Sounding off: Democrat leaders are losers

Democrats apparently have a difficult time dealing with failure. They simply could not accept Donald Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Subsequently, under the dismal leadership of Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and with cheerleading from Rep. Adam Schiff and other mouthpieces from the party, they pressed for a special prosecutor to investigate Russian collusion in the election, presumably with the target of removing Trump from the presidency.

The special prosecutor and his cadre of skilled and highly trained attorneys found no evidence of collusion. Schumer, Pelosi, Schiff, et al., like spoiled children, are unwilling to accept that outcome. Undeterred, the Democrats now want to investigate other areas related to Trump’s activities.

The bottom line from this sordid experience is that the investigation followed, as far as I know, the procedures prescribed by law and by the Constitution. The Democrats lost at each step.

Normal decency would be to accept the results and move on. Not so with Schumer, Pelosi, Schiff and the Democratic “leaders” who apparently never learned how to lose. That, in my opinion, makes them losers in every sense of the word.

Wayne Baughman, Salem

Mueller report raises more questions

Some important questions need to be asked now that no collusion between President Trump and the Russians was found.

We should ask, then demand, that any media outlets that claimed Trump was in collusion with the Russians be made to retract those stories. Their internet sites should clearly say that they cannot be trusted.

We should also ask, then demand, that tax dollars going to any media outlets be halted immediately until a full investigation is conducted to determine if they were part of any plan, directly or indirectly, to overthrow our president, sway elections or incite civil unrest.

But what we really need to ask is this. The liberals are conducting a campaign of resistance to and delegitimizing of our president. They have claimed Trump is an illegitimate president and demanded his removal, and are willing to do so by any means necessary. They used that mantra to collect donations and take control of the House of Representatives. So, following the liberals’ own rules for being legitimate, shouldn’t we ask and then demand that they return their donations and resign? They got elected through illegitimate means, didn’t they?

We also need to ask what went on with the so-called intelligence community. I think they all got caught with their pants down and were not doing their jobs. Don’t they all need investigated?

Michael Kardell, Murrysville

Do your research & think critically

There’s a clear problem with discourse in America. It’s caused by politicians, news anchors, late-night talk show hosts, trolls and anyone trying to push an agenda. It comes from a person’s want or need to always be right, and some people will go pretty far to prove their point regardless of its validity.

Letter-writer George A. West (“Ignoring facts,”) accused people, one by name, of being sheep who are unable to think for themselves. The problem isn’t that he publicly mocked people for their beliefs, because that’s freedom of speech.

The problem is that, with the statement “Scientists worldwide have proven how the ice shelves, both arctic and Antarctic, have shrunken, both in size and depth,” he interpreted information in his own way to make his points. A 2015 NASA study showed that the Antarctic ice sheets grew by an average of 100 billion tons per year between 1992 and 2008; NASA itself noted that those findings conflict with over a decade of other measurements.

West stated that “more drugs come through legitimate checkpoints.” According to Customs and Border Protection statistics, during 2018, there were 432,000 pounds of drugs seized at legal ports of entry while 476,000 pounds were seized between ports of entry.

And therein lies our problem. Both sides truly believe they are right, but we all know that’s impossible. Please do your own research. Listen to multiple people who disagree with you and each other. Scrutinize the facts and use critical thinking to formulate an educated opinion. This is your country, and its future depends on it.

Branden Lowanse, West Newton

Wolf should think about spending less

Gov. Tom Wolf continues his attack on the gas industry with his never-ending effort to institute a tax on the producers. This, like any other tax, is not a tax on the producers, but we the taxpayers. We will be the ones who ultimately pay the bill, not the producers.

Wolf is happy to support gambling, marijuana and anything else that can “make a buck for the state.” The one thing that never seems to occur to him and most of our elected officials is what most of us responsible for balancing our families’ budgets know: There are two ways to balance a budget: earn more or spend less. Why is spending less never a consideration for our representatives?

Kenneth R. Nath, Saltsburg

Be a responsible pedestrian

Distracted driving (texting, cellphone calls, drinking, etc.) is certainly a problem for pedestrians, as the latest death toll statistics indicate. However, pedestrians are a significant part of the problem.

When you walk or run along the road, you are required to face oncoming traffic as far to the left as possible. You should not use headphones, be intoxicated or wear dark clothes at night. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But the vast majority of pedestrians I see are walking or running on the wrong side of the road. So instead of being able to react to a distracted driver coming their way, they are clueless as to the weaving idiot texting in his/her car behind them.

When you walk on the road with traffic, the only eyes on you — or not — are the drivers behind you. When you walk facing oncoming traffic, you, in most circumstances, are now responsible for yourself.You can see that you need to get out of the way.

So teach your children the correct way to be a responsible pedestrian. When someone dies in a car wreck, it is usually reported whether they were wearing a seat belt or not. When a motorcyclist is killed on the road, it is usually reported whether they were wearing a helmet or not. As a public service, when a pedestrian is killed on the road, it should be reported whether they were on the correct side of the road or not. Education and public awareness should help alleviate this problem.

Dave Samuel, Hempfield

Health care nightmares

I recently awoke from a nightmare in which I had come home late on a cold winter’s night to find my grandmother sitting on my front porch with a blanket wrapped around her and a note from the hospital which she had been admitted to only hours before. The note stated that Grandma was sent home by the insurance company because it did not agree with the doctor’s orders, and that it was not going to pay the hospital bill. And oh, by the way, please pay the ambulance bill of $250 for bringing her home.

My dream was probably caused by the trials and tribulations an elderly friend had to endure recently when her husband passed away, and by the memory of the “gifts” of small animals left on our front porch when I was young and living on a farm. People always assumed kittens and puppies were welcome.

My friend’s horror story troubles me because I am now elderly myself, at almost 73, and a disabled Vietnam veteran. I fought for our country and for a health care system that should have been guaranteed not only for the rich and powerful, but for all of my fellow Americans.

Please contact your congressmen and senators and help get our health care system fixed. The insurance companies are already too rich. If you have pride in or concern for our country, it’s time you start fighting to help save it.

Terry E. Swindell, New Alexandria

Facts on drugs

Letter-writer George A. West (“Ignoring facts,”) stated that most opioids are manufactured in the United States. While many legal prescription drugs are manufactured here, most illicit fentanyl — a major cause of fatal overdoses in the United States — is produced in China and transported through Mexico.

Most of the world’s heroin is produced in Afghanistan, but most of the heroin coming into the U.S. is from poppy farms in Mexico.

These are facts given to us by our government and by investigative journalists. We have a problem in this country, and there seems to be one side that wants to continue not doing everything and anything to stop it.

Bryan Uncapher, Mount Pleasant