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Exp

(302 posts)
Fri May 9, 2025, 07:42 PM May 9

My latest Letter to the Editor "Food For Thought" was accepted and the Editor loved it.

(Interesting that the video link that I included in text in the LTTE appears boldly as a live video in this post)

Editor

The U. S. government is rapidly approaching the 'show me your papers' phase and 'the press is the enemy of the people' mantra of an authoritarian regime. Just have a look at the modern and recent histories of Germany, Russia, and Hungary.

May 8th was President Harry Truman's birthday and I came across this quote of his: "Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."

Moving on, I know that many Americans had an issue with Joe Biden's mental acuity. Here's President Trump the other day on not knowing if Mattel is a company or country or a person.



Video quote: “Mattel, I don’t know, I’m not sure. They also said— they’re the only country I've heard, they said, ‘Well, we’re going to go counter, we’re going to try to go someplace else.’ That’s ok. let them go, and we’ll put a hundred percent tariff on his toys, and he won’t sell one toy in the United States.” Adding to DJT's 'we're going to feel some economic pain' is that kids will not only be able to afford just two dolls (instead of 30 as per DJT), but not one doll can be a Mattel made Barbie. Weird, I know. But even weirder is that people voted for this guy.

One last thought is this Turkish proverb: "When an ox goes to the palace, it does not become a king, but the palace becomes a stable." Translated into modern times: "When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king, the palace becomes a circus."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His response:

I love this. So on point.

Greg
9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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My latest Letter to the Editor "Food For Thought" was accepted and the Editor loved it. (Original Post) Exp May 9 OP
Excellent! SheltieLover May 9 #1
It's gotten so bad with Trump that this kind of confusion is unremarkable, actually expected. FadedMullet May 9 #2
Love it. underpants May 9 #3
He is so right! stillcool May 9 #4
Well done! mzmolly May 9 #5
Bravo!!! highplainsdem May 9 #6
A veteran friend of mine claimed Mattel makes guns for US military. Trueblue Texan May 9 #7
Urban Legend Wiz Imp May 9 #8
KnR. n/t iluvtennis May 9 #9

stillcool

(33,814 posts)
4. He is so right!
Fri May 9, 2025, 08:29 PM
May 9

short, sweet, and oh so complete. Great story with some great quotes all packing a punch. Congrats!

Trueblue Texan

(3,334 posts)
7. A veteran friend of mine claimed Mattel makes guns for US military.
Fri May 9, 2025, 08:47 PM
May 9

Sounds about right, but I never verified it.

Wiz Imp

(4,989 posts)
8. Urban Legend
Fri May 9, 2025, 09:14 PM
May 9
https://www.sandboxx.us/news/did-mattel-really-create-an-m16-or-is-this-a-great-urban-legend/

Did Mattel really create an M16 or is this a great urban legend?

One urban legend that continues to persist – even since the days of Vietnam – in the world of military firearms is that the toy company Mattel produced some early versions of the M16 assault rifle for the United States military. Whether Mattel had anything to do with the rifle, in any capacity, is questionable – and is made more questionable by the advent of the internet and Photoshop. Today, we’ll dig into the urban legend and examine any connection between Mattel and the M16.

These rumors have been spreading ever since the M16 entered service. The M16 was the first general infantry rifle to make heavy use of polymers in its furniture to reduce weight and bulk. The handguard, grip, and stock were all made of polymer and certainly had a toy-like quality about them.

So, it wasn’t long before rumors started that the M16 was produced by Mattel under contract with the US Army. However, this ignores the fact that Colt had the contract for the M16, and every M16 was stamped with Colt. Further, it’s easy to debunk the myth that Mattel made the M16 because the company never had a license to produce machine guns, which the M16 is classified as.

The other rumor is that Mattel made the furniture for the M16 as a contractor for Colt. The rumor states that Mattel produced the handguard, stock, or even the grips. Reportedly, Rock Island Armory, a very respected firearm auction house, once claimed, in a catalog, to be selling an M16 with a Mattel-made stock. However, it’s not clear if the catalog is real, and if real, the information on the catalog page is incorrect, as it states that the weapon is listed in the Book of Colt Firearms by serial number, but it is not.
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