Letters to the Editor category, Page 319
Letter to the editor: Trump shirks, deflects, takes credit
Trump sought to take credit for the coronavirus relief package passed by Congress by, in an unprecedented move, having his name put on IRS checks issued to the public as part of that bill. Here’s a modest proposal that makes more sense: Trump’s name should appear on death certificates of...
Letter to the editor: Ending surprise medical bills important now
In these days of the covid-19 pandemic, there is one easy, positive action our state legislators can take right now to help: They can vote to pass House Bill 1862, which would end the practice of surprise medical billing. One in three Pennsylvanians has received surprise medical bills. This occurs...
Letter to the editor: We must hold racists accountable
Distractions are easily accessible. During the ongoing protests, it’s convenient to hide in our distractions and wait for things to pass. Some even shift focus away from protests’ purpose. People don’t protest for a political agenda. They protest for a far more important agenda: for the lives of black people...
Letter to the editor: Greensburg Salem should cut administration
The Trib reported in at least two articles (“Proposed Greensburg Salem budget cuts staff instead of raising taxes,” May 27, TribLIVE; “Divided Greensburg Salem School Board rejects proposed budget,” May 20, TribLIVE) the Greensburg Salem School Board has drafted a 2020-21 budget that specifies eliminating some teacher and librarian positions,...
Letter to the editor: Now that we’ve gone ‘green,’ it’s up to us
Our government has told us precisely how to protect ourselves and our families from the likelihood of falling victim to the coronavirus. For our safety, leaders are instructing the various types of businesses precisely how they must operate to stay open. So now that we are “green,” continued control over...
Letter to the editor: On decency, George Will should look in mirror
George Will has been a Trump basher and hater from the day President Trump announced his candidacy. However, even given his disdain for the president, his rant June 4 exceeded all boundaries of decency and fairness. The only place I have seen such a spewing of insulting hatred is on...
Letter to the editor: Would you jump for Trump?
During his Senate testimony, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned of serious negative health consequences as several governors remove safety restrictions without meeting White House-approved CDC guidelines. President Trump deemed Fauci’s warning “unacceptable.” If Sir Isaac Newton, with his ideas about gravity, warned you jumping off a cliff would likely lead to...
Letter to the editor: Treatment of seniors during pandemic shameful
We should be ashamed of ourselves for how we have treated dying patients and nursing home residents during the pandemic. There is no excuse for it. There is no reason nursing homes can’t have visitors rooms where people can make appointments to visit their loved ones. Isolation precautions can be...
Letter to the editor: Words from 1968 Kerner report ring true today
Many readers of the Trib are old enough to remember the Kerner report of 1968. This was the finding of a special commission appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to determine the reasons for the 1967 race riots in Detroit, Newark and other cities, and other riots going back to 1964,...
Letter to the editor: Divisiveness belongs to Democrats
Letter-writer Jim Hillebrecht (“We can’t take 4 more years of divisiveness”) is correct that every four years half of the country will be understandably upset by the results of a presidential election. And the election of Donald Trump was different because of the division and hatred. He’s wrong, however, to...
Letter to the editor: Voting, bearing arms in a free country
Every legal U.S. citizen should vote. Remember, elections are not beauty or personality contests. You are voting for the kind of country you will live in. I believe in the right to bear arms. I’m too old to defend myself and too slow to run away. My guns are my...
Letter to the editor: Actions can offset world’s hate
I’m watching the news about all of these protest marchers around the country, and I assume these people believe they are doing something important. I doubt they are. But it’s not too late. If anyone would really like to offset the hate in our world, here’s how you do it:...
Letter to the editor: Surprise medical bills unhealthy
The feel of a financial shakedown should not come from our medical providers, but that’s the effect of a surprise medical bill. A surprise medical bill is a financial burden that occurs when some part of our medical care is deemed out-of- network, which many times happens during emergency care. Surprise...
Letter to the editor: Why tax hike in West Leechburg?
As revealed in the article “Leechburg Area considers $15.3M budget with tax increase for West Leechburg residents” (May 18, TribLIVE), the Leechburg Area School Board has found yet another way to raise taxes on the residents of West Leechburg. They are, as usual, blaming the obscure State Tax Equalization Board...
Letter to the editor: Answers to important questions
Thought experiments such as the one Lori Falce references in her column “Trolleys, Star Trek and a pandemic” (May 21, TribLIVE) are very common in studies of ethics. Their purpose is to test and refine the intuitions and principles we use in ethical decision making by applying them to difficult...
Letter to the editor: Use positive actions to bring about change
OK, Pittsburghers, you’ve done it again. You use violent, unlawful protests to protest unlawful behavior that didn’t even happen in your city. What have you proven, what good have you done? Nothing and none, yet you have caused damage and unreasonable cost to your city. What was the looting supposed...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s reality-TV photo op
President Trump’s final comment at his June 1 Rose Garden address was “Thank you very much. And now I’m going to pay my respects to a very, very special place. Thank you very much.” A few minutes later, he was at the base of the steps of St. John’s Episcopal...
Letter to the editor: Pandemic shows need for smaller government
It has become clear to me that Gov. Tom Wolf intends to keep our economy hobbled with undue restrictions on private business for as long as possible, or until after the election, whichever is sooner. Was it “science based and data driven” when his administration directed vulnerable nursing homes to...
Letter to the editor: Recalling pope’s wise words on freedom
In light of the recent birth centenary of Pope St. John Paul II, and given the amount of public misbehavior of late in the land of the free — disrespecting the lives, livelihoods and well-being of others by way of violent rioting and looting, and/or simply flouting mask and social...
Letter to the editor: Other countries need our help
In times like these, it is hard to think about much else other than the ways that covid-19 continues to change our daily lives. Our normal has become watching our families and friends lose their jobs, our favorite restaurants and small businesses shutting down for good, and having to wear...
Letter to the editor: Coronavirus and common sense
Let’s apply some common sense to Pennsylvania, people. Sooner or later, death is a fact of life. There are about 13 million people in Pennsylvania. If 74,000 may have the covid-19 virus, that leaves 12,926,000 Pennsylvanians without. Did they deserve to lose their jobs? Lose their businesses? Go on unemployment...
Letter to the editor: Life is short, take precautions
With over 107,000 deaths in this country from the coronavirus, thought should be given to the late 18th-century writer Xavier de Maistre and his autobiographical novel “A Nocturnal Expedition Around My Room”: “So — I will die one day? I will die? I — the person speaking, the person able...
Letter to the editor: We need a moral compass
Over the last couple days I’ve been reflecting, talking with family, going down the proverbial internet rabbit hole to find a morsel of wisdom to cure an aching psyche as a result of George Floyd’s life being taken from him. I failed to find the antidote. The one answer I...
Letter to the editor: War on virus is hijacking our liberty
The covid-19 threat is much more than just a viral pandemic. It’s the hijacking of normalcy for nefarious purposes. It’s a dark occult ritual taking place in plain view in the light of day. It’s a monstrous criminal consolidation of wealth and power. It’s version 2.0 of hijackers with box...
Letter to the editor: Donations of human milk for infants needed
There is ongoing concern about the decline in donations of human milk in the Pittsburgh area due to the coronavirus. Being a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse, I see firsthand how important these donations are to our fragile babies. Mothers of these babies have difficulty producing the milk they...
