Every NFL playoff season I see replays of the “Immaculate Reception.” I’m looking forward to the 50th anniversary of that defining play Dec. 23. No, I wasn’t one of the 650,000 people who claim to have been in attendance at Three Rivers Stadium that day, but I remember where I was and what I was doing.

It was one of a kind, just like the 2020 presidential election. Not saying the results weren’t valid; it was just confusing for a country that prides itself on technology and honest elections.

My liberal friends say we need to be more progressive, like Europe. Well, 46 of the 47 countries in Europe require voter ID for that privilege, and very few permit absentee ballots.

Today, Democrats are shifting the national conversation to voter rights. Surging covid is temporarily buried, along with inflation, supply chain shortages, Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, and the drugs and disease pouring in across the border.

No, I don’t expect an “immaculate election,” but surely we are competent enough to engineer an accurate one.

Ed Klein, Shanksville

Biden’s policies are not working

If you were president of the United States today, your State of the Union Address might well read like this:

• Our southern border is overrun by illegal immigrants, with drug and child trafficking out of control.

• Prices of basics like food, gas, homes and autos are shooting upward, with price inflation the highest in 20 years.

• Robberies and murders in major cities are at all-time high. Criminals are being released prematurely, and many police defunded.

• Russia is massing troops at the Ukraine border, and China has increased flights over Taiwan.

• Fossil-fuel independence has been replaced by dependence on Saudi Arabia, driving up prices.

• Tax rates are being increased to pay for growing federal spending.

• Public education results continue to decline. School shootings are increasing.

It is critical that we elect people whose policies will provide solutions to these grave and escalating problems.

Ask yourself, have President Biden’s left-wing policies of closing gas pipelines, more government spending, higher taxes and more regulations worked as well as President Trump’s conservative policies of a border wall, stronger military and policing, cutting taxes and regulations, and more free- market opportunities?

Ron Raymond, Buffalo Township

CNN 10 is creating a seed for students

Lori Falce makes some good points in her column “Yes, your kid should watch the news at school”. Who can be against that? However, her support of CNN10 is shortsighted. It reveals a naivete that I would not expect from an experienced news person.

CNN10 meets a key test of J. Edgar Hoover’s “Masters of Deceit”: Create a “front” organization to conceal your real purpose. Perhaps 10’s content is more even than CNN’s cable channel at first glance. But that is not its purpose. Its purpose is to plant a seed. When a student leaves school, what news channel will he/she first go to? The one that he/she was first exposed to. That’s what the student knows. The seed is cultivated to digest what the “successor” produces.

Falce, quite surprisingly, goes even further, holding that even if CNN10 were biased, “it is still important for people to learn to consume news with open eyes and open minds.” That’s possibly true if you’re presented both sides of an issue.

Louis F. D’Emilio, Penn Township, Westmoreland County

Right-wing rhetoric continues to divide

In his letter “Extremists on the Democratic side”, Dave Majernik attempted to compare Democratic and Republican extremists. His examples follow the rhetoric being spewed by right-wing media that is not only incorrect, but continue to cause divides at every level.

The issue of defunding police was never a Democratic platform. But the Republican insurrectionists had no problem injuring 140 officers.

Mandates and lockdowns in the early days of a pandemic were put in place to protect the health and safety of citizens at large, and backed by science.

The Biden administration wants to raise taxes only for the very wealthiest (those making more than $400,000).

The national debt was increased recently to cover the significant increase in expenses from last year, which was during the Trump administration.

Our Earth is in dire straits because of climate change, and we need to help our environment in all ways possible.

The last issue, about the Democrats wanting to indoctrinate students with leftist beliefs, I believe translates to critical race theory, which is taught only to last-year law students.

The Republican Party is nothing like that of 60 years ago, when elected officials worked together to legislate. Today’s Republicans seem to spread misinformation and support lies — chief among them the “big lie.” And the majority will not vote in favor of legislation during a Democratic administration, but take credit for the benefits in their home districts. That is where the gridlock lies.

Patrick Boario, Allegheny Township

More mental health resources needed in Westmoreland

Residents with mental health issues and disabilities need more health resources in Westmoreland County. The American Rescue Act gives Westmoreland County a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address this issue, but decisions on the allocation of these funds must be made by Jan. 31.

Establishing a 24/7 mental health drop-in crisis center offering a warm, home-like atmosphere and staffed by trained professionals would help to fill this gap. In Allegheny County, resolve Crisis Services is a 24-hour, 365-day free service that has demonstrated to be a life-changing approach to mental health care.

Historically, the American spirit can be summed up in a timeless, universal principle: treat others as we would have them treat us. Empathy is a core part of what makes us human. However, looking around the world today, empathy and compassion are on the decline.

County Commissioners Doug Chew, Gina Cerilli Thrasher and Sean Kertes need to do the right thing and include these individuals in any plans for the usage of these funds. They have a moral obligation to serve the needs of all their constituents.

Jason Cooper, West Newton

Comparing presidential competence

If you voted for the guy who:

1. Used a Sharpie to change the path of a hurricane

2. Autographed Bibles

3. Saluted a North Korean general

4. Stared directly into the sun during a solar eclipse

5. Kissed the behind of Putin and disparaged his own law enforcement agencies in front of Putin and the whole world

6. Suggested injecting disinfectant as a cure for covid-19

7. Danced around acting like a conductor at a symphony while this nation’s anthem was being played

Then your opinion about President Joe Biden’s mental fitness and competence is irrelevant.

Jeffrey Hice, Penn Township, Westmoreland County

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