Sounding off: Chuck Schumer should resign over 'word choice'

“It was a very poor choice of words,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said. And just like that, Sen. Chuck Schumer’s attack on two sitting members of the Supreme Court in the most voracious manner was dismissed by some on the left.

Those words to Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were, “You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” Poor choices, indeed. With all of the mentally unstable, hate-filled people in this country, hearing those words could be considered a call to action. This is unforgivable for anyone to utter those words in a public setting, but even more so when issued by a figure of national prominence and a leader of his party.

The most ironic thing is that he was standing in front of protesters demanding women’s rights to terminate life. Does that now extend to grown men?

I call on all leaders from both parties to demand Schumer’s resignation effective immediately. The time for responsibility is now.

Bob MacPherson, West Newton

Empathy and public policy

In his appeal “Less judging, more love,” letter-writer Keith Kondrich ironically ponders bedtime questions through a lens of self, but imagining hardship on ourselves doesn’t prevent or alleviate hardship for others. “What if it’s me” ignores searching for solutions to help improve lives of those struggling with difficult circumstances.

If cartel corruption causes thousands to put themselves — and children — at risk of injury, slavery and death by fleeing on a dangerous journey, what can be done to stem the flow of humanity?

Could free chemotherapy be provided to every cancer patient if society was willing to pay more routine medical costs out of pocket? Or should no one (including noncitizens) ever pay a dime for any medical need ever?

What if a husband and father risks his life daily to protect and serve, and mistakenly shoots an unarmed teenager in the commission of a crime? Tragedies are never about a single person.

Prisons are dangerous places full of dangerous people; how do we create a society which understands that consequences for committing crimes can be very unpleasant?

Mental health and addiction often result in homelessness. What interventions can prevent the downward spiral of isolation, apathy and self-abandonment that leads to huddling under cardboard in the dead of winter?

Empathy is a constructive human characteristic, but it’s destructive as framework for developing public policy initiatives to remedy complicated sociopolitical issues. Money is no answer either; ask Mike Bloomberg. We’re to believe a few Russian Facebook trolls influenced our election, but his $600 million could hardly buy a vote.

Joe Schmidt, Lower Burrell

Young people know the election stakes

There is a growing trend of Republican retirements in the Pennsylvania Legislature. From Joe Scarnati to Mike Turzai to local representatives, it’s clear that something is sending career Republicans packing in 2020.

Each time members of the GOP decide against filing reelection papers, it’s an opportunity for voters to ask ourselves: What do we want out of our representatives? What sort of delegation do we deserve?

Do we want our state government to continually propose rigid anti-choice legislation? To prioritize the gun lobby over the safety of schoolchildren? Will we do nothing as our most vulnerable people are kicked off essential services? What will we do while the nation watches how Pennsylvania votes?

Young people recognize that it matters who represents us. It matters if political differences amount to whether or not we have equal rights, whether we are burdened with student debt, and whether we may live to see a future with clean air and water and essential environmental protections guaranteed.

Young people know the stakes. That’s why young voters organized and mobilized in record numbers in 2018. We must be prepared to do it again.

Voting is the single most effective way of taking charge of our futures. In Pennsylvania, you must be registered with party affiliation in order to vote in the closed primary. This means that you must be registered with a party by April 13 to vote on April 28. Let’s make these retirements mean something: Flip the General Assembly blue come November.

Larissa Sweitzer, Bloomfield

Investing and coronavirus

Coronavirus has done one good thing: It forced individuals to reassess investment. The result: a near-recession. While a bear market is never preferable, the chance of an economy not propped up on overconfidence and malinvestment should be desirable to all.

Then, the Fed reduced rates to 1.5% in an attempt to continue the false market previous administrations refused to give up as well. That’s what the fed does — it artificially stimulates markets for short-term advantage but lowers the purchasing power of money in the long run, which harms every consumer.

Then, in an unprecedented move, the Fed reduced rates to 0%, and pumped $1.5 trillion into banks. This means that during a market correction, in which malinvestments are supposed to be purged, even more malinvestment will occur than before the market correction.

Those in power should be glad the coronavirus will be to blame for recent (and probably future) economic downturn. There are many voter models that almost solely rely on the state of the economy and the party held responsible, so whether the regulatory overreaction convinces voters, I guess we’ll find out, though I’d argue winning an election doesn’t justify defrauding Americans, and so should you.

Austin Branthoover, Hempfield

The writer is a freshman majoring in economics at Grove City College, where he is vice chairman of the College Republicans.

Who would fall for ‘Russian meddling’?

Warning! “Experts” report that Vladimir Putin is personally crafting the most hypnotic Facebook ad ever created. If Hillary herself even glances in the ad’s general direction, she will become another Trump zombie.

In reality, though, I find it maddening that the media and politicians use the words “meddling” and “interference” and say the “Russians” are supposedly doing this through social media ads. But we rarely see examples, and there is a good reason for that: The average person would find the ads mostly innocuous or even agreeable. Judge them yourself by searching “social media ads” at Intelligence.house.gov.

My favorite is a photo of a grime-covered coal miner and the caption: “If Hillary wins, I will lose my job.” Clinton publicly said she would “put a lot of coal miners out of business.” Am I a Russian agent if I agree? The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on Russian interference stated that the ads “targeted” African Americans. This strikes me as a racist conclusion. Is the report publicly questioning the intelligence of African Americans?

Russia spent a mere $150,000 on these ads and flipped an election? Mike Bloomberg just spent 5,000 times more than that and flopped in the trash. Could a Facebook ad affect your vote? I think Bloomberg already answered that question.

Dan Shellhammer, Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County

Electoral College is essential

Regarding Ron Slabe’s letter “Electoral College is archaic”: Any law, resolution or proposal to change the core process of our national election, especially one heavily sponsored (i.e., funded) by left-wing progressives, is something the electorate should strongly oppose.

The left has a way of assigning nomenclature to disguise the purpose of the mission. “Make Every Voter Equal”? Will we open the borders to flood our country with undocumented citizens and give them the right to vote? No thank you.

Our founders were divinely inspired with discernment to understand large population centers alone should not determine the outcome of the presidential election. I urge readers to do their homework on how National Popular Vote Inc. is funded. Left-wing champions are not spending millions to make it fair for liberal and conservative voters; that system already exists, and only a portion of our citizens actually participate. Rather, there is an advantage democratic socialists seek from the large left-leaning population of our largest cities.

The Electoral College is not archaic; its purpose was pioneering and visionary, and it remains essential for our republic due to the extreme socialist candidates that have emerged.

James Falcsik, Hempfield

Maybe Trump finally gets it

It’s about time. Finally, President Trump is acting more like a president should. His recent news conferences have shown exactly how he should act; as a concerned president for all Americans during a crisis. He has turned away from Republican and conservative radio talking points concerning the coronavirus outbreak as “overblown” or “a Democratic hoax.”

Trump realized that commentators from Fox News were putting out bad advice about supporting restaurant owners and other businesses by going into their establishments during the initial phases of the outbreak. Too bad it took a highly contagious and deadly virus to make Wall Street lose a third of its market value, the upcoming massive layoffs in the travel and tourism industry, and a threat to overwhelm hospitals, to change his tune.

The passage of several bipartisan bills to address the new problems caused by the virus will certainly improve his standing beyond those of his base supporters. It is my hope that this crisis will help, not only Trump, but other politicians of both parties, see how things in Washington can and should get done. Maybe, just maybe, he finally gets it.

Richard Patton, Franklin Township, Beaver County