Letters

I decided not to respond to reader Ed Surgan’s Letter to the Editor from a few weeks ago, thinking it would be a waste of time to rebut his comments that climate change has been over-hyped and should not concern us to the degree that it does.

But then I read the most recent letter from Trump fan Thomas M. Jones [“A New Low,” Letters, May 29] and I just couldn’t help myself. The misinformation that they are spreading just cannot go unanswered.

First, to answer Mr. Surgan’s assertion that worries about climate change are overblown: I suggest that all readers Google “What Exxon Knew About Climate Change.” The search results will lead to a number of studies that will inform the reader that, as long ago as the 1970s, Exxon scientists came to three conclusions: the Earth was warming, this warming would have dire consequences for mankind, and this warming was primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

And now we are seeing their predictions come true. So-called hundred-year floods are happening monthly. Glaciers that supply many countries with their drinking water are melting at unprecedented rates. And some island nations are literally disappearing under rising seas.

On an even more alarming note, climate change is affecting the quality, cost and availability of coffee. A world without coffee could get ugly soon.

As an aside to Mr. Surgan, please knock off the juvenile remarks about “Trump derangement syndrome.” There is nothing deranged about not approving of a president who disrespects our allies, disregards legitimate court orders and ignores the separation of powers our founding fathers gave us.

And now to respond to Thomas M. Jones, who extolled the fact that military recruitment numbers are up under President Donald Trump. What he fails to mention is that after a COVID-19 era decline, recruitment numbers rebounded during the 13 months prior to Mr. Trump taking office.

While Mr. Trump certainly supports defense contractors, his treatment of our troops has been abysmal. He has done nothing to rein in payday lenders who prey on our underpaid servicemen and women. He has appointed as their leader a Fox News host whose tenure has been marked with one gaff after another. He shamefully addressed the West Point graduates while wearing a MAGA hat and ranted about trophy wives and other nonsense before rushing off to play golf without shaking the hands of the graduating cadets.

And only MAGA logic could conclude, as Mr. Jones does, that firing 10,000 VA workers (including veterans) would improve veterans’ care. The VFW disagrees, saying, “We’re losing people who are genuinely committed to the mission.”

That doesn’t sound like improvement to me.

John Neely

Westhampton Beach