?” (news article, Dec. 25):
As a practicing behavioral/developmental pediatrician with over four decades of experience, I believe that this article fails to mention the most important reason rates of autism have soared in the last 20-plus years.
It cites broadened diagnostic criteria and increased awareness, but not the fact that the autism diagnosis is the key to getting insurance companies to support the main intervention for autism, applied behavioral analysis, or ABA treatment, one of the few proven effective treatments for autism.
What is generally less well known is that most behavioral problems in a toddler or preschooler will respond to ABA treatment. Pediatricians and pediatric psychologists feel the pressure to provide the autism diagnosis. Where in the past they might have diagnosed the child with developmental or language delay, now with any signs of even borderline autism, the evaluators will hedge the diagnosis toward autism. It’s another case of “follow the money.”
Lawrence Diller
Walnut Creek, Calif.
In Awe of Schubert
To the Editor:
Re “Schubert Is the Best Cure I Know for Loneliness,” by Jonathan Biss (Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, Dec. 28):
Mr. Biss’s wonderful analysis of Schubert’s last three piano sonatas brings to mind the last three sonatas of Beethoven. Both he and Schubert confronted, in their own unique musical voices, similar questions of mortality, physical and emotional challenges, and, ultimately, acceptance. Consider the last piano sonata of Beethoven (Op. 111), which begins with anger and defiance and concludes with transformative serenity and beauty.
I have to believe they each appreciated the significance of the work of the other — particularly how each was able, through a masterly use of sound and silence, to express emotional struggles.
They gave voice to universal feelings that we all confront. It is no wonder these masterpieces remain so impactful to this day.
Les Libow
Philadelphia
To the Editor:
I found the three sonatas Jonathan Biss referred to on a CD, and I am so pleased to have discovered them (thanks to him).
The final movement of Schubert’s D. 958 is simply beyond belief. It’s not only beautiful but uplifting and inspirational. That this music of joy and hope was written by a young man less than two months from dying … I’m struggling to comprehend this.
Thank you for publishing articles like this.
Leon Joffe
Pretoria, South Africa
A Common Bond, Thanks to The Times
To the Editor:
I am writing to share a reflection on a recent holiday gathering of my family blending many diverse perspectives and lifestyles.
Within our extended family, we have liberals and conservatives, each with their own strong opinions. Some are vegetarians while others are dedicated carnivores. Our family includes those who pray the rosary daily and those who identify as agnostics. We have self-proclaimed foodies who savor the latest culinary trends, and unapologetic junk food junkies. Our ages range from teens to 70s.
The conversation when we get together can get lively, can get heated and often gets split into special interest groups.
What I noticed was the one topic of conversation that united all of us: the New York Times games — Wordle, Connections, the Mini and Strands.
Thank you, New York Times, for doing something that peacemakers have been trying to do for centuries, providing us with a common bond that transcends differences and generations!
Patricia Jones
Lancaster, Pa.
Recognizing Local Call’s Work
To the Editor:
“Israel Loosened Limits On Strikes, Multiplying Risks to Gaza Civilians” (front page, Dec. 27) expanded upon the original reporting of Local Call, a Hebrew-language news outlet, and +972 Magazine, an Israeli-Palestinian news website. While the New York Times reviewed military records, conducted its own interviews and accurately credited +972 Magazine, it failed to credit Local Call, which played a critical role in the investigation.
Local Call was founded in April 2014 and since has been recognized as one of the most important outlets in Israel by the country’s leading journalists and editors. As the only media outlet in Israel that consistently publishes writings by Palestinian and Gazan writers, it has become a window into the wanton bombing of Gaza over the last 16 months and a pioneer in investigative journalism that exposes the policy and machinery fueling Israel’s war.
It is important to us that Local Call is recognized for the vital work its journalists and team have taken on over the last horrifying year.
Suhad Babaa
Washington
The writer is the executive director of Just Vision and co-publisher of Local Call.
