Sounding off: Missing real GOP, parents' and protesters' rights, sanctity of life

Missing the real Republican Party

As a lifelong Democrat, I never thought I’d say this, but I miss the Republican Party. It seems that most Republicans have transmogrified into Trumplicans. Some against their will, I assume.

Trumplicans are in full campaign mode all the time, pointing out what they see as failures, defects, bad policy and outright conspiracy. They are an aggrieved group with vulgar grade-school yard signs and angry denunciations of anything Democrats do.

Republicans used to do a little campaigning, but once elected, got down to the business of actually working to help the American people. There may have been differences of opinion or philosophy, but they understood they were being paid by the taxpayer to fix problems.

Trumplicans have no answers, only grievances. The current inflationary crisis driven by high fuel costs is a good example. Trumplicans have a list of people to blame, but they seem to offer no solutions themselves as to how to fix it.

There is no fuel shortage. Oil produced on American soil is owned by global corporations, who are making record profits by selling it at a high price in areas with oil shortages. Apparently corporate patriotism ends where profit begins.

I am waiting for any Trumplican to come up with a clear and concise plan to end inflation caused by high fuel prices and offer that suggestion to President Biden, who would gladly work with that Republican, because at that point, he would’ve shed his Trumplican status and reverted back to a Republican interested in doing the people’s business instead of full-time campaigning.

With bated breath.

Thomas Nacey Jr., Salem

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Parents have right to decide what children see

Parents have the right to direct their child’s education. With that right comes the responsibility to oversee what their children are exposed to, especially when it comes to deeply personal topics like sex and sexuality.

Unfortunately, it seems Sen. Lindsey Williams thinks she knows better than parents. Recently, she voted against Senate Bill 1277, which would give parents the ability to individually opt their children out of being exposed to these materials in school libraries and classrooms. Does Williams think schools should have free rein to expose children to sexually explicit material, and parents should just get used to it?

This bill was in response to the revelation that several Pennsylvania schools have books with pictures involving sex acts. And these weren’t just in high schools, but elementary schools as well. In my opinion, Williams embraced the notion that school administrators and librarians know better than the parents when providing these materials to students.

Children shouldn’t be looking at sexually explicit images at school. Period. At the very least, parents should be able to opt their children out of this material. Williams cannot represent us if she disagrees with that.

Greg Dolan, Fox Chapel

The writer is a high school history teacher.

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Why no sanctity of life on death penalty?

As the Rowe v. Wade decision divides the country over the sanctity of life, it makes me wonder what the Supreme Court would do to overturn the death penalty in the United States.

It appears that a number of the same folks who are anti-abortion are pro-death penalty. Maybe the death penalty should be looked at by the Supreme Court, but as we know, they’ll just turn it over to the states.

Those who want the “sanctity of life” in only the directions that please them should consider that this applies to more than just abortion, or does it? Just saying.

Chris Hartig, Port Vue

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Protesters are protected

So many of your letter-writers (Douglas Johnston, “Why are protesters allowed to break the law?” July 6, TribLIVE) seem to forget that protesting for the redress of grievances is enshrined in the Constitution. It is as sacred as the Second Amendment. In fact it is a First Amendment right, which might even make it more important than the Second. And thousands of people a year are not killed as people exercise it, as they are with the Second.

The Supreme Court has ruled at various times that protesters are protected in myriad circumstances. Protesters can gather and harass clients in front of Planned Parenthood facilities, for example. Members of that church from Kansas are even within their rights to loudly protest and disrupt funerals for fallen soldiers. Now, all of a sudden, we’re supposed to feel sorry for justices who I believe committed perjury to get approved by the Senate, and who are gleefully putting into place their own right-wing agenda. The snowflakes are getting a dose of the medicine they’ve administered to many others.

Six justices are set to take away all privacy rights from all Americans, and we cannot just sit back and let that happen. But what other recourse do we, the majority, have?

Mary Beth Walling, North Huntingdon

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Legislators, do your job

Thank you, Jeanne Passarelli, for your letter “We need new rules for our legislators” (July 10, TribLIVE). A specific case on point: The civil penalties section of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law has never been updated since it was passed and made effective in 1968. It allows consumers to sue wrongdoers for the amount of their damages or $100, whichever is greater. $100 in 1968 was a much greater amount of money and went further than $100 does in 2022.

State Rep. Tony DeLuca has sponsored House Bill 761 which would raise the penalty to $500. This legislation would not impact the state budget and would not cost any taxpayer even one penny. The only people impacted are persons or businesses that have violated the law and have been found guilty in court.

HB 761 passed out of the House Consumer Affairs Committee on a unanimous, bipartisan vote. In the House, it was “laid on the table.” In other words, put aside without a vote. No one with a modicum of common sense would be opposed to HB 761. Why won’t the House vote on it? Who is holding it up and why?

Ms. Passarelli, I agree with you! It is past time for our legislators to represent us, we the people, and do the job we elected them to do.

Mary Bach, Murrysville

The writer is a consumer advocate.

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Let the immigrants come in and fill our jobs

As I drive through different sections of Greensburg, and travel through other towns and cities, I see the same thing everywhere: “Hiring” signs.

We have noticed that our popular Sunday morning breakfast restaurant has empty tables an a 45-minute wait time to get a table. Why? Because they can’t find help. Many of our favorite places shut down two or three days a week because they don’t have enough help. Stores cut back their daily hours for the same reason.

So where are all the people?

In the last century, it was the immigrants who worked hard to build this country. I think President Joe Biden should open the gates into the USA as wide as possible and let the immigrants roll in. These people walk hundreds of miles to provide their families a better life. Sure, you are going to have the undesirables mixed in but if they are vetted properly, they could be filtered out. This is no different than the undesirables who are citizens mixed in with the Americans. It isn’t the immigrants who are shooting up our schools, churches and malls.

Why is it that at intersections we find beggars holding cardboard signs with hard-luck stories, when right behind them are “Hiring” signs?

Joe D’Astolfo, Hempfield

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America’s downfall

Today, we have no school prayer, God is missing from virtually all public sponsored events, and it’s legal to kill an unborn child. The disrespect of authority is so significant that we hate each other when it’s not our leader in power. We lowered standards to improve performance and raise self worth, and we stopped celebrating achievements. We have been taught that America is bad.

We’ve never been perfect, but we never stopped trying to improve. We fought for what’s right, including two world wars. True, Americans don’t like what we’ve become. What people don’t understand is America is the only real option left to save the world in spite of all our problems.

If you’re wondering why people are reaching for weapons and choosing fists to settle problems, it’s because we hate and fear instead of love. We clench our teeth and hands in place of reaching to help one another. We’re frenzied by social media and the news. We’ve been lied to. We are good. We’re making bad choices.

The shackles are on the way as communism is on the march. We’ve had a silent coup.

Raymond Schratz, Butler