Democrats need a new direction
I am very confused. Will the DNC continue to walk away from rural America, thus our district, or will it open its eyes and look in the mirror? My bet is that nothing will change, and we will continue to lose elections by larger and larger numbers in our county and congressional district.
Why do the leaders of unions support our party, but the rank-and-file members don’t? Why do white men like me get called privileged white males when we disagree? Are we hated? Would explain a lot. Tough to win if you hate those you are trying to represent.
I am calling for a change in direction. We must get back to working for the voters. Listen to them instead of pushing the national agenda. Work for them, not party leaders. They are tired of being told “the economy is great, you just don’t understand that it’s great,” basically calling them stupid. They want us to listen to them and work for them.
Get out of your bubble and listen to the people. Stop believing getting two more votes per polling location is the goal and win elections in our county and district again.
Sorry, but this privileged white male had to vent. Have a great holiday season with all your family members. Don’t talk politics. Talk about family and be thankful we live in America.
Ken Bach
Smithton
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Nippon key to US Steel’s future
After reading the ad in the Dec. 8 paper promoting the U.S. Steel-Nippon merger, I wanted to share an outside opinion, as I have no stock and never worked for USS. I did work for the Elliott Co. in Jeannette, which was bought by Japanese-owned Ebara Corp. in 2000, so I have experience as an employee of a Japanese-owned company. Ebara provided stability to Elliott Co.
In 1970, the U.S. Steel building was opened as a beacon in Pittsburgh, proclaiming its greatness as the premier steel maker in the world,. U.S. Steel was a major employer. Fast-forward to today: U.S. Steel has fallen to around 15th as a steel producer. Three steel facilities remain in Pittsburgh. The U.S. Steel building was sold to UPMC.
U.S. Steel is a shadow of its former greatness. Most of the blame for its decline can be laid at the feet of its management. It is no longer a beacon of greatness. Perhaps a merger with a stronger company (Nippon is fifth) can help it remain relevant and competitive.
I teach business at a local university and study Japanese culture. I have my students write a term paper on Toyota. Japanese businesses have five principles with respect to people: lifetime employment for permanent positions, employees as assets, company unions, bonuses and maintaining level payrolls when business conditions decline.
Nippon Steel is making promises that they most likely will keep. I think the future of U.S. Steel could be tied to Nippon Steel.
John Russo
North Huntingdon
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Ranked choice voting gives all voters a say
In the Bob Casey-Dave McCormick Senate race, no candidate received the majority of votes.
McCormick won with 48.8% of the vote, narrowly edging out Casey’s 48.6%. Meanwhile, 200,000 voters — 2.6% of the total — backed third-party candidates and didn’t have a say between the two front-runners.
Some states hold runoff elections to ensure winners secure over 50%, allowing voters to choose directly between the top two candidates. But runoffs are costly and time-consuming and suffer from low turnout. There’s a better option: ranked choice voting.
With ranked choice voting, third-party voters could rank their favorite candidate first while still having their vote count for a front-runner if their top choice had no chance to win. It works like an automatic runoff, producing a majority winner instantly — no extra elections or extended campaigning required.
If Pennsylvania had ranked choice voting, those 200,000 voters could have supported third parties without forfeiting their voice in the final outcome. We can’t know if their opinions would have changed the result, but one thing is certain: Their voices should have been heard.
It’s time to adopt this commonsense reform and ensure every voter has a say.
Armin Samii
Lawrenceville
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Banning social media? The children will survive.
Regarding the editorial “Is a social media ban here possible?” (Dec. 3, TribLive): I’m old enough to remember when the same thing was said about pool and comic books. I survived. So will today’s children. Of course, this is different. Isn’t it always?
Bob Peirce
Venetia
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Reauthorizing PEPFAR to fight HIV/AIDS will save lives
Our fight to end HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest success stories, and that’s in large part due to an American program you might have never heard of before. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was established by President George Bush in 2003 to stem the scourge of HIV/AIDS, especially in places where an HIV diagnosis has a low survival rate. Twenty years later, PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives, including 5.5 million children who were born HIV-free. More than half of all the people living with HIV receive lifesaving treatment through PEPFAR programs.
The numbers that cement PEPFAR’s legacy as one of the most successful government programs in history are a powerful justification for its continued existence. Perhaps more powerful is the threat to progress — to human life — that would be created by PEPFAR’s absence. According to one study, AIDS-related deaths could multiply by more than 400% by 2030 without PEPFAR. The number of children orphaned by AIDS could double.
This is not the future I want, so I’m asking my member of Congress, Rep. Chris Deluzio, to support a clean, five-year reauthorization of PEPFAR so this critically important program can continue to save lives and move us closer to a day where everyone, everywhere is safe from the threat of HIV/AIDS.
Jordan Hinds
McKees Rocks
The writer is a PA District 17 ONE Campaign volunteer.
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Move on from election results
I just looked at some of the Trib’s letters to the editor. It’s been a long while. It was as if I turned on the TV. Look, there’s nothing any of us can do when our candidate wins or loses. Just accept it. Move on. Whether you like what’s going to happen or not, get over it. Why lose sleep? Why raise your blood pressure? Why get in arguments?
My candidates have won some elections. I’ve had others lose. I wait till their four-year term is up and vote again for the best candidate in my opinion. Nothing you say or do is going to change anything. Move on.
Dave Surma
Lower Burrell
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Life has worth, and it’s worth protecting
Leading up to the election, the pro-choice candidates never wasted an opportunity to remind us that their opponents are against legal abortion. While most of the political ads on television focused on the terrible case of rape, which accounts for less than 2% of abortions, none of the ads mentioned the reason why people work to end abortion. I would think that the vast majority of pro-life advocates would agree that a woman is free to choose what she does with her body, as long as she does not hurt anyone else.
A new human being with unique human DNA is formed at the moment of fertilization. Nascent cardiac tissue begins to produce a heartbeat five weeks later. At eight weeks, arms and legs with fingers and toes are present. At 12 weeks, the unborn child is actively moving in the womb, kicking, twisting and sucking her thumb. It cannot be denied that this is a human life. The question is, does this tiny human life have worth? Pro-life advocates think that this life does have worth, and that it is a life worth protecting.
If you or someone you know is pregnant and needs help, call or text Option Line at 800-712-4357 or go to optionline.org.
John Lewandowski
Castle Shannon
2024-12-14 09:00:00
