Time to bring back the draft
I am angered every time I hear the news about how kids in our city’s neighborhoods and, for that matter, in all our American cities are being shot and killed by kids themselves.
These are teens and have nothing better to occupy themselves. And when they are bored, they turn to crime.
Along with spending our resources for Kenney’s pre-K plans, why not allot some of these funds for job opportunities for these kids to go out and clean our city blocks of the much-accumulated trash. This way, they are occupied and learn the value of earning an income.
Furthermore, our lawmakers should bring back the draft. When these teens do turn 18 years of age, and have no plans of going to college, instead of sitting idle, sucking up our welfare checks, turning to crime and drugs, they are automatically enlisted into the armed forces. Here, they will be getting a well-deserved discipline that will build character and, at the same time, the country can use the manpower to fight homegrown terrorism.
We already have a crisis protecting our country against terrorism, and as our military is spread vastly throughout the world, the draft will make it possible to protect our own borders here.
If building the Great American Border Wall is not feasible, then at least we have soldiers here protecting our borders, not overseas.
America spends trillions of taxpayer money on military armament. Some of that money can be used to supply the security of American borders with newly acquired recruits from our young adults.
Have we forgotten our sacred preamble to our Constitution, as it states to provide for the common defense to ensure domestic tranquility?
So, let’s get idleness off the streets and have it work for our country and for the protection of our citizens and utilize our Army to protect our country against terror attacks.
Al Ulus
Somerton
Hillary’s ads need to stop
Donald Trump has said what is considered outrageous statements during this campaign season.
His opponent Hillary Clinton believes that what he said should not be heard or seen by our children. Then why is she running so many commercials repeating what Trump has said?
Mayer Krain
Modena Park
Stop Council double-dippers
I’m disappointed at the entire School Reform Commission, Parking Authority, Port Authority and city and state governments. The SRC must be abolished and be replaced by elected members. Agencies, such as the Parking Authority and Port Authority, where patronage runs rampant, must be re-configured.
Applicants for positions for said agencies should pass a Civil Service test for all jobs, going forward. I call on all elected officials in Philadelphia to suspend a second-paying job. City Council comes to mind. Members make, on average, $135,000 per year. While law does not prohibit them from working at a second job, it should.
My angst is directed to all members who collect a salary from practicing law or working for a labor union. Taxpayers in Philly are fed up.
Philadelphia has the highest number of residents in the entire country who live in poverty. Twenty-six percent. I envision ways and means to fix this mess. I see ways of fixing the school district’s woes.
If our dedicated public school teachers do not get compensated soon and very soon, we will see a mass exodus of our educators leaving the city. Departures have already begun.
I end my “War and Peace” post by saying what you already know. Philadelphia is one of the most corrupt cities in the United States. Where are you, Fiorello La Guardia? We need you.
John Fritz
Parkwood
Ban dismemberment abortions
The Pennsylvania legislature has an opportunity to safeguard the rights of our most vulnerable citizens by enacting legislation to ban dismemberment abortions. These horrific abortions, which are usually performed in the second trimester of pregnancy, tear a baby limb by limb from the mother’s womb. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has stated, “No one would dispute that, for many, (dismemberment) is a procedure itself laden with the power to devalue human life.”
A recent statewide poll shows that 61 percent of Pennsylvanians support a ban on dismemberment abortions. Among women, the support is even higher — 64 percent. At a time when surgery on babies in the womb has become increasingly common, it is critically important for the General Assembly to ban a practice that we should all agree is a flagrant human rights violation and unworthy of a commonwealth as great as Pennsylvania.
Maria Gallagher
Legislative Director, PA Pro-Life Federation
Murt helping mental illness
I am writing to thank Rep. Thomas Murt for a recent program he hosted regarding mental illness. I drove from my home in Lancaster County to Hatboro to participate in the program, which featured experts in the field of mental health who spoke about where to find help for a loved one who is struggling with a mental illness. The program even included two police officers who spoke to us about how they respond to calls involving someone with a mental illness.
The objective of Rep. Murt’s program was to assist families who care for a loved one with a mental illness. My wife and I care for a family member who is struggling with mental illness, so the topic was quite relevant to our family and to everyone who attended.
I wish to thank Thomas Murt for organizing and hosting this excellent program. This program was very effective in helping those of us who are caregivers of someone with a mental illness. Rep. Murt’s program actually offered hope to those who attended, and gave us specific names and places to turn for help.
I have researched thoroughly and found that Rep. Thomas Murt is Pennsylvania’s champion for families who care for a loved one suffering from a mental illness. I have also found out that he is the commonwealth leader in this area and has done a great deal in supporting families like my own who care for a loved one who has a mental illness. Thank you to Rep. Murt for his leadership and I encourage other elected officials to follow his lead and become more involved in this mission.
Mike Moyer
Manheim
Dogs smarter than voters
So the mayor and certain members of City Council were able to shove the beverage tax down the throats of the citizens of Philadelphia through back-room deals.
In his editorial letter, Philadelphia, Stop Voting for Democrats, Hezakiah Levinson says we have over 60 years of Democrats running the city because idiots push a button for them like well-trained dogs.
I disagree with him on just one thing: I believe even dogs would have more common sense not to put the same people in charge with 62 years of progressive decline in the city.
If anyone is still naive enough to believe the beverage tax was about providing universal pre-K to supposedly give kids an early jump-start in life, here are some facts; and I invite anyone to research it for themselves.
The Department of Education, after 50 years, has concluded that they have hardly any research confirming Head Start’s effectiveness. In his 2010 article, Is Head Start Working For American Students? these were the findings by Grover J. Russ Whitehurst, a senior fellow in The Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution and former director of the Institute of Education Sciences within the U.S. Dept. of Education:
“The study demonstrated that children’s attendance in Head Start has no demonstrable impact on their academic, socio-emotional, or health status at the end of first grade. That’s right. If you were a mother who lost the lottery, couldn’t get your child into Head Start, and had to care for her at home, she was no worse off at the end of first grade than she would have been had she gotten into Head Start.”
The Department of Health and Human Services also reported in 2010, “Head Start has little to no effect on cognitive, social-emotional, health or parenting outcomes of participating children.”
Mr. Levinson was right that it would be a taxpayer-funded babysitting service. But it goes one step further. It enables the irresponsible behavior of people who can’t even take care of themselves by telling them they can have as many kids as they want because taxpayers will have them covered.
And since our mayor has declared Philadelphia an illegal sanctuary city; it tells illegal immigrants they, too, can have as many children as biology will allow because legal working taxpayers will have them covered with free pre-K starting at age 3 and whatever other benefits they would need before then.
In this way, one party will be able to maintain and grow its base by cultivating a city of people who will be ever so dependent on them and vote them in year after year. So, congratulations mayor and those on City Council who pushed this idiotic tax through.
You’ve managed to fool people and possibly cost the city more jobs, including union jobs, create more of a financial burden for businesses and the citizens of Philadelphia and will ultimately cause more people to leave the city, further eroding the tax base that you’ll have to fix by encouraging more people to come here who will be on the public dole and raising taxes on the businesses and working people who remain here.
And all for something that you know has proven to be ineffective but will ensure the same party ruining the city for over 60 years will stay in power. Way to go.
Peter DiGiuseppe
Rhawnhurst
Pennsylvania needs McGinty
This election year is more important than ever, especially in Pennsylvania, a battleground state. In jeopardy are the rights of minorities (in this country, people of color and those who identify as LGBTQ), the rights of women, the rights of people to safely practice the religion of their choosing, and the welfare of the low-income and middle-income families.
Working people know that the path to prosperity starts with electing candidates like Katie McGinty, who support a raising wages agenda. We have the opportunity to win equal pay, paid leave, fair scheduling and higher wages.
We are also on the verge of beating back bad trade deals like the TPP that harm our communities. That is why Katie McGinty is the right choice for Pennsylvania.
In Pennsylvania, we have been hard hit by the economic downturn. Katie McGinty has put forth an agenda that aligns with the working people’s agenda. She has a plan to bring home good-paying jobs by supporting policies that incentivize companies to keep jobs in the commonwealth.
Voting is a right, and it’s a central part of our democracy. This year, with so much at stake, it is critical that we get out to vote and elect Katie McGinty who stands with working families and will not let us down.
Kevin Gallen
Morrisville
White right about sanctuary
I am very happy that state Rep. Martina White represents Philadelphia. She works very hard for our citizens, and it is wrong for Mayor Kenney to harshly criticize her for doing the right thing by ending the sanctuary city.
The people of Northeast Philadelphia get very little from him. We have filthy streets and abandoned cars. When Mayor Street was mayor, we had our streets cleaned every week by the mechanical broom.
Unless you live in certain areas, you get nothing but more taxes.
Tom Cole
Morrell Park
Election is lesser of two evils
In the Oct. 12 edition of the Northeast Times, an opinion letter stated that, “Bill Clinton is the same president who passed legislation taxing Social Security for the first time…” I do not believe in naming and shaming a person rather than simply disagreeing with their position, as is so often done, so I will not name the writer. Legislation is passed by the legislative branch of government and not the executive branch.
I recall paying taxes on Social Security income before Clinton was elected president in 1992. I did what others have accused me of not doing. I looked it up on the internet going to several impartial sites and found that it was in 1981 that Ronald Reagan proposed taxing Social Security and in 1983 when Congress enacted a law to do so. I may add that the Senate had 53 Republicans and 46 Democrats at that time. People are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts. Check it out yourself.
So much is at stake on Nov. 8. Once again we are bombarded with accusations, distortions and lies by the presidential candidates. A simple visit to any independent fact check site could verify the truth. Then we should discuss the issues in a civil manner and if neither side can convince the other, let us agree to disagree rather than act like pit bulls in a ring or resort to name calling. So sadly, here we are once again having to choose between the lesser of two evils.
Let’s hope that we can choose wisely, based on the issues, rather than the rhetoric. Hopefully, our citizens can ignore the fog and hot air, educate ourselves wisely and vote for the person who will be better for us as individuals and for our families as well as for our country.
Mel Flitter
Somerton
