Then: "His lawyer argued in his application that citizenship is the public recognition of a hallowed bond. For that reason and others he is prepared to make this solemn allegiance and to thereby embrace and contribute to the life, history and culture of New Zealand." Yet he still told no one and has never bothered to live here.
Even his citizenship ceremony was held in the States. He could not be bothered flying to the country he apparently is so proud to be a citizen of. The politicians should stop all the guano. They are fooling no one. He knew all the top politicians, including our now retired Prime Minister. The truth is he purchased his citizenship using contacts and references from on high in the New Zealand Government. End of story.
Graham Hansen, Howick.
English no pet
I normally enjoy Emmerson's cartoons as they're almost always clever, amusing and insightful. Yesterday's offering fails those standards completely and I am profoundly disappointed in someone who I have always regarded as one of, if not the best cartoonist in the country. It is not that he displays Bill English as a weta, as they are really quite delightful creatures, but his comment that Bill's predecessor kept one as a pet.
Yes, John Key was an excellent Prime Minister but his main achievement was to create and maintain the stable political environment which allowed English to perform the job he did as the architect of New Zealand's financial performance.
Rod Lyons, Muriwai.
Condemnation pointless
The bully tactics of the media and the left-wing journalists towards Bill English are no surprise to me. The man is condemned for taking a moderate approach toward Trump, simply because the left in their arrogance think universal condemnation works. It doesn't. Sanctions are what work. Are we prepared to lose $10 billion of exports to the US to make our voice heard? What politician would do that?
The right wing Winston Peters is the likely partner for National to win the election. But I suggest English makes him minister of Stewart Island to keep him as far away from the action as possible.
Jules Riding, Whangarei.
Shutting doors
How short is the memory of our media. New Zealand shut the door on immigrants back in the 1970s. I know, my parents were in the process of joining me from GB and had even been for an interview at New Zealand House. Overnight Muldoon stopped all immigration.
New Zealand get off your high horse and let Donald Trump run America the way he thinks is best for America.
Alan Duffield, Browns Bay.
Immigration the issue
I was in the UK in 2013 and was surprised the majority of people I spoke to wanted to leave the EU. I asked why. They all said in unison: immigration. Merkel may live to regret allowing one million immigrants into Germany.
Trump is tightening up. Despite the pro-immigration articles in the Herald, New Zealand politicians would do well to observe the trend that people are afraid of losing their land and their culture. And watch Winston soar in the polls. He has been a voice crying in the wilderness for many years.
Jay Pegler, Mt Eden.
Rogue rule
For those who think President Trump might be good for the world, this is what I think of him. He is a liar, a racist, a misogynist and has a narcissistic personality, which means that he has superficial emotions, lacks empathy, and is susceptible to both flattery and criticism and likely to overreact to both.
He can be ruthless toward those he perceives are against him and has, and will cause damage to others with little remorse or insight into the gravity of this. He has a basic and immature appreciation of others and will readily objectify those around him as an extension of his own ego.
These qualities can serve to make a successful businessman, but they make a lousy human being and a diabolical leader of the free world. The potential for damage and harm is great.
Niall Robertson, Balmoral.
Coming to terms
What a delight to read a well-balanced piece of journalism penned by Fran O'Sullivan. Trump does not appeal to me but we have to live in this environment and play it out. It's early days so let's take a deep breath and see where it all gets to by the end of the year. It could be that we now have three large dictatorships - Russia, China and the US.
Can we live with this? If not, who should "we go to bed with", or will pragmatism prevail and we learn to live together? Cheap shots by our Labour and Green parties in an endeavour to enhance their polling figures will do little to help with what will be a a very tense year.
Rob Walker, Howick.
Change our holidays
Peter Dunne's suggestion to alter school start dates to suit Southern Hemisphere seasons doesn't need global warming to make sense. As poet Kevin Ireland, who spent decades in the UK, pointed out on his return, their spring goes up like a curtain whereas here the curtain goes up and down, the boat in and out, sometimes well into January.
The advantages of starting school towards the end of February or even later fits with the settled weather and the calm of the extended summers and early autumns.
Let's support this initiative. While we're at it, let's add a public holiday to a weekend in mid-winter to stop the drought from Queen's Birthday, in early June, all the way to Labour Day at the end of October. Just when you most need one, there is nothing. Surely we can think of something to celebrate in August or September, even if it's Democracy Thanksgiving Day.
Steve Liddle, Napier.
Electric cars
In your Driven section this week Cameron Officer demonstrates how far behind the play the main stream motoring press and forecourt car sales folk are when it comes to plug-in hybrid and battery vehicles. Anyone who has owned or spent a reasonable amount of time in a hybrid knows they absolutely can "travel beyond the bounds of the urban shopping and commuter route in a timely fashion" and it is definitely not a "far from normal" travel experience.
Apart from the plug-in Prius (which is a "designed to get around a technical rule" car), most of the hybrids on the market provide enough battery-only range for most city folk to get to and from work in a quiet and pollution free manner, while still having unlimited range for the longer trips they want. And those longer trips are just as "normal" as old fashioned fossil-fuelled vehicles with quick top-ups at petrol stations along the way.
Affordable electric vehicles, very different to hybrids, are still best as town cars. But that didn't stop us taking our Nissan Leaf on a return trip from Auckland to Taupo last weekend.
Russell Baillie, Mt Eden.
Good questions
Frequently reference has been made in the media to the exclusion from Donald Trump's immigration executive orders of those countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, whose nationals have killed Americans on American soil. I may have missed it, but I have not read of the question having been put to the White House Administration as to why. There has been speculation that it is because Mr Trump has business interests in the countries excluded, but surely the question should be put.
Another matter that should be raised relates to the huge loss of American life annually through firearms. Many thousands of Americans are killed each year by their own people with guns - "weapons of mass destruction" - and the number killed by expatriate terrorists, appalling as their actions are, is infinitesimal.
John Renneberg, Puni.
