Sounding off: Give Joe Biden a chance

Can we just get over it? I am referring to the election. As I read the paper, on the Opinion page I see lots of pros and cons about President-elect Biden and President Trump.

“Let the implosion begin” says letter-writer Paul Gernhardt (“Implosion of our country”). He lists several of his opinions on how Biden will destroy the country. Give him a chance!

Over 80 million Americans voted for Biden, more than the nearly 74 million who voted for Trump. He won. It’s over. We gave Trump a chance, and he did some good and some bad things, depending on your point of view.

The fact of the matter (a Biden phrase) is, you can only please about 50% of the people. Biden is not stupid, nor will he be perfect. He appears to be compassionate, loves the county and wants to do good for all Americans, not just the ones who voted for him.

The country is split. We need to heal and come together. I don’t care who you voted for, but common sense needs to be what works across the aisle. The final decision on all issues should be what is good for all of the American people, not what political party you are affiliated with.

Ron Giuliana, North Huntingdon

Trump and Biden, love and hate

President Trump’s supporters love him, his many accomplishments and his devotion to our country. President-elect Biden’s voters do not seem to love him. I’m guessing they just hate Trump.

I spoke to over 20 Biden voters the past few months. Every one voted against Trump, not for Biden. Hate has won over love.

When the promised tax increases hit, our energy sector comes tumbling down and the radical agenda of the “squad” becomes law, then don’t blame the ones that loved. Go after the haters.

I can name over 30 policies and actions by Trump that were good for all Americans. The haters can only come up with hate for Trump. Period.

Denny Biava, Mt. Pleasant

Government’s restaurant restrictions are absurd

Our restaurants and bars are suffering financial hardships, and many will not recover. They have been suffering since March, when Gov. Tom Wolf declared them nonessential and hotbeds for coronavirus. And he’s at it again, with random checks of said establishments to make sure they are complying with the latest restriction on the number of customers a place can serve — and when certain beverages can be served. This is absurd. What next? Government telling these places to comply or else? Smashing windows so that these places cannot reopen?

Judy Torbin, Fawn

Schools making life-critical decisions

The Norwin School Board has decided to go from in-person to remote learning. This is not an educational, social developmental, convenience or economical decision, but a life-critical decision.

All life-critical decisions have four things in common: They are time sensitive, requiring immediate action; they come with limited information and multiple uncertainties; once taken, they are irreversible; and those who have no responsibility or accountability can never comprehend the motivation or the burden of the decision.

I don’t know if not letting students come to classes is correct or not. But I do know that if there is a major outbreak, mass hospitalizations or multiple deaths, no one will look to those who publicly commented at the meetings in favor of in-person classes for accountability. No one will say to them “How could you let this happen?” or “Look what you’ve done!” No guilt will follow them if they see a family member of someone struck down. No public condemnation or legal consequences will ensue. And if students were to remain and the worst happened, those who supported students staying in class with their loud voices of outrage will become silent.

I offer this opinion from the perspective of having had to make life-critical decisions in the past and having my only daughter a teacher at Norwin and currently with child.

Anthony Marks, Penn Township, Westmoreland County

Wolf, Levine are inconsistent on decisions

Once again Gov. Tom Wolf and state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine have taken steps to curb the spread of covid-19. But once again they are so inconsistent in their decisions that it boggles the imagination.

With the new, tighter gathering limits, capacity at the 15,600-seat Hersheypark Stadium, which hosted the PIAA state football championships, is 780. With approximately 400 people on each side, that is almost as many people as are in a Walmart or Giant Eagle. And that’s inside, standing in line 6 feet from other shoppers and passing them in the aisles. I would feel much safer outdoors in a roomy stadium with more reasonable numbers. You wouldn’t be within 20 feet of anyone else.

But reasonable and rational are not what Wolf and Levine have ever preached. Their job is difficult, but they do things that border on at least stupidity and possibly insanity. They need to start using their heads and stop being so inconsistent.

Here’s an idea how the PIAA could have gotten more fans into Hersheypark Stadium. Levine OK’d a 20,000-car show in Carlisle. So the PIAA should have told fans with Corvettes to drive them to Hershey, and the PIAA could have sold tickets to a “car show.”

Thank goodness Wolf can’t run again. He is a terrible governor. And the next best thing is that Levine may be gone with him. She can go back to being a pediatrician, and the state could get an infectious disease expert on board.

Wayne Herrod, Upper St. Clair

Errors don’t disqualify votes

The “crown jewel” of democracy lies in our ability to conduct fair and untampered elections. Just like our Westmoreland County commissioners, I believe in free and fair elections and that our votes should count. Our commissioners need to live up to their values and the commitment they made when they ran for and were elected to office.

Commissioner Doug Chew calls to discard mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates on the envelopes (“GOP commissioners reject defective mail-in ballots”). These ballots would bear either a USPS postmark or date of collection from an Election Bureau drop box, so there is no question the ballots were received at a specific date and time regardless of whether or not they are dated or incorrectly dated by the voter.

According to the March 27 Omnibus Amendment to Pennsylvania Election Law (P.L. 41, No. 12), a missing or incorrect date on the mail-in ballot envelope is not a specified basis for ballot rejection.

Chew blamed voters for being “irresponsible.” But I believe communication and directions from the commissioners and the Election Bureau were poor regarding mail-in ballots, and inconsequential errors are not surprising. And yet Chew and Kertes want to punish and disenfranchise voters for a simple and non-disqualifying error.

The commissioners have a duty to count every vote that is permissible under Pennsylvania law.

Let the voters decide!

Diana Steck, North Huntingdon

Electric car fees? Fair is fair.

The Associated Press article “Pa. House votes to impose fees on electric cars” (Nov. 21) raises concern for the left, again.

The House passed a bill to the Senate requiring those who own electric or hybrid vehicles to pay a tax to cover their cost of road usage. Road maintenance is funded through a gasoline tax. Since these EVs and hybrids use less gas, but use the roads as much as the rest of us, they are not paying their fair share for road use. This bill fixes that and is almost totally fair (“almost,” because it is only $75 for hybrids and $175 for EVs, much lower a cost than most of us pay with the excessively high Pennsylvania gasoline tax.)

This article notes that most Republicans voted for the bill, and most Democrats and the Sierra Club are against it. Fortunately it passed the House and is in the Pennsylvania Senate for action.

Fair is fair, guys. If you use the roads, pay for their maintenance. The Sierra Club, and I guess the Democrats, are against it because it is a negative for their climate-change fix agenda. If you just spend a few minutes doing sixth grade math, you’ll see that they are still much cheaper to operate than gasoline vehicles, so cost is still a motivator to buy these vehicles.

This is what bothers me about many left-based ideas. Their agenda usually overrides any common-sense discussion. Hopefully we’ll all get back to open discussion and “good for all” decisions. This bill should pass.

Joe Kujawski, Buffalo Township