Sounding off: Politics, Jan. 6, immigrants among week's topics

We must stop demonizing each other

I am tired of reading letters to the editor from so called “conservatives” who equate worshipping at the altar of Donald Trump as being “real Republicans.” Conservatives come in an array of flavors, including this never-Trumper.

Apparently if you don’t agree with the far right section of the party that believes in the Trump cult, scorched earth politics, big government oversight, constant culture wars and zero cooperation with the, evil, un-American liberals, you are “with them” and must be rooted out and what? Destroyed? Jailed? What is the end game?

Get out of your bubble, please. How about a hand across the aisle? You might be surprised to learn that the people you demonize have a lot more in common with you than you think. Do you really think your Biden-voting neighbor hopes to see America go down in flames?

It’s pathetic how we have let our politicians and the media tear us apart. They love it! More votes, more ratings, and the more we hate on each other. We are being played and most people don’t even realize what they are doing to us.

Karla Thomas

Hempfield

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Are we seeing a rift between Biden and media?

Having followed politics rather closely for more than four decades, I could only shake my head in disgust as Joe Biden won the presidency in 2020. At least when Donald Trump made stupid, clumsy attempts to circumnavigate the truth, it could be attributed to his unfamiliarity with political articulation. Biden had spent his entire life in politics and had a long and well documented history of ignoring facts and embracing fables. The media hopped on board the “No Malarkey” express and dutifully ignored his past transgressions in a concerted effort to make Biden as appealing as possible to the voters.

Now, two years later, fractures may be developing in the cozy relationship between Biden and Big Media. It looks as though the reported “confidential” government documents found in several locations utilized by the president might be the reason for the rift. Especially in light of Biden’s excoriation of his predecessor for essentially the same transgression.

While the media has failed to ask the tough questions and refused to hold the administration’s feet to the fire, the president and his spokespeople have attempted to create an alternate reality of transparency and cooperation. I would submit that Joe’s tagline during his candidacy should have been “the B.S. express.” Maybe the media has finally tired of being played. To which I can only say, “Welcome to the real world of Joe Biden.”

Richard Byers

Mt. Pleasant

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Republicans holding us hostage

I have some question for voters who cast ballots which nominally granted control of the U. S. House of Representatives to the Republicans:

Is it acceptable to you that a high-stakes game of chicken will be played over whether to increase the debt ceiling, an action which enables the country to pay its bills, that members of the GOP will refuse to act unless the administration and the Democrats agree in exchange to significantly reduce spending?

Why did the Republicans vote to increase the debt ceiling without challenge multiple times under presidents of their party?

Is an agreement to reduce federal spending in exchange for increasing the debt ceiling important enough to you that you are willing to risk a collapse of the national economy, international economies and the stock market?

Are you willing to accept higher interest rates that the government will be required to pay on its massive debt if it brings about a default or even threatens one?

Is blackmail in which all of us are held hostage acceptable in a bid to reduce spending?

Oren Spiegler

Peters

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Hoping for an end to Wolf’s chaos

Gov. Tom Wolf said on March 16, 2020: “I would like people to stay home 24 hours a day.” From that day till now, some Pennsylvana residents have taken that fear to heart. Others mocked and laughed as the shutdowns and mandates continued and we did our best to lead a normal life. It got so bad at the beginning of this that people were afraid they would get arrested for not wanting to wear a mask in Walmart or Giant Eagle. Looking at it now, does that behavior remind you of North Korea?

Now, Dr. Rachel Levine is gone, and now Wolf is gone as well. The divisiveness and chaos that those two brought us may take years to go away, if ever. Maybe Wolf can take the place of the groundhog this year and predict that we will have a longer winter for us to stay home every day. Goodbye, Tom Wolf.

Russell C. Fenton

Ligonier

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Jan. 6 — we can never let it happen again

It should have never happened in our country, but it did. The attack on the U.S. Capitol two years ago was an attempted coup, an attack on our democracy to try and stop a free and fair election. It certainly wasn’t a tour of the Capitol.

I knew that day, without a shadow of a doubt, that this took planning to get this kind of crowd together. It’s not normal behavior for anyone to crawl up the walls of any building, let alone the Capitol, then breaking into the building and putting the lives of the Capitol police in jeopardy, not to mention the members of Congress who were there to do their job.

And it’s sad to say, but I believe the violence was incited by the former president. There didn’t need to be a Jan. 6 committee to investigate how the day unfolded, but they had to be certain that the events of this day would become part of the historic record, as to never let this happen again.

Once again, I hear the words my father would always say, “Doesn’t anybody see what I see?” It’s pretty plain and simple.

Marianne Rossi-Brown

Greensburg

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Trump, like Reagan, was a great president

Ronald Reagan was a great president. He was a true conservative, not afraid to take an unpopular stand. He loved the American people.

Then there was a series of moderate Republicans running for president. True conservatives were unhappy, but the party told them to hold their noses and remain loyal. We did. The party assured us they were changing. They didn’t.

Then an amazing thing happened in 2016. A man ran on the Republican ticket who was not a politician. He was not politically correct, not afraid to take an unpopular stand. He said out loud what many average Americans were thinking. Donald Trump won the election. Finally, the Republican Party delivered.

In 2020 he was defeated due to massive voter fraud. From day one of his term, liberal lawmakers, the FBI, liberal judges and even RINOs (Republicans in name only) attacked him. It did not stop him. His enemies are still trying to destroy him. He made some mistakes in office, but all presidents do. The liberal press is helping Biden do that.

Trump has announced that he will run in 2024. I don’t know if he can win, but he was a great president. I believe he could drain the swamp some more.

But one thing is certain: I refuse to hold my nose and vote for a RINO presidential candidate. I am not an independent. An independent is a liberal embarrassed by his or her party’s policies. I am a conservative, fed up with moderate, socialist Republicans.

Kathleen Bollinger

Fawn

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Jobs for immigrants

A tip of my cap to the letter-writer who suggested that those seeking to enter America could fill available jobs as employers are unable to find workers to satisfy their needs (“Immigrants can help fill jobs,” Jan. 16, TribLIVE). He believes in supply and demand.

Unfortunately, he is a dreamer because doing what he suggests would bring people, unlike us, to our area. History teaches that we were rarely receptive to doing so, especially when migrants are people of color.

Spare me responses about the American “melting pot” or the oft-quoted portion of Emma Lazarus’ poem on the Statue of Liberty. Sadly, over the years and between the lines of “Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …” are the added, unwritten words, “your white-skinned.”

When industrialists sent recruiters in search of workers to do the back-breaking work in America’s mines and mills at the beginning of the 20th century, they didn’t travel to countries with large populations of people of color. Even those seeking work, who came willingly, saw signs that read, “No Irish need apply.” Often those who eventually found homes here then reached back to close the door behind them.

We like to believe we are a welcoming nation. But our treatment of those wishing to contribute to our greatness is questionable. We boast that we are better than other nations with our laws and policies on immigration and border control. Today’s humanitarian crisis on our southern border tells a different story.

Will leaders of mostly white Westmoreland County give serious thought to welcoming immigrants as he the T-R letter writer mentioned above suggests? I’m not holding my breath.

Glenn R. Plummer

Unity