Joe Biden's decision to relinquish his party's nomination for the presidency is a magnanimous move and clearly the right thing to do in the circumstances. He doesn't want to be the person who let "orange Hitler" and his hillbilly followers into the White House.
If I was running the Democratic Party, I would double down on this decision and have either a Harris/Gretchen Whitmer ticket, or a Harris/Pete Buttigieg ticket. Can you imagine how Trump supporters would react to an all-female ticket or a woman running with a well-qualified gay man? Their simple right-wing brains would explode.
Pete Jones, Rathmines
D'Souza claims debunked
In Ian Kirkwood's opinion piece ("US elections show democracies work in mysterious ways", NH, 20/7), he explains how he has had his eyes opened in regards to the Democrats 'stealing' the 2020 US election. The 2022 film 2000 Mules, created by serial conspiracist Dinesh D'Souza, claims to show convincing evidence that paid "mules" illegally deposited ballots into drop boxes, which effectively swung the election from Trump to Biden. Kirkwood seems to accept these claims at face value.
I haven't seen the film, but I have read Wikipedia's extensively-referenced page on 2000 Mules. Multiple independent media and fact-checking organisations are highly critical of the film's analysis. For example, Associated Press claims the film relies on "faulty assumptions, anonymous accounts and improper analysis of cell phone location data".
Many Republican commentators are also scathing about claims made in the movie. Author and political adviser Amanda Carpenter characterised it as "a hilarious mockumentary" that "doesn't survive the most basic fact-checks to support its most important claims". Trump's attorney-general, Bill Barr, while giving testimony on the January 6 Capitol attack, laughed at the mention of 2000 Mules, and when asked to assess it, dismissed its assertions, calling the movie "indefensible".
Kirkwood asks Herald readers to "examine the facts yourself". I suggest he does the same.
Chris Tobin, New Lambton
Vanstone view 'outrageous'
Former immigration minister Amanda Vanstone, in her opinion piece ("What happens when we say 'yes' to everyone claiming asylum", NH, 18/7) about refugees who arrived by boat, claims that many of them got to stay in Australia by converting to Christianity, and then arguing they would be persecuted on this basis if they were sent back.
The Australian community is very much insistent and proud of its multicultural nature. To suggest anyone has a better chance of being accepted into Australia if they are Christian violates community expectations.
Vanstone adds "How many of them would be practising Christians today? Come in spinner if you think the percentage would be high". Outrageous, because in Australia, all people have the right to think freely, and to entertain ideas and hold positions based on conscience, religious or other beliefs. Why, though, does she characterise the majority of Australians who support refugee rights and welcome them here, as having "Mary Poppins' lunacy"? Mary Poppins taught the children kindness, and rescued their father from his frozen and uptight emotions. And it didn't cost much: tuppence a bag.
The Herald published my opinion piece the next day ("Despite sad milestone, don't dream human rights are over", NH, 19/7). It urged people to join us, talk to us, laugh and sing. Why? Because in battling the entrenched bipartisan cruelty towards refugees we need to believe, like Mary Poppins, "Everything is possible, even the impossible."
Niko Leka, Mayfield
Bad form on both sides
I ask people to have some perspective in regard to the current CFMEU saga.
I was an engineer working on the now defunct Liddell power station. Two major contractors were Electrical Power Transmissions and Transfield. All companies doing contract work on site were paid an allowance by the state government. This payment was to attract workers to choose the site work and compensate them for living in camps and losing family contact during time away from home. However, these companies illegally charged the state for what became known as 'ghost workers'. The dollar value of this corrupt action is anyone's guess.
I would suggest the state government should take note of the fact that they were duped by these pillars of society. White collar crime apparently isn't really bad form.
Aidan Ellis, Charlestown
SHORT TAKES
Applause for Lake Mac CEO
Great to see Lake Mac CEO Morven Cameron get the glowing endorsement from the council after eight years of serving the community ("Top CEO in the Hunter: praise for Lake Mac council boss in review", NH, 23/7). One would have to ask if Newcastle council did a similar assessment with their CEO, would the report be done on Neylon, Bath or Sivo as it would appear there is still confusion among Newcastle ratepayers.
Paul Murphy, Hamilton
Shifting climate of fear
Brian Measday ("Trump's trail of destruction", Letters, 20/7 and "Humans' hand must be shown", Letters, 22/7) seems to be a one-trick pony, writing incessantly about his fear of climate change. He's now afraid of what a Trump presidency would mean for his pet subject. Now that old Joe is out of the race, my fear is what four years of Kamala Harris would do to my own mental health. Interesting too is what Ian Kirkwood ("US elections show democracies work in mysterious ways", NH, 20/7) says about election fraud in 2020. Maybe Trump was right all along?
Greg Hunt, Newcastle West
Price confusion mushrooms
Last week I went to Woolworths for my weekly shop. They had "on special" a small punnet of mushrooms for $5 (per kilo price $20). Not far away were the same mushrooms, loose, $12 a kilo. Don't you just love a good Woolies special. So much for all the inquiries/investigations.
Shane Tull, Redhead
Suspects in lame game
If I owned a racehorse and the trainer, rider, the veterinarian, the strapper, the stable foreperson, and the stable cat that keeps the rats at bay, who would I blame if my horse was scratched for being lame? Who should be sacked for misleading the American people and the former free world by not declaring the obvious that Joe Biden was lame, and was lame before winning the world's second most important job? The world's most important job to me, is feeding Digby the blue heeler. At least I can rely on his judgement of character.
