Letters to the Editor category, Page 235

No matter what political party you follow, an open mind promotes learning the truth — and what you find may have more to it than you realize. Most Americans want safety, freedom and financial security. Unfortunately, some Americans would sacrifice their rights and safety to gain more government benefits. I...

An all-purpose generalization: My candidate’s performance in the presidential debate was abysmal. Sincerely, Everyone Don Scott Mt. Pleasant...

The first presidential debate was disastrous, in terms of outlining positions and helping voters make a rational decision. Rather than the candidates or the moderator, blame falls on the debate commission that set up the format. In making so much of the session “open discussion,” the commission ended up predictably...

Once again the governor issues some head-scratching rules. The large venue limits make no sense at all. Why in the world would he cap 7,500 in a nearly 70,000 seat stadium (Heinz Field)? Looking at the numbers that he seemed to pull out of a hat, there would actually be...

After much weeping, moaning and gnashing of teeth (on both sides), a panel has recommended to “disappear” the statue of Christopher Columbus from Schenley Park (“Pittsburgh Art Commission recommends removal of Columbus statue from Schenley Park.”) and the mayor agreed. The “art commission” has no problem with a “worthy Italian...

On Sept. 17, 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what type of government the Founding Fathers had created. His reply: “a republic, if you can keep it.” I will be voting for Donald Trump because in my opinion, he is the only presidential candidate who will guarantee we will remain a...

The letter “History lesson on Republicans vs. Democrats” motivated me to do my own research on the topics discussed. Yes, Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, but my, how the GOP has changed! Although I believe that Eisenhower was a productive and respectable president, he did not “integrate the military.” Harry...

The article “Greensburg police Det. John Swank dead at 51” (Sept. 27, TribLIVE) was very well done. Swank was always the consummate professional when he spoke to my criminal justice writing classes at Westmoreland County Community College. He had amazing communication skills and gave in-depth presentations. He always stressed that...

Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman have renewed their call to legalize adult use of marijuana (“Gov. Wolf renews call for legal recreational marijuana,” Sept. 3, TribLIVE). Seriously, Gov. Wolf, you call it adult to use marijuana? Yes, just like adult use of alcohol, adult movies, adult bars...

The editorial “Frozen salaries could be start for Harrisburg cooperation” (Sept. 23, TribLIVE) provided a glimpse of what can be accomplished in our state if both the House and Senate can agree on important issues. While the Legislature is still warm and fuzzy with each other, this would be a...

This is the lead paragraph from a Sept. 27 Associated Press story regarding the police in Portland, Ore., shutting down a recent protest: “Law enforcement declared an unlawful assembly late Saturday, forcing protesters from downtown Portland, Oregon, and making several arrests, just hours after demonstrations earlier in the day ended...

Our planet is on fire and still our president denies climate change. On Sept. 14, President Trump held a briefing on wildfires at McClellan Park in California. Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot stated, “If we ignore that science and sort of put our head in the sand and think it’s...

Long after the world recognized how to defeat the spread of covid-19, the American deniers continue maskless events to propagate up to 1,000 new daily deaths. And now preexisting conditions don’t count? Comorbidity, or having a preexisting health issue, was not a conscious choice for most of the 211,000-plus American...

I have been so disappointed with the political ads presented by the Biden/Harris campaign. I hope they consider one such as this: Universal health care — FREE. Note: We furnish your doctor and only six to eight months for an appointment. College education/tuition — FREE. Raise taxes by $4 trillion...

Caught again, it looks like the Pennsylvania Republican Party doesn’t think it can win an election without cheating. According to reporting last month by Barton Gellman in The Atlantic, they have been coordinating a plan/plot with the Trump campaign to set aside the results of the presidential election and appoint...

In 2015, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said in an interview that she and co-founder Alicia Garza are “trained organizers … We are trained Marxists.” The BLM website reads like a communist manifesto, using terms like “comrades” and “communal networks.” Cullors spent more than 10 years being mentored by...

The Sept. 29 uncivil presidential “debate” produced no winner; however, the American people were the losers in the most juvenile presidential debate in our nation’s history. In fact, what I witnessed wasn’t a debate at all, but an exchange of attacks and counterattacks between President Trump and Joe Biden. The...

People enjoying well-cooled workplaces should not dictate, enact or recommend mask requirements for warm or hot workplaces. Further astounding news: My face is inseparable from my rights, these superseded by nothing short of God. I am, like everyone else, above mask requirements beyond medical facilities. Freedom is the heart of...

Beware if you are buying and mortgaging a home in a flood-prone area as determined by FEMA. You must have flood insurance to cover the amount of your loan. I found FEMA-issued maps that state my house is in a flood Zone X, not requiring insurance. But my bank insists...

It’s tough debating President Trump’s response to coronavirus and civil unrest with folks unaware of America’s government. That includes King Joseph Biden, who seems too confused to know he can’t “shut down the country” or forcibly mask us, too civics-deficient to realize Trump has constitutionally “done his job.” We’re a...

Regarding Kenneth Gatten’s op-ed “We must amend Pa.’s charter school law now” (Aug. 22, TribLIVE): I am a 2020 graduate of Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA). My experience at CCA profoundly impacted my life. I utilized the school’s dual-enrollment program to take advanced placement and college classes to graduate with 33...

I am sorry to learn that as Sheriff James Albert changed his affiliation to the Republican Party, he also took the opportunity to spread what I see as falsehoods about the Democratic Party’s stance on law enforcement issues and its alleged “drift to the left” (“Westmoreland sheriff: ‘I have not...

Oh, how times have changed. JFK had to defend his Catholicism in 1960. I wonder: If Judge Amy Coney Barrett was Muslim, Buddhist or Jewish, would she face what is coming up in her hearings? No way. Peter A. Mamula Venetia...

Cancer didn’t stop because of the pandemic, but nonemergency exams like mammograms came to a screeching halt. Now, as we enter National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you should know that medical imaging centers throughout Western Pennsylvania have safely reopened and are offering mammography again. This is a good time to...

Pro-life matters because our life starts at conception. I hope when you have the opportunity to save a life you will. Joyce Ziance Unity...