Sounding off: Writers lobby for picks as election nears
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Honor with Harris, dishonor with Trump
If your forebears emigrated from any country in Central Europe on NATO’s front line against Putin’s Russia, honor your forebears who came here for liberty, the good word of the U.S. and Ukraine’s fight for freedom by electing Kamala Harris president. Donald Trump says Putin “can do whatever the hell he wants,” because he’s afraid of him, so won’t support Ukraine with arms. Yet Trump is also willing to consider using the U.S. military against U.S. citizens. Don’t trust me. Listen to him. The choice at home and in Europe is liberty, democracy and honor with Harris, or dictatorship, tyranny and dishonor with Trump.
Stanley J. Kabala
Indiana Township
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Trump and Harris, action and inaction
Actions speak louder than words. Inaction speaks, also. When elected president, Donald Trump took actions to implement campaign promises. He accomplished most. Democrats predict dangerous and evil actions if he is reelected. As president, he took no such actions and won’t this time, either.
In contrast, Kamala Harris promises many wonderful things. However, in the four years of the Harris/Biden administration, little action was taken. Why would we expect this extension to be different?
Harris radically changed her position on several major issues in her run for office. She cannot or will not explain reasons for the shift. She claims that her values haven’t changed, but, to me, she does not define her values. I guess integrity, loyalty and honesty must not be in her value set.
Her promises are extravagant. Even the rich don’t have enough money to pay for proposed giveaways and wasteful programs. The country will pay in the form of taxes or inflation. By the way, the top 5% of earners already are paying about 60% of the income tax. The lowest earners pay none.
There seems to be little real analysis, just random giveaways. Real knowledge and in-depth analysis are absent. All we get is laughs, hand waves and word salads.
Bruce Argall
Greensburg
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Why Trump is against immigrants
Why does Donald Trump say he will gather immigrants into camps and deport them? He must mean illegal immigrants, because 75% of U.S. immigrants are legal. But even those illegal immigrants still do the things that most immigrants do: They work, pay taxes and add to the strength of our economy. They don’t compete with native-born high school or college graduates because they fill open jobs that employers cannot fill. They fill jobs at lower levels and higher levels. Immigrants account for over a third of the workers with a PhD or MD. Some immigrant populations have as many as 70% of their children who finish a four-year college degree. They add to our economy.
I see three reasons:
1. He thinks these immigrants are going to be mostly Democrats when they get their citizenship. Not true if you look at Texas and Florida.
2. He stands for the rule of law. Not believable because Trump forced Republicans to withdraw support for the recent bipartisan immigration reform bill which would have done much to improve legal immigration.
3. He has unacknowledged racism. He hates to see the browning of the United States, because this wave of immigration is mostly from Central/South America and Asia.
The most likely reason for Trump and the Republicans’ animus toward immigrants is a combination of all three.
I’m voting for Kamala Harris/Tim Walz. They will let new citizens join the political party of their choice, they will pass the immigration reform bill and they are not racist.
Mary Beth Diehl
Murrysville
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Don’t base vote on half-truths
Beware of the half-truth. You may have gotten hold of the wrong half. (Author unknown)
As we approach one of the most crucial elections of a lifetime, anxieties seem to be kicking into high gear. We have been subjected to various opinions of what Christians are or are not; what type of birds flock together, etc. Needless to say, we all know the adage about assuming. The common denominator mimics Democratic talking points.
If the only news you consume is that of MSNBC, CNN or one of the major news outlets, then I think it would be accurate to say that all you hear is that of Trump derangement and the dehumanization and demonization of a political opponent. It makes one wonder why you would not want another viewpoint.
As a voter, my first concern for our nation is financial stability and national security.
According to Consumer Affairs, Pennsylvania saw the highest grocery inflation rate of any state in 2023, at an 8.2% increase year-over-year.
As a Pennsylvanian, I am concerned for our oil/gas industry in light of Vice President Kamala Harris’ call for an end to fracking.
Crime, murder and fentanyl drug overdoses are off the chart. In July 2024, two ISIS-related individuals were apprehended in Philadelphia, a sanctuary city. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently stated released that more than 400,000 crime convicted illegal migrants convicted of crimes are now free in the United States.
The vote you cast should be based on common sense, not gender, race or hate.
Elections have consequences!
Romayne K. Levcik
Greensburg
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Trump too dangerous to be in White House
On Dec. 4, 2022, Donald Trump posted this on Trump Social: “Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution … .” Trump also said he would be a dictator “only for the first day” and said he would lock up political opponents.
I am not a conservative, but even if I was, I could never vote for him because he said these things. A man who wants to terminate our Constitution and our rights that men died for should be nowhere near the White House.
Brendan Wissinger
Forest Hills
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Be proud to show support for Trump
Donald Trump has been much maligned by biased liberals and their willing allies, the judicial courts and left-leaning press. Meanwhile, President Biden and Vice President Harris seem to have been shielded from negative stories by the same groups. So Trump appears power-hungry and corrupt. That is not true.
Many conservatives will gladly vote for Trump in November. I am proud to be a Republican.
However, some Republicans are hesitant to publicly display their love for Trump. Recently, I was at a festival in Butler County, which is Trump country. I wore a Trump ball cap. Many people commented favorably on it. I didn’t see any other Trump hats or shirts. Those items should be proudly worn at many places, not just Trump political rallies.
Proudly show your support for a great president and a good, decent man.
Kathleen Bollinger
Fawn
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Don’t make a hypocritical vote
I can believe both candidates are correct in saying the future of our country is at stake. The future of our country is our children and grandchildren, and they are watching who we are supporting.
If your candidate’s messaging and lifestyle is in direct contradiction to how you raise your children, you might want to pause and consider how your child looks at this.
If you teach your child to not lie and cheat, treat people with respect, not be a braggart, not falsely accuse people of made-up stories for their own personal ends, take responsibility for their actions, respect our flag and our military … and then plaster your yard with signs supporting an adjudged felon, a proven liar, a bearer of false witness, a person who makes menacing threats, a mendacious and meandering bully who privately denigrates our troops, I would say you are sending a mixed message to your children.
As a parent, I can tell you that an average 10-year-old is a lot more sophisticated, and a lot less naive, than you think. Voting for someone who is the antithesis of how you want your children to be is hypocritical.
I am old enough to have voted as an 18-year-old in the 1972 presidential election of Richard Nixon, in which he won in a landslide. Yet, within two years, after Watergate, and proof of Nixon’s lying to the American people, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to admit they voted for him.
Thomas Nacey Jr.
Delmont