Trump chose the position of head of the Department of Defense without any reservations

President-elect Donald Trump’s running mate, Pete Hegseth, is not qualified to be defense secretary, even if we put aside unsubstantiated allegations of sexual assault.

Although Hegseth is a veteran, Senate confirmation of a nominee with no leadership experience in such a large and complex organization as the Department of Defense would represent a stark contrast to the concept of our military as a merit-based professional force. He leads millions of service members and civilian employees This is not an entry level or training opportunity.

Additionally, Hegseth’s publicly expressed views do not inspire confidence that he would provide apolitical leadership. He presented the political and social situation in the United States as a crusade between irreconcilable enemies, and the only option is the complete victory of the side chosen by him – and Trump -. Our military’s ultimate allegiance is to the Constitution of the United States, not political parties.

Hegseth’s nomination appears to be based on the assumption that the military must stop being “woke,” but the current challenges have nothing to do with “woke.” They have to do with Congress’s chronic delays in passing appropriations bills; insufficient financing for maintenance and modernization; competition with private industry for recruits; and the strain on equipment, staff and logistics systems caused by decades of overcommitment around the world. The list goes on.

This excessive attention getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and any other military program that promotes fair treatment and social inclusion it is a scare that distracts attention from the real problems affecting our military readiness.

Mike Lontoc, Hainesport

Note: The author is a retired United States Navy commander.

What did Bernie have that Kamala didn’t

When I asked my Pennsylvania workers why they voted for President-elect Donald Trump, I received an astonishing answer. They said, “…because Bernie Sanders wasn’t on the ticket.”

At first glance, this doesn’t make sense, given that Sanders is on the far left and Trump is certainly on the far right. But look a little deeper.

In 2016, when Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, ran against Hilary Clinton in the Democratic primary, “has it” with these voters. It dawned on him in subsequent town hall meetings in a way Clinton could never understand. She seemed reserved and elitist. I believe that Sanders would defeat Trump in this presidential election, although this is still pure speculation.

In 2019, on the other side of the Atlantic, Jeremy Corbyn of the Labor Party lost the vote of the British working class, and Boris Johnson from the Conservative Party became Prime Minister of Great Britain. This yearLabor’s Kier Starmer won back the working class, became prime minister in a vote that rejected a the latest European trend of moving to the right and populist politics.

This year in America, Kamala Harris lost the blue-collar vote. Democrats will have to do some serious house cleaning to get it back!

Tony Grant, Newton

The proposed law is for the birds

So some New Jersey lawmakers want to limit the use of bird feeders in residential buildings control interactions between bears and humans?

Proposed regulations included in the legislation Raise feeders at least 10 feet above the ground and bring them indoors every night from April 1 to November 30.

Really? My only conclusion is that the latest articles about this bill were supposed to be printed on April Fools’ Day.

Ellen Rogers, Skillman

The couple in Congress should end this

U.S. Reps. Mike Sherrill, D-11, and Josh Gottheimer, D-5, he recently won re-election to Congress.

They suggested to voters that they would work for them full time during the next session of Congress. But now both are declared candidates for governor in next year’s Democratic primary.

Running for governor and being a member of Congress should be considered two full-time jobs.

It’s no secret that Gottheimer and Sherrill have been planning their run for governor for months. They should do the honorable thing and resign from Congress. Their ambitious power plays are one of many reasons why people don’t vote.

Fred Stein, South Brunswick

Elections over; stop dividing the country

This letter was sent to the Star-Ledger, but is addressed to all left-wing media: Stop dividing the country.

AND a majority of voters chose Donald Trump as president. Even all the hate speech the left could utter didn’t have a positive impact on the result. Some of the things they did was compare Trump to Hitler and say so Trump supporters are “garbage.”

Now liberals are directing all their venom at members of Trump’s cabinet. It is important to realize that Trump was elected for a second time because the American people are tired of the retreads that the left parades around Washington.

So instead of giving Trump the benefit of the doubt, the left goes into attack mode. They will not give Trump, his programs or his cabinet choices a chance. The left looks for fault in everything.

This tactic didn’t work during the elections and it won’t work now either. Once again, stop dividing the nation and help it unite.

Don Montefusco, Maplewood

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