Commentary only shared 1 perspective on race
In a Nov. 2 Commentary, Carl P. Leubsdorf commented about President Trump’s reversal of racial policies under President Biden. Why not put two perspectives on this? Why not put in how Biden stated he was only going to appoint a Black woman for the Supreme Court. That was discriminatory toward all men and any woman who was not Black! Why not show how policies under Biden were to hire based on color for many positions?
Kathleen Vinglas
Lehman Township, Monroe County
Life seems even more unfair than usual lately
No matter who you vote for, I hope we can all agree on these things. It doesn’t seem right that kids in Chicago can’t even enjoy one night of going out trick-or-treating on Halloween for fear of ICE raids. It doesn’t seem right that the president posts pictures of a bathroom renovation at the White House (not to mention the big demolition for the fancy new ballroom that will benefit none of us) while so many hardworking Americans are struggling with high grocery prices and housing costs, and health care premiums set to go up. It doesn’t seem fair that Congress gets paid while so many federal workers don’t during the shutdown, and while some families fear going hungry as SNAP benefits are up in the air. Of course life isn’t always fair, but it seems even more uneven lately. I’m reminded of the historical quote “they made a desert and called it peace”; right now, this doesn’t feel peaceful to me. Let’s hope for better, more logical, days ahead.
Owen Klicker
Lower Macungie Township
Spending priorities are misplaced
During the ongoing government shutdown, the Trump administration claims there is no money to pay air traffic controllers, TSA agents, National Park Service employees, nor thousands of other government employees. Until this week, President Trump claimed there was no money to pay military personnel either. And only because of a court order has he grudgingly agreed to pay hungry Americans half of the SNAP benefits that they’re entitled to. Yet Trump has had no problem finding $20 billion to bail out a failing government in Argentina, $300 million to demolish the East Wing of the White House, or to continue spending over $1 million per trip to his private golf courses, which he’s done dozens of times this year. Are these really our new national spending priorities?
Howard Amols
Allentown
Big Brother is watching, thanks to Flock cameras
Imagine being tracked when you make a turn to go to a doctor’s office in Laurys Station or when you go to church in Lehighton. This is happening right now. You can find Flock cameras at different locations taking pictures of your license plate as you drive by, keeping your information in a central database for their customers to see without a warrant, maybe more since some credentials were breached, per TechCrunch. No plate? No problem! These cameras will take note of any bumper stickers or dents on your car. You don’t drive? Flock’s gunshot detection microphones can now reportedly detect human voices.
Flock cites a study that claims 10% of crimes were solved with its cameras. They don’t tell you that study was done by two employees, per 404Media. I value my privacy and my Fourth Amendment rights more than what two employees say. I just ask that anyone who has a problem with these cameras check out the privacy violations before you become the next person to be falsely accused of a crime, like a woman last month in Denver who was told that she can’t take a breath of fresh air without the sheriff knowing.
Rebecca Reichert
Whitehall Township
Open enrollment criticism was right on the money
Neal K. Shah’s commentary Nov. 5 on “open enrollment is health care’s most expensive lie” was right on the money. It’s nothing more than a system in which insurers pay brokers a commission to sign people up for advantage plans. The bottom line is the insurance companies get rich and when a person needs health care all they get from the insurance companies is service denials. It’s all a scam!
Matthew Matsinko
Moore Township
Republicans are leading a government mess
In major contests across the United States on Nov. 4, Democrats prevailed by huge margins. People see with their own eyes what is happening on one hand vs the other. Families cannot afford groceries, health care or rent. But President Trump claims prices haven’t risen because he promised to lower them “on Day 1” and hasn’t. He cannot lie his way out of this reality.
Tables are bare, but we’ve paid an estimated $98 million for 70 golf trips in 290 days — 24% of his days in office, according to didtrumpgolftoday.com/.
Families suffer on the cusp of the holidays, food pantries run dry, but Trump throws a lavish “Great Gatsby” Halloween Party in an ostentatious display of tone deafness.
The president refuses to fully fund SNAP during his administration’s government shutdown, even though congressionally appropriated contingency funds exist. And we mourn an East Wing destroyed for a billionaire-financed ballroom in what smacks of pay-for-play government for rich people.
Plus, Speaker Johnson has kept House members home since September, refusing to swear in duly elected Rep. Adelita Grivalja, denying her constituency representation, possibly to delay a vote on releasing the Epstein files being pressed by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Our government is a mess, and Republicans are leading it.
Claudia H. Allen
Emmaus
Donald Trump to US: Let them eat cake
Without much warning to the American public, President Trump sent bulldozers to demolish the East Wing of the White House for a larger ballroom. As this travesty plays out, another is about to happen, as people relying on SNAP and Affordable Care Act benefits may lose them.
Loss of these benefits will harm some of the very people who voted for Trump. I hope they realize it and vote for change in 2026.
Meanwhile, building the big ballroom while Americans are suffering evokes Marie Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake.” Where is the cake, when food banks are running short and SNAP benefits expire?
Martha Fox
South Whitehall Township
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.
