Sounding off: Politics, books, guns, Fox News on readers' minds

We’re not ‘good or evil’ based on our political views

A recent letter to the editor claims that America has devolved into a battleground of good vs. evil (“Pick a side, good or evil,” April 10, TribLIVE). The view(s) of the author insinuate that conservatives (Republicans) are good, God-fearing Christian people who know exactly what God wants in our country. Who should marry, who should be allowed to enter our country and so forth. Geez, about the only thing the gentleman didn’t say is that God wants more guns to make our country even more good!

I have a hard time wrapping my head around someone with that mindset that their political view is the only good view, all else is evil. I believe there have always been politicians in power in any given political party who have been evil, with evil being defined as self-serving at any cost. And both parties, R and D, do this country a terrible disservice by only guiding their decision making based on keeping their party in power.

Although I am not a theologist, I’m pretty sure God doesn’t care about the government of the United States anymore then he cares about the government of Albania.

Lastly, I have been a Catholic all my life. The Catholic Church does not dictate my political view any more than the church would impose its laws on the government.

Tim Babyak

Perryopolis

***

How about a book burning?

To expand on Tara Gandy’s comments in the article “Greensburg Salem parent calls for change after teacher caught reading racial slur aloud in classroom,” regarding John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” (April 13, TribLIVE): Perhaps we ought to have a good old-fashioned book burning — maybe this week, during National Library Week.

Certainly on the pyre would be William Faulkner’s “Light in August.” And we ought to take a closer look at “Huckleberry Finn.”

The ignition point of paper is 451 degrees Fahrenheit. Thanks for that bit of information, Ray Bradbury.

Robert J. Bush

Murrysville

***

Vote for new Westmoreland County commissioners

In the article “Westmoreland DA says forensics lab will speed investigations” (April 14, TribLIVE), the Tribune-Review reported that District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli and county commissioners plan to spend: $497,000 for lab equipment; a new salary of $84,000; and $250,000 for training and accreditation. The goal is “be available for use by all local police departments,” save county an “average $51,000 annually” and quit using outside labs that “sometimes … can be backed up eight months to a year.” Expecting correction and clarification from county commissioners, I always wait awhile before responding to nonsense such as this. It never comes.

Finance, maintenance and upgrade costs of the lab certainly exceed $50,000 per year. Benefit costs increase the new hire costs to over $100,000 annually. The 8-12 month backlog indicates acquiring and retaining the necessary skills may not be easy. Digital skills are diverse — requiring teams. The tougher problems will need sent out with long waits still encountered. Lab and office space costs are uncounted.

Once again, the commissioners show lack of ability and common sense in spending our money. The inexplicably large $250,000 “to train staff and gain accreditation for the lab” — could it be commissioners have a favored, but inexperienced, candidate in mind?

To understand data encryption, a generally easy, cheap, simply selected option, or app download on smartphones and PCs, I suggest you read “The Mathematics of Secrets” by Holden. You’ll come to understand the complexity, cost and time required to break encrypted data are far outside the scope of what their plans can handle.

Please vote for new commissioners.

Jim Baker

Greensburg

***

Can we handle another Trump presidency?

An indictment is simply the bringing of charges against a defendant. It does not determine innocence or guilt. Its validity is decided by an impartial grand jury of 20-25 people chosen through a rigorous jury selection process. They (not the district attorney, in this case, Alvin Bragg) determine, by majority vote, if there is enough evidence to hold the defendant over for trial. It is only at the 12-person jury trial that guilt or innocence is determined by unanimous vote. As you can see, an indictment is much easier to achieve than a trial conviction.

The Donald Trump unsealed indictment came on March 30. It is assumed the charges include felonious business practices regarding the transfer of Trump funds and the utilization of campaign finance funds to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal and others. These are criminal felonies.

While serious, this case pales in comparison to the other indictments Trump could face on the Jan. 6 insurrection, interference in the Georgia election, the withholding of documents at Mar-a-Lago and the rigging, through false slates of electors, of the Electoral College vote. These cases are far more serious and don’t bode well for the twice-impeached former president.

Guilty or not, can our country withstand another arduous Trump presidency amid such deserved scrutiny and chaos?

Tom Tarosky

West Leechburg

***

Fetterman should have talked about his depression during campaign

John Fetterman, at best, looked dazed, confused and lost during the debate. He also never made one public mention of having depression. He withheld this important information from voters until it was convenient for him after the election.

Now, allies have somehow turned this whole debacle into him being praised for bringing depression into light. Why is he being praised and not asked why he never mentioned it?

Russell Fenton

Ligonier

***

Founders’ thoughts on guns

Regarding the letter “Thoughts and prayers not enough to stop school shootings”: To think the Founding Fathers didn’t anticipate weapons of the future has no bearing on the Second Amendment. The Founding Fathers put in the Second Amendment to control a tyrannical government should it turn on the populace and deny us our God-given freedoms.

Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and Mao all banned books but also guns, thus resulting in Hitler killing 14 million people, Mao between 45 million and 75 million and Stalin 8.5 million people. There are many more examples of the evil men do when a populace is disarmed.

As far as sane gun laws go, the USA has over 10,000 gun laws on the books. Now the crazy and evil folks who kill are exactly that — crazy and/or evil. Many of these mass killers passed a stringent background check where they legally got their guns.

Yes, we have more law enforcement now than in the past, but it is still up to individuals to protect themselves and their families. Law enforcement in most cases shows up after the fact.

Harold Murphy

New Kensington

***

Fox ‘News’ isn’t news at all

If you are ensconced in Fox “News,” I implore you to check out some other sources to see what Fox isn’t telling you right now. They have been sued for their lies, and the evidence against them was so overwhelming that they settled for more than half a billion dollars. They didn’t want their dirty laundry aired out in court.

All the commentators, including Sean Hannity and the recently departed Tucker Carlson, would have been on the stand under oath, admitting that they have been deliberately lying to their audience. There are tapes of them saying one thing on the air and the opposite off the air, like text messages from Carlson saying that he “hates Trump passionately.” I’ll bet that’s not what you’ve been hearing from him on the air! Check it out. You’ve been lied to. You’ve been fed a steady diet of lies, crackpot conspiracy theories and “alternative facts,” as literally confessed by Kellyanne Conway.

Fox “news” isn’t news at all. It is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who is very rich and wants to be richer. For that he needs Republicans in office, who will lower their taxes, driving up the national debt.

But the debt is for tomorrow. These greedy Republicans care only about getting rich today, to hell with our kids who will have to pay off the debt.

Conversely, CNN is a world-respected purveyor of what’s actually going on. It only looks left wing to you because Fox told you so.

Fred Durig

Delmont