Next four years and thanks, Abels

Given the thousands of offenses to decency publicly committed by the man, it seems futile to point out any particular instances of such. It’s like a nightmarish game of whack-a-mole. Still, two recent Trumpy actions bode ill for the next four years. Soon after the election, Mr. Trump posted on his little website “some Democrats want to abolish the popular vote.” We are so inured to the man’s inability to tell the truth that the absurdity of this statement now just blows past us. Really? Just how would they do that?

More recently, the Trumpies filed suit against The Des Moines Register. The reason? An unfavorable poll that, inaccurately it turned out, had him behind VP Harris shortly before the election. So much for freedom of the press.

There we have it. All hope of Trump ever becoming discernibly human is forever forlorn. Not even a legitimate victory can save the man from himself. We can look forward to four years of lies, threats, dumb boasts, cabinet members accused of sexual predation, the leader of the free world insulting our democratic allies, and a Justice Department bent on wreaking revenge against his enemies.

Clean water will become more scarce, global warming will increase more quickly, women will lose more autonomy, fewer people will have health insurance, wages will go down (that’s what anti-union legislation is designed to do), vaccination rates will go down, and inflation will get worse. Two of his promises may not come to fruition, however. Even now, surely some of his billionaire buddies are telling him that rounding up 10 million Mexicans and sending them to camps or to Mexico will cripple the agricultural and construction industries, while others are attempting to convince him that massive tariffs mean massive rises in prices. Don’t worry, though, massive tax cuts for the richest Americans are sure to happen, followed by attempts to bridge the ensuing budget gaps by targeting “entitlements” such as food stamps, WIC, and social security. Alas, democracies get the government they deserve.

On another note, best wishes to the Abels on their retirement. Port Chester readers will miss the Westmore News, not only for its hyper-local focus, but also for its Letters page, which was open to all and frequently featured sundry inadvertently hilarious contributors. In these enlightened times, one scans other publications in vain for accusations of “perversion,” yet at least one frequent contributor to the Westmore, who has obviously looked past (or perhaps approves of) Trump’s numerous sexual transgressions, seemed fixated on such; another fact-devoid contributor seems obsessed with designating his imagined enemies as “Commie-Socialist-Marxist-Fascists.” These worthies provided a much-needed weekly chuckle. We’ll miss them.

Kudos also to Dick Hubert, whose commentary, even when I disagreed with it, was always sober, thoughtful and infused with deep concern about just where the country seems to be headed.

Thank you, Abels!

Terry Benoit

Port Chester