Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
...............................................................................................
@realDonaldTrump
It is astonishing to think that Twitter played a greater role in the American election than the entire Republican establishment. What's even more astounding is that the president-elect will continue to tweet while in office.
As the president, he would be ill-advised to pick fights on social media with union chiefs and world leaders. Donald Trump's Twitter persona reflects the larger theme of the president-elect's impulsivity, which helped him during the election, but will hinder his presidency.
Mr. Trump is an opportunist, and with Twitter, he seizes the opportunity to relay a direct message to his constituents, while eliminating the need for commentators, fact-checkers, and analysts as intermediaries.
Democracy in the age of Twitter is a slippery slope. Political Twitter may seem advantageous, as it gets the word out, however, the need for a responsible, informative press is essential.
Jack Kline, Toronto
................................
If a phone call between the president-elect and the leader of Taiwan causes the government of China so much discomfort, then perhaps they should text instead.
Marc Storjohann, Mississauga
................................
'Drain the swamp'?
The pickings are indeed slim for the leadership of the Conservative Party (After 'Lock Her Up': Are There Any Real Leaders? – Dec. 9). But what else would one expect from those who blindly served under Stephen Harper?
Some of the notable "accomplishments" of those in the leadership race include: "cruel and inhumane" cuts to refugee health care, calling the medical isotope crisis "sexy," forgetting secret and classified cabinet documents at a girlfriend's house and of course, the proposal to introduce a barbaric cultural practices hotline. And that's just skimming the surface. Perhaps another popular Republican chant would be in order: "Drain the swamp."
Isabella Tatar, Toronto
................................
Leave Sir John alone
Re The New Face Of Canada's $10 Bill (Dec. 9): While it is certainly time to have a female (other than the Queen) on a Canadian banknote, and Viola Desmond surely ticks many of the boxes for our diversity-conscious Prime Minister, it's distressing to find that a Founding Father, Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, is being booted to an unspecified higher-value banknote that many of us will never see.
I can't imagine that Americans would accept seeing George Washington disappear from their dollar bill to be replaced by Rosa Parks.
Keep Sir John on the $10. Put Viola Desmond on another bill.
Bill Bain, Toronto
................................
I am pleased that we will have a new face on our currency, but I am very disappointed that the Bank of Canada picked the wrong denomination to do it.
Viola Desmond should replace the Queen on the $20. It's the Queen who should be relocated to the more regal $100.
John A. should not be moved from his present "common" currency denomination. He is ours! This is the kind of decision that causes voter discontent.
And if they dare to replace Laurier's face with anyone else's, it had better be Terry Fox.
Brian Emes, Vancouver
................................
Cars, pedestrians
Re Distracted. To Death (letters, Dec. 9): Most of your correspondence about pedestrian safety in the wake of the wave of Toronto fatalities and injuries was of the blame-the-victim variety.
One sunny afternoon last June, my little dog and I were crossing Bay Street in downtown Toronto, legally. A car turning left, legally, hit my dog – her leash was still in my hand. Fortunately, she died instantly.
Cars often come around corners too quickly, or encroach in a threatening way. I never compete, though often now, I hold up my hand almost like a traffic cop. God help us when the roads become slippery.
Jean Smith, Toronto
................................
When you are driving a car, you are wielding a lethal weapon. There are no excuses. Act like it.
Oliver Corey, Toronto
................................
Because of condos, there are far, far more pedestrians downtown than ever before. Even car owners are pedestrians.
Black is the No. 1 coat colour for adults. Depending on the time and season, it is dark at both rush hours. Check it out … the next time you are walking across a street.
Barbara Klunder, Toronto
................................
Blaming drivers or pedestrians, as is often the case, does nothing to address the issue. Enhanced enforcement, new tools, and behavioural change are needed.
The Crosswalk Safety Society of Nova Scotia has introduced a tool – crosswalk flags – for use by pedestrians and better visual awareness of crosswalks for drivers. There are now 170 installations across the province, 132 of which are in Halifax.
(Orange flags with reflector strips are stationed in buckets on both sides of crosswalks. A pedestrian takes one, checks to make sure it is okay to enter the crosswalk, then holds the flag out in front, crosses and deposits it on the other side.)
The appeal of the program is its simplicity – crosswalk flags are both inexpensive and easy to install, at times within a week of request. Perhaps communities within Toronto should consider new initiatives such as a crosswalk flag program.
Norm Collins, president, Crosswalk Safety Society of Nova Scotia
................................
Carbon realities
Re Ottawa May Have To Pay For Carbon Credits (Dec. 9): Reading this headline before my first cup of caffeine kicked in surprised me: The good citizens of Ottawa are going to pay for our carbon credits? Really? Then reality struck, and I realized that by "Ottawa" you mean the "Government of Canada" which really means every man, woman and child will pay no matter what our carbon footprint. This takes away any personal incentive to act responsibly. Reality – a harsh way to start the day.
J.A. Revell, Nanaimo, B.C.
................................
Godspeed, indeed
Re Godspeed, John Glenn (Dec. 9): Thank you for publishing David Shribman's affectionate, touching and beautifully written story about the heroic John Glenn. I am pleased to learn that this journalist was a Pulitzer Prize-winner for his coverage of U.S. politics.
Jack McFadyen, Uxbridge, Ont.
................................
John Glenn, hero, astronaut, senator, was that rarest of things – a politician to be admired. Some 500 people have experienced spaceflight; I'm hard pressed to imagine there are 500 politicians on this Earth worthy of the respect Mr. Glenn achieved in his 24 years in American politics.
Godspeed, indeed, John Glenn.
Godspeed, indeed.
Laurel Simpson, Edmonton