# All NYTimes letters to editor today (01-18-2018) from pro-Trumpers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907 "2018-01-18T15:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/41 "2018-01-18T20:33:40Z")
And here we go again. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/42 "2018-01-18T20:33:51Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > … Do you really think Trump is a military mastermind of some sort? No. I just think your earlier statement is wrong. And I don’t think either one of us has any way to know what Obama would have done had he still been in charge through 2017. He was no military mastermind either. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/43 "2018-01-18T20:38:18Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Well that’s one business, not businesses. And they are raising pay from $10 to $11. You still can’t live on $11 an hour. And bonuses are averaging $190…17 hours of pay. For the year. Wooh. Well, [Here](http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/11/news/economy/tax-law-raises-bonuses/index.html) are some more. Besides, it’s not a position I’m arguing, just one that hard to argue against. Sure, you can say the raises weren’t big, or the bonuses aren’t much, but they are something. And for the most part, the businesses quote the new tax law as the reason for doing it. > [@](#): > > I also question the glory of the unemployment rate going down. Even when it went down under Obama. Yeah jobs are being filled but people are still being under-paid and over-worked. Or are more people leaving the workforce and opting for retirement (being that Boomers started turning 65 in 2013), reducing the number of adults looking for work without adults getting jobs? Anyway, people aren’t making living wages. It’s all a mathematical ruse Sure, that’s an argument that you can make. But it prevents you from ever using the unemployment rate as a statistic in favor of Obama. That’s up to you. > [@](#): > > Anyway, getting back to the letters, I’d like to know where and how people are actually personally feeling positive effects of a “booming” economy. Or are they just basing their assumptions on the color of the stock market arrow? The people I know are basing it on their 401k and investments as the stock market climbs. I myself got a raise and a bonus. And I don’t even agree with the tax cut. But the economy seems to be chugging right along. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/44 "2018-01-18T20:50:25Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > No. I just think your earlier statement is wrong. > > And I don’t think either one of us has any way to know what Obama would have done had he still been in charge through 2017. He was no military mastermind either. Then stop blaming Obama and crediting Trump. The fact is, _someone_ thought the strategy that was followed by the Obama military was working and it was continued by the Trump military until an option that was previously unavailable became possible. Reacting to new developments is not the same as changing a strategy. I guess Trump’s secret plan to defeat ISIS was to follow Obama’s lead for a while. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/45 "2018-01-18T21:00:40Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Then stop blaming Obama and crediting Trump. > The fact is, _someone_ thought the strategy that was followed by the Obama military was working and it was continued by the Trump military until an option that was previously unavailable became possible. > Reacting to new developments is not the same as changing a strategy. > > I guess Trump’s secret plan to defeat ISIS was to follow Obama’s lead for a while. Please, stop digging that hole. You were wrong on a minor point. Just admit it. No one is asking you to praise Trump. Just don’t post stuff about him that is factually incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/46 "2018-01-18T21:02:16Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Then stop blaming Obama and crediting Trump. > The fact is, _someone_ thought the strategy that was followed by the Obama military was working and it was continued by the Trump military until an option that was previously unavailable became possible. > Reacting to new developments is not the same as changing a strategy. > > I guess Trump’s secret plan to defeat ISIS was to follow Obama’s lead for a while. You were wrong, and your inability to admit it is unbecoming. [Here is another link](https://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/05/19/mattis-trump-empowered-commanders-annihilate-isis.html) with some additional information: > [@](#): > > Defense Secretary James Mattis said **President Donald Trump has empowered commanders to more aggressively target the Islamic State as part of a new approach to “annihilate” the militant group**. > > **The president has "delegated authority to the right level to aggressively and in a timely manner move against enemy vulnerabilities** ," Mattis said during a press conference Friday at the Pentagon. > > **The commander in chief, who ordered a review of the conflict after taking office, has also "directed a tactical shift from shoving ISIS out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate ISIS** ," Mattis added. “The intent is to prevent the return home of escaped foreign fighters.” > > The defense secretary, a retired Marine general, appeared alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford – who also Friday was reappointed to another two-year term – and Brett McGurk, the State Department’s special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS to present **an updated plan for Operation Inherent Resolve** , the military’s name for the fight against ISIS. If your takeaway from that is that “Trump made no change in the way the war was [prosecuted]”, I’m flabbergasted. I don’t think we’re even living in the same universe anymore. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/47 "2018-01-18T21:05:13Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > [Walmart](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/11/walmart-to-boost-starting-wage-give-employees-bonus-after-tax-bill.html) for one. Immediately followed by the closings of a bunch of Sam’s Clubs. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/48 "2018-01-18T21:07:59Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > You were wrong, and your inability to admit it is unbecoming. [Here is another link](https://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/05/19/mattis-trump-empowered-commanders-annihilate-isis.html) with some additional information: > > If your takeaway from that is that “Trump made no change in the way the war was [prosecuted]”, I’m flabbergasted. I don’t think we’re even living in the same universe anymore. Again, that was May 19. What was being done for the five months before? Maybe following the previous strategy? You’d have a point if this was dated Jan 21. Then Trump could claim he changed the course. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/49 "2018-01-18T21:08:43Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Immediately followed by the closings of a bunch of Sam’s Clubs. Yes, you are correct. Doesn’t negate the fact that they gave out bonuses and raised wages, which is what I said. And is what I hear from Trump supporters. When the companies in question directly quote the tax cut as the reason they are giving bonuses and raises, it’s really hard to argue that they are not doing it because of the tax cut. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/50 "2018-01-18T21:10:16Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Again, that was May 19. What was being done for the five months before? Reviewing the previously strategy? Still seems weird that you are fighting this point. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/51 "2018-01-18T21:10:20Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Again, that was May 19. What was being done for the five months before? Maybe following the previous strategy? > You’d have a point if this was dated Jan 21. Then Trump could claim he changed the course. LOL! You are ridiculous. Have fun in your alternate reality. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/52 "2018-01-18T21:21:18Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Yes, you are correct. Doesn’t negate the fact that they gave out bonuses and raised wages, which is what I said. And is what I hear from Trump supporters. When the companies in question directly quote the tax cut as the reason they are giving bonuses and raises, it’s really hard to argue that they are not doing it because of the tax cut. Yeah, no doubt. Your statement was true. I see it though, as looking at one side of a teeter-totter, and not the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/53 "2018-01-18T21:23:41Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Yeah, no doubt. Your statement was true. I see it though, as looking at one side of a teeter-totter, and not the whole thing. I agree. That’s sort of the point. And what the people writing those letters are doing. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/54 "2018-01-18T21:29:40Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Yeah, no doubt. Your statement was true. I see it though, as looking at one side of a teeter-totter, and not the whole thing. > [@Slash1972](#): > > I agree. _ **That’s sort of the point.** _ And what the people writing those letters are doing. Emphasis added. Yes. Thank you. THAT is the whole point! That’s the part that’s so hard to understand. Why are these educated, intelligent, employed people buying the bullshit that thump is selling? I see why the bitter, rural, unemployed, FOX-News crowd believes him–they are too stupid to know any better and the only news they get is the news that thump & co. put out. But why are _these people_ falling for his line? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/55 "2018-01-18T21:30:19Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Yeah, no doubt. Your statement was true. I see it though, as looking at one side of a teeter-totter, and not the whole thing. > [@Slash1972](#): > > I agree. That’s sort of the point. And what the people writing those letters are doing. The NYT said: > [@](#): > > we wanted to let Mr. Trump’s supporters make their best case for him as the first year of his presidency approaches its close. I strongly suspect that if you followed up with the letter-writers and asked them something along the lines of “yeah, I know you said Trump did all these good things, but are there any thing he’s done that you didn’t like, or things that you think were bad?” many of them would give you reasonable responses cataloging some of his shortcomings and missteps. Yes, the letters are “looking at one side of a teeter-totter”, but that’s because that’s exactly what the NYT asked for: “their best case for him”. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/56 "2018-01-18T22:01:25Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I strongly suspect that if you followed up with the letter-writers and asked them something along the lines of “yeah, I know you said Trump did all these good things, but are there any thing he’s done that you didn’t like, or things that you think were bad?” many of them would give you reasonable responses cataloging some of his shortcomings and missteps. Yes, the letters are “looking at one side of a teeter-totter”, but that’s because that’s exactly what the NYT asked for: “their best case for him”. I strongly suspect that the reasoning behind the “good things” is shoddy at best. I watched an interview with just such an individual this morning. She liked the way Trump talks because he, “…Says it like it is. He talks like normal people talk. Not polished. I’m sick of polished! I want my country back!!” I wish someone would spend time trying to get Trump supporters like her to elaborate on what they find objectionable about a “polished” speaker, or what it means to have their country back. We can speculate. But I’d prefer if they articulated. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/57 "2018-01-18T22:37:34Z")
[Apple also announced some good news](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/01/17/apple-pays-38-billion-trump-tax-bill-open-second-hq/1041261001/) in response to President Trump’s tax reform: > [@](#): > > … The iPhone maker said it also will make $30 billion in capital expenditures in the U.S. over the next five years, in part from opening data centers to feed growing demand for services like iCloud. And it will create over 20,000 new jobs at existing Apple campuses and a new one, initially for technical support, at an unnamed location, likely setting off a scramble among states and cities vying for bragging rights. > > The company is the latest to announce new payouts tied to the tax bill, a landmark win for President Trump and the Republican-led Congress … > > Apple is also giving $2,500 stock bonuses to most of its 138,126 employees worldwide, which will roll out in the next months. … ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/58 "2018-01-18T22:40:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Why are these educated, intelligent, employed people buying the bullshit that thump is selling? I see why the bitter, rural, unemployed, FOX-News crowd believes him–they are too stupid to know any better and the only news they get is the news that thump & co. put out. But why are _these people_ falling for his line? Because you’re incapable and intolerant understanding a viewpoint that isn’t your own. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/59 "2018-01-18T23:40:34Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > That’s the part that’s so hard to understand. Why are these educated, intelligent, employed people buying the bullshit that thump is selling? I see why the bitter, rural, unemployed, FOX-News crowd believes him–they are too stupid to know any better and the only news they get is the news that thump & co. put out. But why are _these people_ falling for his line? Well, to be fair, and to look at the other side of the teeter-totter, it’s kind of hard to have concrete, specific reasons why the tax cut is bad for me. After all, I’m saving upwards of $5,000 next year in taxes. Calling me “too stupid to know any better” is probably not going to change my opinion. Another one would be that, from reading this message board and other on-line and off-line sources, a lot of complaints about the President are simply about things he says, or how he says things, or what he tweets - there is a whole thread on that in the Pit. Many people believe it doesn’t matter what he says, only what actually results from policies that he signs. Many people don’t hold the “President must be Presidential” view. Me, I just think it’s funny. I don’t get all hurt about the things he says. Now, if you have a good reason why the President shouldn’t talk that way, other than “They shouldn’t”, maybe people would listen. Calling them “too stupid to know any better” is probably not going to change their minds. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907/60 "2018-01-19T00:04:13Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > Because you’re incapable and intolerant understanding a viewpoint that isn’t your own. Understanding it, and buying into it are two different things. Really, they are different. Never assume we don’t understand what we mock, or why. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-nytimes-letters-to-editor-today-01-18-2018-from-pro-trumpers/806907.md?page=4)