Tuesday's letters: Local M.D.: There are serious questions about Biden's health that need answering
Biden's health
I worried about President Biden's low approval ratings for months before the debate, and hoped the Democrats would nominate someone else. His failure to be coherent in the debate, regardless of the cause, reduces his chance for reelection significantly. Another letter writer suggested he might have Parkinson's disease (PD) and his halting gait and emotionless (masked) facial appearance are compatible with PD.
As people progress during PD, treatment with levodopa is of reduced effectiveness and leads to "off" periods with exaggerated symptoms, including anxiety and confusion. I don't know if Biden has Parkinson's, but, if what happened to him during the debate was an "off" period, that would explain his horrid performance. If that's true, the next four years are liable to be marked by increasing frequency of such episodes.
If one occurred at a time of crisis, such as a nuclear attack, that could have terrible consequences for our country. I believe the possibility that Joe Biden has PD requires clarification.
Richard J Rosen, M.D.
Trump's 'meat-grinder'
Like many others, my response to Joe Biden's performance in the debate against Donald Trump was one of shock, disbelief and almost desperation. How this could have happened (and who will get the blame) is hard to fathom, but there is one indisputable fact: This coming election should not be close when you look at what happened during Trump's presidency — it was nothing short of a meat-grinder that brought depressing and scary headlines almost daily. It was such a relief after the 2020 election to get back to some semblance of normalcy in the White House.
The sad fact is that Trump would not be a candidate in 2024 if there were not enough people to support him, and yet there are. The looming threat of his reelection is rooted solely in that truth, and it says something about who we are as a nation and what our values are.
Is it democracy if the greater number of voters (on an electoral basis) want to cast their ballot for someone whose aim seems to be to trash democracy and become a dictator? It appears that is what we would rather have and what could possibly be brought to fruition.
We have the capacity to be a force for good in the world, to be that shining light on a hill that others want to emulate. Maybe it will take another Trump meat-grinder to remind us of how valuable that is.
Bill Wallace
High Point
No outrage about Trump?
There has been a lot of focus on Biden's poor debate performance and calls for him to step down. Much of the media appears outraged, and the questions about Biden have been loud and strong. But given the actions and the rhetoric of the other candidate, I must ask where is the outrage about Trump?
Where is the outrage about Trump's indictments, charges and convictions? Isn't his being a convicted felon reason to be outraged and to loudly and strongly call for Trump to drop out of the race?
Where is the outrage about Trump's lies? He told at least 30 documented lies repeatedly during the debate and tens of thousands during his time in office.
And, probably most important, where is the outrage about Project 2025, a playbook that will strip our country of any semblance of democracy, give almost unlimited power to the president with few or no checks or balances, and move us toward a Christo-fascist nation? Check out Project2025.org , which Trump is closely following.
Yes, Biden had a poor debate performance, but only the performance was bad. In his actions, Biden has accomplished a great deal: infrastructure, gun safety, prescription drug prices and more.
What is more important: one poor debate performance or the future of our country and our democracy? Be outraged about what really matters.
Francie Portnoy
High Point
'Bunk' has NC roots
I appreciate Richard Groves' remembering the wit and wisdom of Will Rogers as we consume ongoing presidential campaigns (June 23).
As Groves knows, "bunk" was coined to mock a North Carolinian 204 years ago. It is short for Buncombe, our county where Felix Walker served as congressman, 1817-1823. He rose to speak in Congress and was needlessly verbose. His talk was deemed as "talking for Buncombe" and in time "bunkum" and then "bunk."
Lest we color the man entirely from this one episode, remember that at 21 he ventured from what soon became Rutherford County to join with Daniel Boone in March 1775 as one of 30 axe men cutting Boone Trace into Kentucky. After three weeks of toil and when only one day from reaching the site to build Fort Boonesborough, Boone's party was attacked by Cherokees, who killed two men and grievously wounded Walker, among others. Walker recovered only enough in a week to be carried in a litter for the remainder of the trip. He was a member of the original party to establish that colonial outpost across the Appalachians 250 years ago next spring.
Will Rogers also reminds us, "It ain't what we don't know that gets us in trouble, it's what we know that ain't so." We heard a lot of "what ain't so" in Thursday's debate, mostly from one side, I think — bunk, for sure.
Better to judge a long-lived man by the entirety of his life — assessing integrity, compassion, service to others — not by one speech.
Randell Jones
Winston-Salem
The writer is an author, historian and News & Record columnist.
