Microplastics
Anyone heard of microplastics? If not, we should get familiar with it because they are everywhere — in our soil, in our water, on our clothes (made of nylon and polyester), in the air, in the food we eat, and, you may have guessed it, they are in our bodies too.
As in the name itself, microplastic is broken down plastic. For information on this, search “A Global Perspective on Microplastics” for a publication on the matter. There have been discussions about reducing the use of plastic, not just recently but over many years. Some states and cities have taken action while others choose to ignore the warning signs.
Not only is plastic a danger to our environment, but it’s a danger to our bodies and most importantly our health. I think it’s time we start paying attention and take action. For starters we can work to persuade our City Council members to pass the single-use plastic bag fee. That’s all it would take. Additionally, we can intentionally reduce the use of plastic water bottles. The water in them is not as clean as you think.
Anita Ward, Virginia Beach
Immigration
Republicans have framed the immigration debate with racism and lies. Regarding immigrants, former President Donald Trump has said, “These aren’t people. These are animals.” He’s said they are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Unlike Trump, most immigrants have not been found liable for sexual abuse and fraud, nor are they convicted felons. According to Scientific American: “Undocumented immigrants are half as likely to be arrested for violent crimes as U.S.-born citizens.” According to the Cato Institute: “In 2021, U.S. citizens accounted for 86.3% of fentanyl trafficking convictions compared to just 8.9% for illegal immigrants.” Immigrants deliberately turn themselves in to the authorities to claim asylum.
Under President Joe Biden, a record 15.7 million jobs were created and the unemployment rate has been at or below 4% for months. There is a labor shortage caused by a million COVID-19 deaths, retiring boomers and declining birth rates. Immigrants have filled much of the gap. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said, “The U.S. economy has benefited from immigration.” The Congressional Budget Office reported that the economy is projected to grow by $8.9 trillion more over the next decade than it would have without new influxes of immigrants. Refugees and asylees paid $123.8 billion more in taxes than they received in government benefits (2005-2019). They cannot vote in federal elections.
Congressional Republicans demanded and negotiated a bipartisan immigration bill but then rejected it so Trump could demagogue the issue.
Trump’s planned “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” of 15-20 million people would wreck the economy.
David Campbell, Virginia Beach
The leopard
Do not presume for an instant that the leopard will change its spots. He has not had an epiphany and most likely his quietude reflects his shock that someone tried to murder him as he was about to rail against the immigrant horde invading his America. However, it wasn’t a refugee fleeing poverty, an oppressive government or a failing lawless state dominated by narcos; instead it appears it was the standard, all-American lone gunman, an aggrieved, disaffected and disenfranchised young white man with an AR-style rifle who shot him and three others.
Trump’s brush with death will not change him nor alter the trajectory of his party and campaign to reshape the electorate and the government in his image, the United States of Trump. That is evident in his choice of running mate — a converted Never Trumper. Sen. J.D. Vance, who like most converts, is a zealot and a devout MAGA acolyte who has fully embraced Trumpism.
Trump will use him and others to carry the message that we are in dire need of salvation and that only Trump and his apostles, including nine Supreme Court justices, preaching his gospel will lead us to the promised land.
The MAGA gospel, Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, promises to restore American exceptionalism and to reinstitute nuclear family values at the cost of limiting or eliminating rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, which has been reinterpreted by Trump judges, like Aileen Cannon, who not only delayed justice, but dismissed it. Trump can delay, deny and deflect but still remains the spotted predator.
John Mannarino, Virginia Beach
Read
Re “Immunity needed” (Your Views, July 10): The letter writer stated that Democrats are using hypothetical scenarios after the recent immunity ruling by the Supreme Court. He stated the legal bar is “extremely high,” and that a president “can’t just go around willy-nilly” killing.
I encourage the him to read Germany’s 1933 Enabling Act. This law allowed the chief executive the authority to enforce his own laws and conduct without checks and balances. Months later, Germany was a one-party state and a totalitarian dictatorship.
I also encourage him to read philosopher Jason Stanley of Yale University. He is best known for his book “How Fascism Works” and has said, “Once you have the courts you can pretty much do whatever you want.”
I respectfully implore the letter writer to take off the proverbial blinders, remove his head from the sand and learn from history.
Patrick L. Blake, Virginia Beach
