In his State of the Union speech, President Biden promised to fight inflation. One of the biggest contributors to inflation is rising energy costs. The cost of gas, heating oil, electricity, etc., affects every aspect of our society. The price of food, consumer goods, transporting products and just about everything rises accordingly.

The first things Biden did was to cancel plans for the Keystone XL pipeline to cross into the United States, rescind gas and oil leases and prohibit further exploration and development of these resources on American soil. We were energy dependent just a short time ago. Gas was around $2 a gallon. Now we are once again dependent on foreign sources of energy, countries that could care less about the American people or the plight of the U.S. We are enriching many who hate us.

If Biden is serious about lowering inflation, he should give American companies the freedom to provide the American people access to the ocean of energy under our feet. This can be done in an efficient, environmentally safe way. Open the gas and oil leases. Restart the Keystone XL pipeline construction.

The U.S. should be energy independent not only to benefit the economy but also as a matter of national security.

Will Biden do this to benefit the American people?

Robert Anderson, Freeport

Banning books not best for children

Parents should not be trying to have books banned. They should want their children to know more, achieve more and experience more than they did. How do we reach those goals by isolating our children from life?

To make good decisions, young people should be armed with all the facts, not bits and pieces. Sexually explicit books or books with racist titles? Parents, you are kidding yourselves if you think your high-schooler hasn’t participated in some level of sexual activity or been exposed to racism. Do you really think if a book is taken off the shelf that students won’t find it somewhere else? Surely, as adults, we can’t be that naive.

One of the mistakes parents make is underestimating their children’s ability to think and decide for themselves. You have now brought attention to these books and piqued the curiosity of all. Personally, I applaud the attention being paid to award-winning writings. We all should be reading more.

Those parents who want to take us back to 1933 Germany and make controversial books go away, I think your efforts will backfire.

Joann Seabol, Hempfield

Peacemakers will restore order

Donald Trump is running for president in 2024. He kicked off his campaign in Russia seeking support from Putin such as he received in 2016 and 2020. When Putin attacked Ukraine, Trump called Putin a “genius” and said he made a great “savvy” decision.

Putin, like Trump, loves to hear sycophants’ praise, so he will probably try to get Trump elected again. I’m sure Trump can depend on Russian political/military helpers’ assistance in cyber attacks on American election processes and procedures, helping him steal an election and placing himself in power.

Trump and Putin exchanged important messages during their secretive, whispered talks, early in Trump’s presidency, after which records of their visits were destroyed. What did Trump gain? He and Putin are “friends”? I believe Putin, a skilled intelligence operative, learned that Trump was a weakling, a pushover for “friendship.” Republican Sen. Mitt Romney called Trump’s recent behavior concerning the Putin attack on Ukraine “almost treasonous.” Perhaps more Republicans will begin to see Trump for who he really is.

Joe Biden and professional American diplomats organized a strong resistance to Putin through the United Nations, NATO, the EU and economic sanctions against Russian terrorists. They have generated worldwide public opinion in support of Ukraine and provided humanitarian aid and military supplies to the beleaguered victims. Firm, committed peacemakers, using all their options, will restore order and peace.

Rodger Henderson, Johnstown

Traditional holiday names are not offensive

Thank you, Greensburg Salem School Board member for speaking the truth regarding traditional holiday names on school calendars (“Greensburg Salem’s use of traditional school holiday names draws dissent”): “Our society is turning everything into a gray area.”

And just to correct former school board member Lynna Thomas, traditional names such as Christmas, Easter and Columbus Day have been around forever, and I have yet to meet anyone offended by them.

Hannelore Miller, Hempfield

Biden’s year of bad decisions

President Biden stopped construction on the Mexico border wall the day after he became president. Fentanyl deaths have increased, and nearly doubled in the past two years for people ages 18-45. Drugs, covid, criminals — everything is coming over our borders now.

In the spring of 2021, Biden passed the $2 trillion rescue plan. Economists said that flooding the economy with too much money will cause inflation. Looks like they were right.

In April 2021, Biden restored funding to the Palestinians that had been cut off by the previous administration. A month later, the Palestinians fired a barrage of rockets into Israel. Gee, I wonder what they spent the money on.

Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disaster. He removed the soldiers first, which got people killed, and he left billions of dollars worth of military equipment in Afghanistan, paid for by American taxpayers.

He implemented environmental policies such as canceling oil and gas drilling permits in Alaska, Texas and other states. It has lowered our domestic production of oil and gas, thereby increasing what we pay at the pump.

Biden waived sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 oil pipeline. Opponents said it would give Putin too much power over Germany and Europe because the Kremlin will control such a substantial oil supply. Apparently, they were right. To top it all off, Biden was importing oil from Russia.

It’s hard to believe that one person could make so many bad decisions in one year. When Biden became president, if he would have done nothing at all, we would be better off.

Susan Stiles, North Huntingdon

Biden’s role in energy issues

Clarifying some information on President Biden, energy and the Keystone XL pipeline that was included in recent letters:

There is a renewed push to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline as if it would solve all energy issues. This pipeline already takes Canada tar sands crude to refineries in Oklahoma. The XL expansion, if built, will go through critical water supply areas for farmers and native Americans who oppose it, then connect and continue to Texas refineries. From there, the refined oil can be exported. The pipeline was not intended to carry oil for U.S. consumption. It won’t help U.S. exports; it is Canadian tar sands oil.

On the other hand, the U.S. produces more crude oil than Saudi Arabia, and we are the seventh largest exporter of oil.

We are already the second largest exporter of natural gas, including Pennsylvania gas that was supposed to help reduce our bills.

Oil companies are reporting record profits, and CEOs are getting large bonuses while we pay higher prices at the pump. I don’t see how Biden fits in this picture.

Vickie Oles, Ligonier Township

Ukrainians should stay course, not surrender

Perhaps we should all be glad that letter-writer Bruce Reisner (“Non- intervention may be best for peace”) is not being considered for any serious positions involving defensive strategy. At least, let’s hope not.

His advice to the defiant and courageous Ukrainians battling to stave off an unprovoked Russian invasion is that “it’s possible the best hope for peace is a fast surrender to the admittedly brutal Russians.” Let me get this straight, Bruce: If I happen to decide that I want to assault your family and kick you out of your own house, you will capitulate without much resistance in order to avoid an unpleasant, uninvited struggle?

While waiting for you to rethink that position, I will encourage the Ukrainians to instead stay the course in their incredibly brave, intractable pushback with Churchill in mind, who, in consideration of the possible defeat and demise of Britain in World War II, rallied the nation by stating, “If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each one of us lies, choking in his own blood upon the ground.”

Bill McMaster, Delmont

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