Arthur Costonis: There's still plenty of fight left in this American

In reference to Bruce Jenket's letter: "Give him another four years and Trump will expose corruption"

First, I want to state that Mr. Jenket is well read and quotes accurately. Kudos, Sir.

In his list of grievances he never once mentioned what Americans stand for. He speaks of "unAmerican," whatever that means. He proffers it is "them against us" thesis. He does have some of his facts a bit skewed to make his points. Others are just outright false. I am a Democrat and an "American" veteran who fought for the Constitution of this country not as a Democrat or Republican, but as an American whose parents were immigrants. I would do so again for a just cause (as an 86 years young Ph.D., I might not be accepted. I can assure you there is a heck lot of fight left in this guy).

I would refer you to Mr. Jenket's letter of 7/25/20 for all the details he discusses.

I will cite one assertion as an example of what I mean. Mr. Jenket claim: "Blame him (Trump) for everything that goes wrong: COVID-19, racism, climate change, etc."

The 45th President had NOTHING to do with the onset of any of these truly serious world threatening calamities, all of which are very active as I write this letter. What the president has done from the vast power of the presidency, is to deny that climate change and racism exist, and that COVID-19 is a "hoax." They ALL are real by any scientific standard. His denial of the same ensures that they will continue to the detriment of the United States as more Americans die from COVID-19 and the ensuing worldwide effects, especially if climate change remains unchecked.

You bet, sir, my vote counts as does yours. That is the "America" in which I grew up. An America where we all worked for the good of the common weal and knew how to compromise and exhibit love and compassion, not hate and divisiveness among us. Letters like yours will be used by the Putin hackers to foul our election to denigrate our country. Mr. Trump has already declared the election "rigged" even before it occurs in November. That is his claim alone.

One last point. Robert Mueller did NOT try to prove "collusion," which is not a crime but rather a conspiracy, which is a crime. Have you read the Mueller report, which is by no means a "hoax"? It proved beyond any doubt that the Russians did successfully negatively affect our 2016 election and are at it today.

I thank you, Mr. Jenkins, for firing me up to state my feelings and facts. And The Laconia Sun for allowing a platform for reasonable debate.

Arthur Costonis, Ph.D.

Bristol