To the editor:

It’s time to examine this new unpleasant acronym letter by letter. It was crafted in the wake of the murder in Minneapolis of a white, female, U.S. citizen.

“A” — Affluent. I guess it was chosen to make the acronym appeal to conservatives.

“W” — White. According to the census bureau, that’s 80% of us.

“F” — Female. Women who deserve the full rights guaranteed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The right to vote. The right to control their own bodies and medical decisions. The right to choose their own path to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and to not have it taken away by an ill-trained masked man for no reason that fits into the law.

“L” — Liberal. “Liberal” has become a derogatory word from the conservative politicians of the USA that is often equated with two other words that are meant to raise the hackles of their supporters, “Socialist ” and “Communist.” Let us examine these words more closely.

Liberals and socialists are the very ones trying to protect various government programs as the super rich and their PACS try to strip the funding away, shift it to programs that benefit them or cancel them completely.

Think of the defunding of Obamacare, DOGE slashing of necessary government jobs without first really evaluating what the effect would be, SNAP and WIC in the crosshairs, reducing Veteran medical care and benefits and, trust me, Social Security will be the last to go, but I suspect they have their eyes on that too. These programs are being trashed to pay for tax breaks for the super wealthy. Money that means nothing to them while all the above make your life sustainable.

As if that isn’t enough, the EPA has just won the right to once again pollute our air and water without a thought to the value of your life. Big Oil is being allowed to drill in the Alaskan wilderness. Threats of dragging us into wars in Venezuela and Greenland are being broadcast daily and on and on.

Amazingly, the programs that are being defunded are the kinds of programs that AWFUL women are fighting to protect.

If any of the above lists apply to you, give a thought to who is on your side. I bet it’s an AWFUL woman. Join her the next time you see her standing up for our country.

Parmelee Tolkan

Lake Placid