Sounding off: Money's worth on the turnpike

The Turnpike Commission is laughing itself all the way to the bank!

The diversion of E-ZPass and Toll by Plate has allowed the commission to drastically increase tolls while keeping the public ignorant of those increases. Turnpike usage is geared toward the commuter and not the occasional user who must pay much more. The impact on seniors and fixed- income folks is significant. Consider:

Tolls are based on about $10 per hour of driving, which is not fair to poor people.

The cost of the E-ZPass program itself is extremely expensive and prohibitive for people who do not regularly use the turnpike.

Toll by Plate is essentially E-ZPass but costs significantly more.

We no longer know what the tolls are since we don’t get tickets.

They talk of the savings of E-ZPass over ticket prices, but since tickets are no longer used, any mention of savings has no basis.

So why not get something for your money:

• Offer senior and low-income discounts

• Increase speed limit to 80 mph (70 mph was the limit in 1940s when the turnpike was opened)

• Make tickets half price and half the points.

• Provide good food. (Ohio did this decades ago — it was impressive.)

Thomas Hoosac, Jeannette

On covid, where’s common decency?

A recent front-page photo showed a youth at a school mask protest holding a poster that read “Communism spreads faster than covid.” What does that even mean?

More than 685,000 Americans have died from covid. Thousands of new patients are dying each day. Nearly 42 million have contracted the disease.

Where are the 40-million-plus communists? I have never so much as seen one. And why would any student skip class to tell the world something so dumb?

In the Sept. 10 edition, there was a photo of a Kiski area woman holding a sign that declared, “Your health is not my responsibility.” In Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and the Jewish faith, yes, Mom, it certainly is.

Here I always thought I had an unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now the anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers are apparently telling you that if they pass covid on to you and you later drown in your own blood, they expect you to blame the communists instead.

Whatever happened to common decency? Concern for your fellow Americans, compassion, duty, fellowship and humility contributing to the national good?

These anti-maskers have descended on local school boards like lynch mobs. Even students have been manhandled while their masks are ripped right off. Teachers have been punched. School officials have been threatened with death.

These pathetic complainers describe themselves as patriots. Really? These anti-Christian, anti-American values jokers are too selfish and amoral and none too bright to ever feel ashamed.

Jim Harger, New Kensington

Ignoring history on Afghanistan

Dear Eileen Condie (“How can anyone praise Afghanistan withdrawal?”) and all other letter-writers who contribute to the Trib Opinion page: I find it hard to believe that you all ignore the proven history that has brought this country to where we are today — finally ending what was started with the Bush/Cheney WMD lies. Just as Robert McNamara lied to LBJ to continue the escalation of the Vietnam mess.

Please open your eyes and learn the history before you write. Your opinion may be a bit more palatable.

Leonard Mucci, Derry Township

The 7 stages of covid

I would like to educate Monica Green, who spoke at the Sept. 21 Greater Latrobe School Board meeting (“Solicitor advises Greater Latrobe School Board to honor mask mandate as protests continue”). According to the article, Green said she believes exposure to the covid-19 virus is the best option for her during the pandemic.

The seven stages of covid:

• Debilitating symptoms bring the patient to the ER. It is hard to breathe.

• The patient is moved to the ICU, because of declining oxygen levels.

• A bulky mask is Velcroed to the patient’s face to administer oxygen.

• The patient is intubated and put on a ventilator.

• Conditions are not improving. The patient needs an ECMO machine. Not all hospitals have such a machine.

• The patient’s kidneys fail to filter the byproducts of the various drugs. Dialysis is administered. Infections and blood clots occur. The patient’s heart stops. CPR is performed.

• Covid complications are insurmountable. Heartfelt goodbyes are said. The patient dies.

Green stated, “I need to be affected by the virus, I need to be exposed to it, or I’m never going to be safe.”

Now you have been exposed to the seven stages of covid. Hopefully it has affected your viewpoint. You might want to wear a mask for your health; also, future comments can not be heard or repeated.

Kristin A. Shrump-Bugay, North Huntingdon

Audit’s goal is to maintain election integrity

I want to reply to the mischaracterization in the letter “GOP should focus on important issues, not jeopardize voters.” The point of the audit is not to overturn the election, but to evaluate areas of potential problems related to who is eligible to vote.

I personally witnessed evidence of voter fraud a few years ago. Furthermore, the data that needs to be evaluated is already public record. All that needs to be done is to sort it and compare it to other public records for things such as dead voters, non-resident voters, voters casting more than one vote, a person voting under a different person’s name, etc.

Surely verifying compliance with the law is of the highest importance in maintaining accuracy and integrity of the results of every election.

Tom Portante, O’Hara

GOP’s invasion of privacy is dangerous

The citizens of Pennsylvania are entitled to have their private records kept private. What the Senate GOP is asking for, they have no right to without our giving permission (“Pa. Senate GOP moves to collect private voter information in controversial review of 2020 election.” )

To give such data to an outside firm endangers every citizen in the state. To use our money to do this is criminal. What makes any senator think this firm would not sell this data? Granted a lot of our personal data is out there, but not this free bonanza.

This needs to be stopped right now. President Biden won and there was no fraud. This is the USA, not Nazi Germany.

Mary Ann Mogus, Greensburg

Covid is coming over the border

President Biden has been in the news daily putting pressure on us citizens to get vaccinated. I am vaccinated and am not against the vaccine. What upsets me about his comments is that he wants to put the reason for upswing in covid on people who are not vaccinated.

I believe Biden is partly responsible by allowing the border situation to get so out of control. His administration has allowed thousands of immigrants to be placed on buses, planes, etc. and sent into our communities since January. What kind of a leader allows this to happen in the middle of a pandemic?

His administration has admitted they do not have “number” on how many are now here. Shame on Biden. The border was under control under President Trump, and yes, people were being admitted to start the process for citizenship.

Biden’s irresponsible action is what put all of us at more risk for covid, not just unvaccinated people.

Dorothy Shock, Springdale