Letters to the Editor category, Page 277
Letter to the editor: Schools taking care of employees
This letter is in response to Michael Sierk’s letter criticizing local schools for moving to online learning during an out-of-control pandemic (“Closing schools is not containing spread,” Jan. 1, TribLIVE). Mr. Sierk, I am an itinerant teacher in schools all over Westmoreland County. Our custodians, cafeteria workers, secretarial staff, classroom...
Letter to the editor: Thornburgh an example for all politicians
Many years ago, I started a second career in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm K&L Gates. One of the first people who wandered into my office to welcome me to the firm was Dick Thornburgh. I had gone to college in Pennsylvania and knew people who worked...
Letter to the editor: Keep following the covid-19 rules
The year 2020 was a year of daunting challenge. Covid-19 created significant negative impacts on all aspects of life. We’ve all been touched in one way or another by this virus. We’ve mourned the loss of friends and family, we’ve lost income, we’ve lost touch with those we love. 2020...
Sounding off: We don’t have freedom to harm others
I weep with all the health care workers, families and caregivers who, on top of dealing with covid-19, must listen to the hate spewed forth in the name of “personal freedoms.” Yes, it is hate. It is total disregard for the lives of others. It is like you are driving...
Letter to the editor: Police actions during DC chaos
How come the police were not told to stand down like they were at some of the Black Lives Matter riots? Was it because the politicians were in danger, not private citizens’ businesses? Clem Zahrobsky Delmont...
Letter to the editor: Reschenthaler and Joyce are patriots
I felt compelled to respond to letters from Scott Huber claiming the presidential election was the “most secure election in modern history” (“Will Joyce and Reschenthaler need pardons?”) and Edward Svitek that Biden won “fairly and squarely” (“Does Trump love America?”) when the facts and statistics say otherwise. Joe Biden...
Letter to the editor: Lying to Congress is a crime
Sen. Ted Cruz proposed a congressional inquiry to determine the legitimacy of the 2020 election (and it failed, on Jan. 6). The idea was fine with me — but note that the line between freedom of speech and slander, defamation and sedition is not a fine one. If you’re lying...
Letter to the editor: Has Trump committed treason?
Our current president spoke a few days ago in Georgia. His harangue was, to me, reminiscent of a Hitler speech. I believe he mobilized the Proud Boys and other white nationalist terrorists to invade the Capitol in an attempted coup and as such has committed treason. Like all other Benedict...
Letter to the editor: We must protect children from toxic lead
We still have work to do to eliminate the threat of toxic lead in the lives of young children. The covid-19 virus has taken precedence over our health concerns, rightly so, but lead paint dust and lead in our drinking water still loom in the environment of our children and...
Letter to the editor: We don’t get to pick and choose laws we obey
In her letter “Business owners standing up to Gov. Tom Wolf are patriots,” Shelia Hanson claims restaurant owners who defied Gov. Tom Wolf’s order suspending indoor dining are “patriots.” She bases this on the assertion that the orders are unconstitutional. First, some real patriots, our Founding Fathers, put a court...
Letter to the editor: Confused by voting procedures
Voting this year for our president has been very confusing. I received a mail-in ballot that I did not request. I wanted to vote in person. At my polling place, I gave the poll worker my driver’s license and voter registration card, and I was told to sign the registration...
Letter to the editor: Register for organ donation on PA Donor Day
On Jan. 8, Pennsylvania will host its second annual PA Donor Day, a chance to galvanize our friends and neighbors to rally behind the nearly 7,000 Pennsylvanians who are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Why Jan. 8? Because one registered donor has the power to save 8 lives. My...
Letter to the editor: Biden will be called illegitimate, too
President-elect Joe Biden reaches out and asks for unity within government parties while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Washington Post writer and others suggested creating blacklists so supporters of President Trump are identified and prevented from “profiting” from their actions in support of the Trump administration. To me, that means preventing...
Letter to the editor: AG Shapiro should investigate election fraud allegations
Josh Shapiro, as the attorney general of Pennsylvania, has the power, authority and responsibility to shut down this whole voter fraud allegation. As per the Pennsylvania Election Code, Act of June 3, 1937, P.L. 1333, No. 320, Section 1642, on enforcement: (a) The Attorney General shall have prosecutorial jurisdiction over...
Letter to the editor: Nurses as valuable as doctors
Regarding Dr. Jacob Appel’s op-ed “Why call anyone ‘Dr.’?” (Dec. 29, TribLIVE): As a professor who calls her students by their first names and asks them to reciprocate, I agree that professional titles should be eschewed. But why does Appel find it “distressing” that female doctors are sometimes mistaken for...
Letter to the editor: We should each act according to tolerance of unknown
Various governors, officials and network anchors pontificated that we should not have met for the holidays in family groups larger than 10 or two family units, and that we certainly should have avoided eating with strangers. Let’s examine the logic behind these pronouncements. Say you have N family members living...
Letter to the editor: McConnell should be investigated
So they are investigating Hunter Biden. The one they should be investigating is Sen. Mitch McConnell. When he took office in 1985, he was worth $3 million. Last year, he was worth over $34 million, not a bad return on a salary of $193,000. He is married to Secretary of...
Letter to the editor: Export festival a success despite pandemic
The Tribune-Review’s “Best of the Best” awards listed Fort Ligonier Days as Westmoreland County’s best “Festival/Fair” category winner, followed by the Delmont Apple ’n Arts Festival and the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival as finalists. None of these events, however, took place in 2020. The Export Ethnic Food & Music...
Letter to the editor: GOP’s desperate actions
From the time of the Three-fifths Compromise in 1787 to determine federal representation, we have been a nation that increased the political power of a white minority while devaluing the power of minorities of color. The current Republican leadership is now doubling down on their intent to achieve minority rule...
Letter to the editor: Google lawsuit could hurt small businesses
The article “38 states, including Pennsylvania, file anti-trust lawsuit against Google” (Dec. 17, TribLIVE) outlines how elected officials are filing another antitrust lawsuit against Google. It is the job of the government to promote a competitive marketplace, but this lawsuit could have unintended consequences for small businesses. One of the...
Letter to the editor: Mail-in ballot problems
Thank you, Ken Mowl, for your letter regarding the Westmoreland County Election Bureau (“Provisional vote not counted,” Dec. 21, TribLIVE). I and two of my neighbors requested mail-in ballots, and none of us ever received them, though the Election Bureau did find time to enter our requests in its computer...
Letter to the editor: Masks and ‘good citizens’
Delmont Council Vice President Bill Marx’s feigned outrage is pure political grandstanding (“Everyone should follow the rules”). Elected officials define a “good citizen” as someone wearing a mask and a “dangerous citizen” as someone not wearing a mask. Marx’s obtuse argument endangers the health and welfare of himself and the...
Letter to the editor: We don’t have freedom to harm others
I weep with all the health care workers, families and caregivers who, on top of dealing with covid-19, must listen to the hate spewed forth in the name of “personal freedoms.” Yes, it is hate. It is total disregard for the lives of others. It is like you are driving...
Letter to the editor: No law on wearing masks
Regarding Bill Marx’s letter “Everyone should follow the rules” (Dec. 19, TribLIVE): The wearing of masks is not a law. Gov. Tom Wolf and his health secretary cannot make laws. State legislators make the laws. Wearing a mask is up to the individual. If it was a “lawful order” as...
Letter to the editor: Term limits would fix broken system
Here we go again. Our dysfunctional Congress agreed on a covid relief bill for the millions of folks impacted by the pandemic. Both Democrats and Republicans loaded the omnibus spending bill with pork projects, including foreign aid, and then blame each other for wasteful spending. Meanwhile, we the people are...
