OPINION

In defence of Trump

Barry Kenyon's June 8 letter, "A coup redefined", is misguided, flawed, with an untrue comparison of President Donald Trump to, of all things, the Thai junta and Hun Sen.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

If Mr Kenyon wanted to wring his hands over meddling in our American constitution, he's a few years too late. Far from having cronies in the bureaucracy, it is that very mess that Mr Trump is trying to undo. His predecessor famously said that he didn't need Congress because he had a "pen and a phone".

We ended up with a stifling mass of regulations that damn near ruined the American economy, almost destroyed our industrial base and left us US$18 trillion in debt. Mr Kenyon, you either don't understand the American electoral system or choose to ignore it just because you dislike Mr Trump.

He won fair and square because a great many Americans, myself included, were sick and tired of Mr Obama's sophomoric approach to everything from the economy to foreign affairs.

After this morning's torrential downpour, as I sat in my little noodle shop here in Prachin Buri, I looked out the window and a few kids, perhaps six or seven years old, were playing in a big puddle. I walked over and asked what they were playing at, in my best Thai. (Only kids understand my Thai because they somehow learn to listen). One boy who was pushing a small piece of wood in the puddle told me it was the Chakri Naruebet.

The second little boy kept ramming it with another piece of wood, hollering, "boom! taw-pee-doh". I was amazed how some kids could have imaginations and still be creative until their teachers started telling them what to think, instead of how to think. It was also nice to see how pieces of wood were turned into a naval war game, instead of big plastic models of boats. I think these kids would have a great future in the military procurement department as military weapons procurement specialists.

A friend here has a kid with enough toys to open a local Toys-R-Us store. The kid is as dull as a doornail. I doubt if the spoiled brat ever played with anything he was given.

Your reader wondered at how the Thai-Belgian Bridge was built in such a short time -- below 60 hours -- back in 1988.

It turns out the bridge was designed by a Belgian company along a modular concept, just like giant Legos, easy to build and dismantle in a few hours. That same bridge had first been erected in Brussels for the International Exposition of 1958, an even more remarkable feat.

But the company who invented this concept wasn't too successful at marketing it around the world. One reason may have been that this modular concept couldn't be used in areas prone to earthquakes. Not an issue in Bangkok, though.

Re: "Canadians not 'stuck'", (PostBag, Jun 9)

Thanks 'A Torontonian reader' for pointing out my boo-boo when I said Canadians must put up with Justin Trudeau for at least four years. Yes, a parliament no-confidence vote can remove him. Now let me return the favour. A Torontonian reader said, "In the United States one is "stuck" with a president for four years, unless Congress votes for impeachment."

Impeachment doesn't mean removal. It means "indictment". The US president is impeached when the majority of the House votes for it. After that it takes a trial by the Senate and a two-thirds vote to get conviction. In US history only two presidents have been impeached: Bill Clinton and, guess who's the other?

Tic toc tic toc. Nixon!

Nixon's never been impeached; he resigned when an impeachment process against him was under way. The other was Andrew Johnson (not Jackson), the 17th president. The Senate, however, tried but acquitted both Clinton and Johnson.

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