Sounding off: Cops under the microscope

How would you like a job where when you made a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo? That’s a quote from Jacques Plante, goalie of yore for the Montreal Canadiens.

Unfortunately, it’s like that for today’s cops, who are being scrutinized on the way they do their jobs every day. In this case, the situation is very “unfunny.”

Maybe the bar needs to be raised a little by including extra training in the “social” aspects of the job, and by rigorously enforcing disciplinary rules for those officers who do not follow the protocols they are trained to follow.

I believe the Greensburg police are doing a very good job, and I commend those who put their lives on the line every day to protect the citizens of Greensburg. Thank you!

Frank Ernhart, Greensburg

Reducing violence, starting with schools

This is in response to your editorial “Truth is kids need to be safe from gun violence.” The truth is kids need to be safe from all violence, and schools should use education to try to make it so.

We should be using schools to reduce violence throughout life with at least two goals in mind: That eventually the number of people using domestic violence shelters will drop. And that eventually fewer people will be incarcerated each year for committing acts of violence.

We now have dozens of high schools nationwide that have police stationed in them because of violence. Yet it’s unlikely even one of those schools tried to use education with their students to make them less violent. It’s almost as though educators don’t believe in their own product — education.

Reducing violence would help Pennsylvania’s economy, and with fewer people experiencing the gloom of violence, it could be a happier place.

Steve Kokette, Madison, Wis.

The writer is director and producer of the documentary “One Punch Homicide.”

New Republican leaders needed

As a Pennsylvania Republican, I find myself with questions I’m struggling to answer.

On Nov. 13, 2020, a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency-led group, including its director, Christopher Krebs, issued a statement calling the Nov. 3 election “the most secure in American history.” On Nov. 30, 2020, Attorney General William Barr explicitly stated there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could have impacted the results of the 2020 election.

After numerous recounts, audits and “forensic investigations,” there still is no tangible evidence of significant election fraud. So why do most Republicans believe the election was fraudulent and that somehow President Trump won? Even many congressmen claim that somehow they were fairly elected, yet, on the same ballot, the presidential election was tainted.

Now that the 2022 primary season is getting underway, we find ourselves bombarded with ads from Republican candidates promising to save us from the “woke” mob. So, just who are these “woke” mobsters anyway? It surely couldn’t be “Sleepy” Joe Biden.

Merriam-Webster defines “woke” as “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues.” So to save us, our Republican leaders are vowing to fight against those that are aware of and actively attentive to important issues? I would like to know why they are fighting to subvert important facts and issues. I think we could really use some candidates who are well-versed in important facts and issues.

I hope some new Republican leaders step forward.

Scott Huber, Ligonier Township

All should have skin in Ukraine war game

Let’s ensure that all Americans, including politicians and their families, have “skin in the game” before committing combat troops to defending Ukraine. Here’s how:

1. Enforce the War Powers Act, so the military commitment decision includes Congress, not just President Biden. Authorization must include measurable criteria for success and for termination, as well as a “sunset provision” requiring frequent reauthorization and funding by Congress.

2. Require that every member of Congress and senior executive branch leader under age 50 be immediately conscripted, sent to boot camp and placed in a combat role. They’ll remain in combat until their temporary replacements and Biden end military involvement in Ukraine.

3. Restart the military draft for all men and women ages 18 to 30. Children of the politicians described above will be selected first and also be deployed to front-line combat.

4. Require all Americans to pay their share of the cost of the war, which will be collected each year by the IRS. Taxpayers who claim dependents will be assessed for all family members.

Our brave volunteer soldiers shouldn’t shoulder the entire burden of war.

Jay Lynch, Upper St. Clair

Biden administration is weakening the military

The Biden administration is weakening our military readiness with their idiotic woke policies. The military is not the place for social experimentation. The teaching that America is inherently racist is detrimental to a cohesive fighting force. The military needs to be colorblind in recruitment, training and promotion of troops. The use of racial- or gender-based quotas in job assignments or promotion will weaken the fighting force. Jobs should be filled with the most qualified available personnel.

President Biden has incorrectly stated that climate change is our greatest threat. He obviously forgot about the Chinese, Russian, North Korean, Iranian and many other potential adversaries. We as a nation owe our military personnel the best equipment and training available to successfully engage and defeat any potential adversaries without unnecessary losses.

I’m certain potential adversaries are not training their military personnel in woke ideologies; rather, their training is focused on how to effectively destroy their adversaries.

Ed Davis, Greensburg

Memories of Forbes Avenue bridge

Many things in my life have concerned the recently collapsed Forbes Avenue bridge. I used to cross that bridge to go to church. I crossed it in a streetcar and in a bus. I walked across it coming home from high school. I walked out to the middle of it one day and dropped a model airplane off and then hiked down into the hollow to retrieve it.

When I picture a parent telling a child “And I suppose if your friend jumped off a bridge, you’d do it, too!” the Forbes Avenue bridge is the very bridge I picture for that.

My grandfather built the first house on Celeron Street just two blocks away. Once in fifth grade, I headed for school without my $3 for my violin lesson. I crossed Forbes just as a streetcar was coming. I looked down in the slot on the streetcar track and saw some money. I had time to scoot back and pick up the bills. When I unfolded them, I found that there were three dollar bills. Just the amount I needed.

For the past three decades in West Virginia, I have taught my history students about that same corner, when we learned about Gen. Edward Braddock and Gen. John Forbes marching to attack Fort Duquesne.

It seems I cannot get away from Forbes and Braddock, and the bridge. It is a lifetime part of all of us who grew up near Frick Park. One of the last times I crossed that bridge was following my brother’s casket to the cemetery.

Dan Manka, Fairmont, W.Va.

Confused by Trump’s pardon plans

I’m so confused after Trump’s recent statement that if he is elected president in 2024, he may pardon the Jan. 6 insurgents. I thought, according to many MAGA followers and Fox/Faux News, that those rioters were actually antifa and FBI agents. Is that what Trump meant, he will pardon these antifa actors? No wonder it’s so hard to keep up with the news these days.

Karla Thomas, Hempfield