To the Editor:
Re “In Blistering Speech, President Condemns Trump as Dire Threat” (information article, Jan. 6):
President Biden’s speech close to Valley Forge on Friday, by which he took direct purpose at Donald Trump with rhetoric that was hard-hitting and convincing in tone and substance, was his greatest enumeration but of the misdeeds that clearly disqualify Mr. Trump from being president.
Lastly breaking his reticence, Mr. Biden gave Individuals many compelling the explanation why a restoration of the deeply flawed and authoritarian Mr. Trump to the presidency could be disastrous and maybe deadly for the reason for democracy. Clearly, the president and his crew should be relentless in transmitting this message to the American individuals between now and November.
However to regain the belief and confidence that propelled his victory over Mr. Trump in 2020, Mr. Biden might want to do extra now than dwell on the perils that will face democracy ought to the previous president prevail, vitally necessary as that’s. He additionally wants to energise and reassure all voter teams with a optimistic view of the place he plans to take the nation to enhance the lives of strange Individuals. Personally partaking quickly on immigration and the border could be place to start out.
Roger Hirschberg
South Burlington, Vt.
To the Editor:
President Biden’s speech brings to thoughts the phrases of Thomas Paine. Shortly after America declared its independence from Britain, when morale in Washington’s military was at a low level, Paine, writer of “Frequent Sense” and “The American Disaster,” wrote, “These are the occasions that strive males’s souls.”
Greater than only a rallying cry for troopers to remain the course, it was an attraction to dispirited Individuals in a really darkish hour to stay steadfast within the pursuit of self-rule. With democracy below siege almost 250 years later, America is in determined want of one other dose of widespread sense to handle the unrelenting assault on the rule of regulation by Donald Trump and the MAGA minions.
Whereas the media and political pundits obsess over each submit Mr. Trump writes, Mr. Biden goes in regards to the enterprise of being head of state, rising above the noise to do the work of “We the Folks.”
Extra than simply an introduction, the preamble to the Structure is an affirmation that the federal government of the USA exists to serve its residents, not the pursuits of a selected political social gathering or these of a single particular person.
Jim Paladino
Tampa, Fla.
To the Editor:
The New York Instances’s unbalanced protection of President Biden and his seemingly opponent is a part of the issue within the 2024 presidential race. On Friday President Biden gave his first main marketing campaign speech of the yr. The story was on web page A11 of Saturday’s paper. An article about his likely opponent was on Page A1 — with a photograph. On Sunday the lead article on the entrance web page was in regards to the seemingly opponent.
Equally, TV information reveals are obsessive about the seemingly opponent. They point out President Biden solely briefly when he says one thing about his seemingly opponent.
Is it any marvel that polls present that the seemingly opponent is probably going our subsequent president? Mr. Biden will hopefully then be observed with a front-page story in The Instances for a job nicely carried out, with phrases of puzzlement about what went improper.
Irwin Sandler
Phoenix
To the Editor:
President Biden’s speech on the eve of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 revolt led by the previous president may very well be summed up as this plea to Individuals: Don’t elect dictatorship; protect democracy and your private liberties.
Tragically, given a spectacularly divided Democratic base, third-party candidates and the cultlike management that Donald Trump exerts over the Republican Get together, barring a deus ex machina, indicators at present level to the re-election of the previous president, who has vowed to overturn the Structure.
The message for cheap individuals of excellent will of each political persuasion should be: There aren’t any different points till Mr. Trump and Trumpism are defeated.
If Mr. Trump assumes energy once more, local weather change motion, reproductive rights, civil rights, L.G.B.T.Q. rights and immigration reform are all in danger. An American dictatorship is now not an abstraction.
Mr. Biden could also be too previous and deeply unpopular, however he’s the one one that can cease Mr. Trump. To use Liz Cheney’s apt phrase, we’re “sleepwalking” into a dictatorship and should awaken.
Eric Radack
Santa Fe, N.M.
After a Airplane Crash: Studying From the Japanese
To the Editor:
Re “Order Prevailed Aboard Jetliner Bathed in Fire” (entrance web page, Jan. 4):
Your report on the airplane crash in Japan vividly described the wonderful work of the crew in getting all 367 passengers off safely. Having lived in Tokyo for 2 years, we are able to additionally testify to the environment friendly habits of Japanese passengers themselves.
On a flight from Haneda Airport in Tokyo, we had been astonished to see greater than 400 individuals board a 747 and settle into their seats in quarter-hour. This was a serious distinction to flights within the U.S., the place passengers usually have interaction in free-for-alls in attempting to get to their seats, stow their outsized carry-ons within the overhead bins, and so forth.
Japan’s group-oriented tradition is usually a problem for Individuals, however its precedence on order and cooperation is a marvel to behold in boarding an airplane.
Lawrence Bruser
Susan Bruser
Chevy Chase, Md.
To the Editor:
In regard to the profitable evacuation of crew and passengers from the Japan Airways flight that crashed in Tokyo on Jan. 2, a few of this achievement may be as a result of practical and simple security video that JAL makes use of on its flights.
On the JAL flight I used to be on final month, the security video used animation to obviously depict the implications of passengers clogging the aisle after they attempt to escape the airplane with their baggage. It plainly confirmed one of the simplest ways to make use of the emergency exit slides and inspired passengers to help others in making a protected exit. And it depicted the significance of getting away from the airplane as quickly as passengers are on the bottom.
The video’s messages are to remain calm, assist others and be expeditious. Against this, the security movies I’ve seen on different airways usually are not specific in regards to the risks of a chaotic exit, so passengers are prone to take them much less critically.
Jim Welsh
Madison, Wis.
How ‘Munich’ Resonates As we speak
To the Editor:
Re “The Best Movie About Israel Right Now Is 18 Years Old,” by Lisa Schwarzbaum (Opinion visitor essay, Dec. 24):
I’ve been fascinated by “Munich” for the reason that horrific Oct. 7 terrorist assault on Israel by Hamas and Israel’s decimation of Gaza, ensuing within the deaths of too many innocents, particularly youngsters.
I’ve at all times thought that it’s certainly one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies — an ethical train that questions the countless cycle of violence and vengeance. A cycle that has by no means actually resolved something — within the Center East or elsewhere. But, historical past continues to repeat itself.
I’ve seen “Munich” a number of occasions. I appreciated Ms. Schwarzbaum’s essay, which makes me wish to watch it once more.
Leslie J. Yerman
Stamford, Conn.