Letters to the Editor category, Page 218

Vice President Mike Pence publicly announced his decision not to proceed with President Trump’s plan to recognize objections to the presidential election results by some senators and/or representatives of some states during the formal approval of the vote of the Electoral College by the combined houses of Congress prior to...

The shameful bedlam, anarchy, desecration of our sacred Capitol and rioting that took place in Washington on a modern day of infamy was precisely what one could have expected, and the responsibility for it is to be laid solely and squarely at the feet of Donald Trump: so much for...

What has happened to our great country? Regardless of party, we are all Americans living in a democracy, not a dictatorship. We have the privilege to vote for a person we want to run our country. We have all the freedoms given to us by our forefathers. Yet we now...

This letter is in response to Michael Sierk’s letter criticizing local schools for moving to online learning during an out-of-control pandemic (“Closing schools is not containing spread,” Jan. 1, TribLIVE). Mr. Sierk, I am an itinerant teacher in schools all over Westmoreland County. Our custodians, cafeteria workers, secretarial staff, classroom...

Many years ago, I started a second career in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm K&L Gates. One of the first people who wandered into my office to welcome me to the firm was Dick Thornburgh. I had gone to college in Pennsylvania and knew people who worked...

The year 2020 was a year of daunting challenge. Covid-19 created significant negative impacts on all aspects of life. We’ve all been touched in one way or another by this virus. We’ve mourned the loss of friends and family, we’ve lost income, we’ve lost touch with those we love. 2020...

I weep with all the health care workers, families and caregivers who, on top of dealing with covid-19, must listen to the hate spewed forth in the name of “personal freedoms.” Yes, it is hate. It is total disregard for the lives of others. It is like you are driving...

How come the police were not told to stand down like they were at some of the Black Lives Matter riots? Was it because the politicians were in danger, not private citizens’ businesses? Clem Zahrobsky Delmont...

I felt compelled to respond to letters from Scott Huber claiming the presidential election was the “most secure election in modern history” (“Will Joyce and Reschenthaler need pardons?”) and Edward Svitek that Biden won “fairly and squarely” (“Does Trump love America?”) when the facts and statistics say otherwise. Joe Biden...

Sen. Ted Cruz proposed a congressional inquiry to determine the legitimacy of the 2020 election (and it failed, on Jan. 6). The idea was fine with me — but note that the line between freedom of speech and slander, defamation and sedition is not a fine one. If you’re lying...

Our current president spoke a few days ago in Georgia. His harangue was, to me, reminiscent of a Hitler speech. I believe he mobilized the Proud Boys and other white nationalist terrorists to invade the Capitol in an attempted coup and as such has committed treason. Like all other Benedict...

We still have work to do to eliminate the threat of toxic lead in the lives of young children. The covid-19 virus has taken precedence over our health concerns, rightly so, but lead paint dust and lead in our drinking water still loom in the environment of our children and...

In her letter “Business owners standing up to Gov. Tom Wolf are patriots,” Shelia Hanson claims restaurant owners who defied Gov. Tom Wolf’s order suspending indoor dining are “patriots.” She bases this on the assertion that the orders are unconstitutional. First, some real patriots, our Founding Fathers, put a court...

Voting this year for our president has been very confusing. I received a mail-in ballot that I did not request. I wanted to vote in person. At my polling place, I gave the poll worker my driver’s license and voter registration card, and I was told to sign the registration...

On Jan. 8, Pennsylvania will host its second annual PA Donor Day, a chance to galvanize our friends and neighbors to rally behind the nearly 7,000 Pennsylvanians who are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Why Jan. 8? Because one registered donor has the power to save 8 lives. My...

President-elect Joe Biden reaches out and asks for unity within government parties while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Washington Post writer and others suggested creating blacklists so supporters of President Trump are identified and prevented from “profiting” from their actions in support of the Trump administration. To me, that means preventing...

Josh Shapiro, as the attorney general of Pennsylvania, has the power, authority and responsibility to shut down this whole voter fraud allegation. As per the Pennsylvania Election Code, Act of June 3, 1937, P.L. 1333, No. 320, Section 1642, on enforcement: (a) The Attorney General shall have prosecutorial jurisdiction over...

Regarding Dr. Jacob Appel’s op-ed “Why call anyone ‘Dr.’?” (Dec. 29, TribLIVE): As a professor who calls her students by their first names and asks them to reciprocate, I agree that professional titles should be eschewed. But why does Appel find it “distressing” that female doctors are sometimes mistaken for...

Various governors, officials and network anchors pontificated that we should not have met for the holidays in family groups larger than 10 or two family units, and that we certainly should have avoided eating with strangers. Let’s examine the logic behind these pronouncements. Say you have N family members living...

So they are investigating Hunter Biden. The one they should be investigating is Sen. Mitch McConnell. When he took office in 1985, he was worth $3 million. Last year, he was worth over $34 million, not a bad return on a salary of $193,000. He is married to Secretary of...

The Tribune-Review’s “Best of the Best” awards listed Fort Ligonier Days as Westmoreland County’s best “Festival/Fair” category winner, followed by the Delmont Apple ’n Arts Festival and the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival as finalists. None of these events, however, took place in 2020. The Export Ethnic Food & Music...

From the time of the Three-fifths Compromise in 1787 to determine federal representation, we have been a nation that increased the political power of a white minority while devaluing the power of minorities of color. The current Republican leadership is now doubling down on their intent to achieve minority rule...

The article “38 states, including Pennsylvania, file anti-trust lawsuit against Google” (Dec. 17, TribLIVE) outlines how elected officials are filing another antitrust lawsuit against Google. It is the job of the government to promote a competitive marketplace, but this lawsuit could have unintended consequences for small businesses. One of the...

Thank you, Ken Mowl, for your letter regarding the Westmoreland County Election Bureau (“Provisional vote not counted,” Dec. 21, TribLIVE). I and two of my neighbors requested mail-in ballots, and none of us ever received them, though the Election Bureau did find time to enter our requests in its computer...

Delmont Council Vice President Bill Marx’s feigned outrage is pure political grandstanding (“Everyone should follow the rules”). Elected officials define a “good citizen” as someone wearing a mask and a “dangerous citizen” as someone not wearing a mask. Marx’s obtuse argument endangers the health and welfare of himself and the...