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Trump can employ a new strategy with North Korea

by Christopher Calder - 03/14/17 5:06 PM ET

North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un is effectively the king of North Korea. Like many of the ancient kings of Europe, Kim is a despot willing to murder relatives when his reign is threatened. Instead of using scare tactics against a nuclear armed paranoid leader, President Trump should adopt the low-cost solution to this dangerous situation. A war with North Korea could quickly escalate into a nuclear war with both North Korea and China.

The smart move is to declare that our new political slogan is make money, not war. Instead of threats and counter-threats, and a costly new arms race, Trump should invite Kim Jong Un and family to the White House for a cordial visit. He should offer Kim normal diplomatic relations, money-making trade deals and an end to U.S. and South Korean military exercises that scare the North Korean people and their leaders. The U.S. is the only nation that has used nuclear weapons in anger, so our threats to nuke other countries are taken very seriously.

{mosads}If Trump really believed in America first, he would not spend taxpayer money defending the borders of other countries. America should make money selling South Korea, Japan and Europe all the weapons they need to defend themselves. That will make America richer and stronger, and will force our allies to become adult nations instead of remaining child nations forever relying on free American military protection.

We may not like Kim Jong Un, but America does not own the world and we must accept the leaders of other nations as-is.

From Christopher Calder, Eugene, Ore.

A second ending for McCarthyism

We are at a unique low in the history of American higher education but also at an opportune time to restore higher education to its former glory and grandeur if we can fully accept two simple facts and obtain cooperation among the four most important entities that control higher education (“Charles Murray shouted down on campus: ‘Liberal tolerance’ is an assault on self-governance itself,” March 5, 2017).

The two facts are first that most administrators do not have tenure and second that American colleges and universities are facing unprecedented and dire financial exigencies. The four entities that I would encourage to band together to find common ground in the restoration of quality and freedom of inquiry at America’s campuses are: boards of trustees, private donors, state legislators and the United States Department of Education, and more specifically its Office for Civil Rights.

If these six dots can be connected, McCarthyism can be eliminated on America’s college and university campuses and our next generations of leaders can receive the kind of education that they need and deserve.

From Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Florida International University, Miami, Fla.

Paul Ryan’s disgraceful actions

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) shrugged off President Trump’s unproven wiretapping claim against President Obama. Ryan’s juvenile political behavior is a national disgrace. This nation is fast falling because Republicans excuse and give cover for Trump non-stop. Ryan destroys his own credibility with his defense of Trump. We do not even need Vladimir Putin’s sabotage — Republicans in Congress are fast destroying our country to cling to power and protect toxic Trump.

From Michael Gregoire, Louisville, Ky.

Tags Paul Ryan