Sounding off: Voter ID ensures election integrity

A bill requiring voter ID recently passed in the Pennsylvania Senate, and Gov. Tom Wolf’s office has already stated he would veto the bill. Wolf and his party claim that requiring voter ID somehow violates individual rights, that it is racist.

The term racist is thrown out there so frequently against those whose opinion varies from ours that it has worn out its meaning.

This thinking also assumes that people are not able to think for themselves or they are stupid.

Proof of ID has always been required if you sought employment, wanted to purchase a home, applied for credit, etc. If you wish to make application for medical assistance in a long-term care facility, you need to provide proof of identification.

Has anyone looked at the dmv.pa.gov website recently to see what is required to obtain a Real ID?

Even if you do not have a driver’s license, the Department of Motor Vehicles will issue you an ID for the asking.

As Americans, as taxpayers, we deserve no less than, yes, that all votes be counted — but only for our citizens. We should be questioning if deceased individuals are “voting,” if pets are receiving mail-in ballots and why duplicate addresses are not being removed from the rosters.

Voter ID should not be an issue dividing Democrats and Republicans. It should be one which ensures our election integrity.

Romayne K. Levcik, Greensburg

Carly Fiorina for president

I do not expect any of my fellow “liberal/progressive” Democrats to share my concern here, but because I believe that it will be very difficult for the Democrats to retain the pesidency in 2024 and to retain control of Congress in 2022 (because of Republican state legislatures wanting to make it hard for many Democrats to vote), I want whoever the Republicans nominate for president in 2024 to be a high-quality person such as Carly Fiorina (who voted for Biden-Harris in 2020).

I like it that she is widely known to be a very sensitive, empathetic and compassionate person on a one-to-one level, partly as a consequence of the many personal tragedies and heartaches she has experienced.

My own admiration and respect for her skyrocketed when her physical appearance was cruelly and sadistically mocked and insulted by a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, and she responded with quiet and restrained dignity and “class” by simply saying this candidate had exhibited a “poor character.”

I want her to run for president in 2024.

Stewart B. Epstein, Rochester, N.Y.

The writer is a former Squirrel Hill resident who taught at West Virginia and Slippery Rock universities.

Cats don’t vanish under cruel feeding bans

By imposing a feeding ban on cats, Plum is disregarding what so many other communities have already learned the hard way — outlawing feeding policies are cruel and consistently fail as a means of managing populations of community cats (“Plum officials pass law discouraging the feeding, care of feral cats.”) Calls about cats won’t diminish, either.

Cats won’t vanish after attempts to starve them to death — they’ll just look for food in other places. As cats roam farther in search of food, they become more visible, which will bring more calls to local authorities.

The best approach is trap-neuter-return (TNR) — a mainstream approach that has been in place in communities throughout Western Pennsylvania for decades. It is humane, preferred by the public and continues to grow in popularity because it works. TNR is sound public policy. TNR effectively and humanely manages the community cat population, reduces shelter intake and “euthanasia” numbers and reduces calls to animal control agencies. With all these benefits, TNR saves money for taxpayers, too.

Today’s society demands solutions and lifesaving programs, not unpopular feeding bans that harm cats without achieving any positive outcomes.

Becky Robinson, Bethesda, Md.

The writer is president and founder of Alley Cat Allies.

Cities should focus on crime instead of plastic bags

Regarding the article “Pittsburgh, Philadelphia move ahead with plastic bag bans as Pa.’s preemption nears its end”: These cities would be better off if the cities spent time on stopping the public shootings.

Clem Zahrobsky, Delmont

Why so little coverage of border crisis?

By not enforcing federal immigration laws, the Biden administration is encouraging illegal immigration along our southern border. Mexican cartels dangerously are smuggling children, adults, lethal fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S, overwhelming the U.S. border patrol. U.S. taxpayers are paying to house and process.

Neither the president nor the vice president shows much interest. The vice president lied to NBC anchor Lester Holt on June 8, claiming “we have been to the border” when she clearly had not been to the border before her June 25 visit. Holt’s challenge to her lie made the Biden tactics even more shameful. This is a full-blown humanitarian and illegal drug crisis, yet the Trib gives it little coverage.

The Tribune-Review is right to focus its reporting on local news and to use news syndicates such as the Associated Press to report national and international stories. Because the Tribune- Review is reporting little news about this worsening crisis, can we assume that the syndicated news services also are giving little coverage to this major news story?

Voters strongly support legal immigration and strongly oppose illegal immigration. Those applying for citizenship the legal way deserve better. So does our country. What the print and broadcast media elect not to report is often more indicative of political bias than the news that it does report.

Scott Brown, Greensburg

Treat workers better, bring back blue laws

What are businesses going to do when college students leave in September? Families used the stimulus money to pay off bills and realized that with the cost of child care, clothing, travel and lunches, it simply costs more than it is worth working so one spouse can stay home. Now families will be getting the monthly child care credit. Many who had second jobs paid off bills and don’t need a second job to live.

Some businesses are shutting down on Sundays already due to lack of employees. Maybe it is time our elected officials bring back the blue laws that required businesses to be closed on Sundays. The GOP talks family values; they should put their vote where their mouth is. When we had blue laws, families spent Sundays together and in church, and relaxed and visited relatives. Now it is a rush to Walmart and haircuts and anywhere else that is open.

Businesses need to change. Workers simply don’t want to be corporate slaves for low wages and no benefits with their children living in day care. Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sundays and manages to turn a profit.

We don’t need businesses to be open on Sundays; it just became convenient for us. Workers don’t want to be there Sundays and holidays. If businesses started treating workers better and let them be involved in their families’ needs, perhaps they would have workers.

Carol Badgley, Hempfield

Investigation needed into county pension fund

I find Westmoreland County’s plan to borrow $140 million for the county pension fund irritating and unprofessional (“Westmoreland will borrow $140 million to keep pension fund solvent.”) This plan must be canceled and a detailed audit of the fund conducted.

Having to borrow $140 million on a fund valued at $500 million demonstrates a 28% error at least or a possible criminal activity (embezzlement) at worst. Either way, I believe the manager of the fund must be incompetent and should be fired immediately.

The easy way out for the county commissioners is to borrow funds in the short term; the professional action would be to assess if the retirement benefits exceed the amount paid by past and present county employees in pension dues. Let’s conduct a review to ascertain the need for reducing pension benefits and increasing pension contributions.

Something smells in Denmark, and a review of the books is more than in order.

I will await the county commissioners’ reply to my proposal. I urge them to accept my recommendations and thereby act in the best interests of the taxpayers. Be professional and truly represent the many individuals who elected you.

Philip Pfeil, Greensburg