Sounding off: Nancy Pelosi’s clever nonaction

I believe Nancy Pelosi has no intentions of sending the House’s Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial. Not now that it’s 2020, or ever, for that matter.

She has never had any such intentions. She explains that she is “convinced” Trump will not get a “fair” trial but rather would be exonerated by a majority Republican vote. This way, the House’s accusations will stand, unresolved, going in to the November presidential election.

This nonaction will also allow the Dems to point out that the Constitution needs to be revised to provide for a similar future event “when a rogue president is accompanied by a rogue leader of the Senate.”

While Pelosi’s cleverness bears the fingerprints of some even more Machiavellian parties, one must admit that she sure knows how to make lemonade!

Ed Collins, West Newton

Real ID is a real pain

I could really relate to Dwayne Buffer’s letter “Real ID a money-making scam.” Here’s a little more from the female perspective.

Ladies — don’t change your maiden name when you get married. By all means, never change it and then get divorced and/or remarried. Finally, never, ever decide to use your maiden name as a middle name.

I have spent $30 for a raised seal birth certificate, $30 to obtain copies of my two marriage licenses, $30.50 for driver’s license renewal, a $30 charge for Real ID yet to be paid, and seven hours of my time spent on three trips to the DMV and one to the Social Security office to request a new card in my current name. I still have no Real ID.

I thought about chucking the whole thing and going with a passport, but the thought of further spending kept me on the Real ID path.

Wish me luck — I’ll be making a fourth, and hopefully final, trip to the DMV soon!

Carla McChesney, Fairfield

Abortion as population control?

Al Duerig’s “Abortion least of evils?” is one of the most shocking and disgusting letters to the editor I have ever read. In his support for abortion as a means of population control, he states, “Where better to start trimming our numbers than those who are defective and will be a burden to society.” I had to read this twice because I could not believe what I read. It sounds like something written by Adolf Hitler.

I am the parent of a special needs person whom Duerig would probably consider “defective” and should have been aborted. Our son is not a burden to society. He has a part-time job, and the joy, love and laughter he brings to our home each day is a gift from God.

Duerig seems to imply that there is no God. But he himself is trying to play God by deciding who should live and who should be killed.

Wayne Cymbor, North Huntingdon

Pa. legislators’ pay

I read with bewilderment Richard Herd’s letter “Inflation for Pa. officials vs. Pa. seniors” on the cost of living discrepancy between the Pennsylvania Legislature and seniors.

There is a good reason for it that is far worse than Herd can imagine. It dates back to the legislators’ infamous midnight pay raise that blew up in their faces, and they had to rescind the pay raise legislation — except for the justices in the courts system who got their pay raise.

But don’t feel bad for the legislators. While most of the poor working stiffs in Pennsylvania got nothing, the legislators have been drawing the City of Philadelphia’s cost-of-living adjustment for many years. That is the prime reason they have not tried to pass a bill for a pay raise in all these years. So from July 2005 until today, our Legislature has been drawing a cost-of-living pay adjustment without a vote.

My question is, has your pay gone up over the last 14 years by the cost of living? I doubt it.

Ray Borkoski, Ford City

Supreme Court should stop impeachment

The express political impeachment was on all the channels and in all the papers. Christmas vacation was more important for Nancy Pelosi than passing on her official paperwork to the Senate, another blatant political delay tactic.

With the delay the Democrats could now raise more political questions they missed or thought of as unimportant before the ball is in the Senate’s hands. The delay gives the Democrats more time to make up more political charges, find another witness or get more witness data not already reported to the House in the rush to aid their candidate.

The third part of our government, the judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court, must have missed it, or does its liberal component want to help neuter President Trump and future presidents?. Trump was not acting like he was above the law. His job allows him to make decisions on the timing of aid for any reason, including asking getting information on the illegal activities of U.S. citizens.

The Supreme Court should stop this flimsy political impeachment action in its tracks and void this impeachment before it goes to the Senate.

George Biskup, Penn Township, Westmoreland County

A more compassionate Republican Party

As a new “liberal/progressive” Republican, I believe that the national Republican Party must change and evolve in fundamental and significant ways if it is to be at all competitive with the national Democratic Party beginning in 2042-44, when over 50% of the U.S. is predicted to be “non-white.”

The national Republican Party needs to appeal more to groups that it has little appeal to now, and it needs to genuinely care more about these groups. It must do more to help the lower and middle classes, the poor, the near-poor, and senior citizens.

The national party needs to be against making cuts to federal government social programs that help people such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, student loans and unemployment insurance benefits.

The national party needs to stand strongly against sexism and white nationalism/supremacy.

The national party needs to stand strongly in favor of the total equality of women, including supporting equal pay for equal work for women and heavily fining and imprisoning all predators who commit sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual abuse and domestic violence.

Lastly, the national Republican Party must fight for the passage of a federal government national health insurance program/plan that is the same as Ontario, Canada’s program — one that will cover every American, but not the overly expensive and fiscally irresponsible Medicare for all.

Join me in trying to make the national Republican Party more humane, compassionate and caring.

Stewart B. Epstein, Rochester, N.Y.