Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

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Regarding “Mercury carried in by fog poses a threat to cougars” (Page One, Nov. 26): It’s another reminder that pollution anywhere is a danger everywhere.

The mercury affecting mountain lions didn’t originate from coastal California but is a byproduct of global coal production. According to the EPA, coal production accounts for 24% of global mercury emissions, threatening not just cougars but the health of people everywhere, particularly those who consume fish. The tragedy of past mercury poisoning incidents such as Minamata Bay, where birds literally fell from the sky and thousands of people were irreversibly poisoned, should be a serious warning call.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking the wrongheaded approach of encouraging more coal production and reducing limits on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The U.S. needs to step up and lead by weaning ourselves off coal. At the very least the EPA needs to reinstate the mercury and air toxics standards from 2011, which dramatically reduced toxic mercury pollution in the U.S. before they were removed by the Trump administration this year.

Audrey Haynes, Berkeley

https://t.co/AUoFQexhR4

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2019

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For eight years, I served in the U.S. Army as an officer, lawyer and member of the Army’s legal branch, the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. During that time, I was assigned as both a prosecutor and defense counsel at military courts-martial in Korea and Germany. These proceedings are governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is applicable to all branches of the armed forces.

Based on my experience with the military justice system, I can attest to its integrity and fairness. The constitutional rights of the accused are assiduously protected by the military justice code, the military judges who interpret the law and the jurors—officers and enlisted men—who make decisions based upon the law. I say this without reservation having handled hundreds of cases during my time on active duty.

I am therefore dismayed by President Donald Trump’s intervention in the Navy’s disciplinary review of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher’s battlefield misconduct. The disciplinary peer-review was intended to determine whether that misconduct should result in Gallagher’s dismissal as a Navy SEAL. Such a review is proper and consistent with Navy regulations allowing, indeed requiring, such a proceeding.

In ordering a halt to the review, the commander-in-chief alleged that the case was “handled very badly from the beginning.” Typical of his style of governance, the president cited no specifics, no violations of law or procedure, and no facts that would support his unwarranted and politicized conclusion.

I find this particularly offensive in view of his own military experience; that is to say, none whatsoever. His military acumen was acquired through four college deferments and fortuitous bone spurs rather than serving on active duty. Had he served, he might better understand the need for discipline and good order on the battlefield.

Frank Yourick

Murrysville

Note from KBJ: How much military experience did Bill Clinton have, Frank? Barack Obama? Hillary Clinton? Joe Biden? Elizabeth Warren? Your Trump hatred is showing.

Just returned to the United States after spending a GREAT Thanksgiving with our Courageous American Warriors in Afghanistan! pic.twitter.com/b2vgY5BH6z

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2019

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