Are airport delays reason for budget compromise?
The federal budget impasse has been ongoing for over 40 days. Now, suddenly, serious bipartisan efforts are underway to resolve it.
Could this be because it’s finally affecting our lawmakers since they too must contend with congested airports and flight delays in flying back and forth to their districts?
Tom Jacob
Whitehall Township
Dems’ turn to socialism should worry voters
My wife and I retired to the Lehigh Valley from Florida about 11 years ago because of its beauty and great people. We both follow politics because of the impact it makes on our everyday lives. The great thing about elections in the United States is they are never permanent and, if mistakes are made, there will always be another election to correct those mistakes.
I call on all of my neighbors and friends in Pennsylvania to remember what a horrible election we had Nov. 4. Start talking to your neighbors and remind them of the horrible things that have happened to countries that embraced socialism. It is very apparent to me that the Democratic Party is and has embraced socialists and socialism. If our great country slips into the socialism abyss, we will all suffer. Countries like Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea are great examples of failed socialist countries.
I implore everyone to come out against the Democrats and their failed socialist ideals in all future elections. Remember socialism is handouts. Our great country is so great because of our hand-up philosophy.
John P. Reilly
North Whitehall Township
Republican cuts sell out veterans, military families
I’m an Air Force veteran. I was stationed in West Germany at the height of the Cold War as an aircraft armored systems specialist, working on fighters and bombers.
I joined the military because serving our nation is a family tradition and I wanted to serve my country. The greatest nation in the world that, at one time, looked after its people.
My daughter has Down syndrome. Without Medicaid, we wouldn’t have been able to afford her special doctor’s appointments that have helped her live a life she deserves.
Veterans and military families have sacrificed so much for this country. And what do they get in return? SNAP cuts, Medicaid cuts and a government shutdown.
Ryan Mackenzie has sold out veterans. He needs to stand up for the Americans who fought to protect this nation and the American Dream, not be an accomplice in its demise.
Mark Roth
Upper Nazareth Township
Unfair, dangerous to not pay air traffic controllers
The decision not to pay air traffic controllers has me baffled. Why would you not pay the people in charge of the traffic in the sky? You want them worried, stressed out and not sleeping due to stress over income? It’s a matter of time before a serious accident happens. So some call in sick to protest, leaving passengers stranded and airlines cancelling flights. Talk about stupid. The government created this chaos. It’s shameful what they’re doing to these professionals and all the travelers dependent upon them.
Karen Kelly
Allentown
Trump administration’s priorities hard to understand
I find it really hard to understand why President Trump and the GOP would let the government shut down over the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, while the wealthy and corporations got a tax break, totaling hundreds of billions of dollars. The fossil fuel companies continue to get billions in subsidies, even though their profits are huge. Trump wants to give Argentina $20 billion to boost its economy, but nothing to help lower income American people afford health care. Our defense budget is nearly a trillion dollars and can’t pass an audit; nobody knows where all the money goes. Remember President Eisenhower’s warning about the Military’s Industrial Complex. Eisenhower said the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. I fear we have lost our government to the greedy, self-centered, billionaires. Let us remember Jesus’ marching orders:
Take care of the poor and sick. Welcome the stranger. Be kind to those in prison.
Gary Schuster
Milford Township
Pray Trump has a plan after Democratic victories
The people have supposedly spoken in the November elections. New York City elected its first democratic socialist mayor with his promises of free stuff and taxes of the “rich” to pay for it. Lehigh and Northampton counties voted for Democratic Party candidates to continue or lead anew all of those policies already in place. But why and will they be great? That remains to be seen.
No sour grapes, trust me, but I’m worried for all of us (yes, all of us), especially those who still think everything is Donald Trump’s fault and that these folks know better how to fix it. I pray President Trump has a plan that will troubleshoot all of this. A man who didn’t need to do any of this to save a country and its people is doing so in spite of adversity, personal loss and even false accusations. Sounds familiar to me, almost like I’ve heard it before.
Mary E. Wozniak
East Allen Township
Complaints about president from the left are childish
I’m fully aware we in the Lehigh Valley are dominated by left-leaning thinking. The letters to the editor affirm this on a regular basis. What soaks my britches is the constant complaining about our president. If he were a Democrat, he would be praised for his accomplishments. The whining and complaining on the part of the Democratic members of Congress, culminating in shutting down the government, confirms their childlike behavior.
Tom Bennett
Bethlehem
The Morning Call publishes letters from readers online and in print several times a week. Submit a letter to the editor at letters@mcall.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author(s), and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.
