Apathy won the DA race
We now live in two Philadelphias.
If you analyze the vote in the Krasner-Vega race, Krasner won big throughout Philadelphia — but the NE wards voted 70 percent or more for Vega. In fact, Vega got 84 percent of the Ward 66 vote.
Only in Bridesburg and one part of South Philly were the numbers similar.
Sadly, if NE Philly had turned out in big numbers, Vega would have won. Instead, apathy won the election.
One can wonder what Krasner’s team thinks of NE Philly and what implications this has for DA policies, the prisons and policing. It can’t be good.
We now have only one voice in City Council. Very few agency or department heads are NE residents. This is pitiful for an area with one-third of the city’s population.
Our community groups need to grow and start networking. Otherwise we will remain a tax “cash cow” for the city – and a future as hamburger.
Richard Iaconelli
Rhawnhurst
Al, there’s more of us
Al Ulus, there is no conspiracy. All you need to know is that Joe Biden won by 7,052,770 votes. No matter what, there is no way possible that much voter fraud could possibly get by officials. It’s time for the 74 million-plus to understand that 81 million-plus is much more. A landslide. We, the 81 million-plus, could not stand another four years of your hero, so we voted him out. Period. No conspiracy, there are just more of us than you.
Dave Chester
Bustleton
No unity, no peace
So far, Biden has gone pen-happy by signing yet another pointless executive order, this time an anti-Asian hate crime bill. Why is Biden repeating something that is already in law?
According to our federal criminal civil rights laws, federal law prohibits hate crimes based on race, color or national origin, so it’s already understood that all groups, Asians, blacks as well as anti-Semitism are covered and enforced by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Biden in his inauguration speech urged unity and peace in our nation, but yet, there’s still animosity toward the Trump voters and supporters. And to this day, Trump and MAGA supporters are still hounded as a hated group by the left.
So don’t do us any favors, Mr. Biden, by signing false pretenses on behalf of your unity and peace.
Al Ulus
Somerton
Rising prices
Sure, people are opening their wallets. They have to because most products are at list price plus a 10% increase. A 2×4 that was $2 last year is $12 this year. If you can find one. Cars are going for list price-plus. Sale items in the supermarket are few and far between. Gas is $3.10 a gallon. A dollar more than last year. Joe’s green plan is going to force a gallon of gas to $5.00. Thankfully, savings accounts went up last year because of the stimulus checks. If you had to use the stimulus money to survive last year, you will be behind the eight ball financially this year. It’s getting worse with the supply chain and it’s going to affect jobs in the coming months. New home building is coming to end because it is costing $30,000 more to build the identical home from last year. So I would say that people are opening their wallets and pocketbooks. Because they have to to survive. Just think, we have 3½ years to go.
Richard Donofry
East Torresdale
Blank Cardboard Joe
I’d like to validate and praise Al Ulus’ foresight in his August 2020 letter to the editor, Cardboard Joe, of the things to come if Joe Biden is elected president and it certainly is coming to a head.
We are seeing a border crisis even though Biden is denying the claim.
And we are having an energy crisis, not a climate crisis, with the shutdown of the pipeline, after Biden eliminated the Keystone pipeline project.
It’s ridiculous to think that Biden wants to bring jobs to Pittsburgh by building wind turbines to power the United States when we have millions of homes, businesses and automobile drivers that rely on fossil fuels to heat our homes, power our cars and supply jet fuel for our airline industry.
So as backup, why not restart the Keystone pipeline and give back the lost jobs instead of building useless windmills.
Biden sure does look like a blank cardboard at the podium providing the American people with no constructive solutions.
Judy Smith
Summerdale
Confused
Confused when President Biden said in his budget message, “Our prosperity comes from the people who get up every day, work hard, raise their family, pay their taxes, serve their nation and volunteer in their community.” But the $6 trillion budget (that is $6,000,000,000,000) benefits the people who don’t get up every day, don’t work, have the government pay for services for their family, and don’t pay taxes.
Confused when governments are giving away millions of dollars (lotteries/scholarships and other incentives, etc.) to persons who are not vaccinated to get them vaccinated, but shouldn’t the governments give that money to the people who are already vaccinated to make the people who are not vaccinated get vaccinated.
Confused when three persons from Hong Kong were sentenced for their pro-democracy stance against China and I did not hear any statements from the NBA, ESPN or any of their affiliates or high-paid representatives.
Confused when basketball player George Hill can state black Americans have to stop killing one another first before being able to ask someone else to stop killing them. If a non-person of color made that statement, he/she would be branded xenophobic.
Joe Nadolski
Academy Gardens
Wolf wrong on education
Like a lot of parents across America, I watched as state governments and public school monopolies failed our children when schools were closed during the COVID lockdown. For years, states like Pennsylvania told anyone who could listen that they could do online learning better and cheaper than charter schools.
But when that moment came, Pennsylvania districts, like so many others, weren’t ready at all. Cyber charter schools were. In fact, they offered to help and partner with public school districts. Districts declined. Their students suffered.
Gov. Wolf likes to go on “Schools That Teach Tours” in Pennsylvania, yet he’s never visited a charter school. How does he reward these schools that actually kept teaching during the pandemic? By trying to ram through something he calls “charter school reform,” which is really a poorly disguised “charter school closure” plan.
As a national organization of parents who value the ability to choose the schools that are best for our children, Gov. Wolf is just the latest in a long line of Democratic governors who feast on teacher union contributions and then work to close the competition.
In doing so, Gov. Wolf wants to cut a lifeline to families who are trying to escape failing school districts.
Letrisha Weber
National Coalition of Public School Options
