Biden the only choice
Many of our fellow Americans have become radicalized by Trump’s fantasies of persecution. They believe in fantasies like the “Biden crime family” or that somehow, all of the court cases following Trump are directed by Biden. Somehow, the prosecutors, the evidence, the juries and the judges have all been controlled in all circumstances in order to persecute Trump. Somehow, the election was stolen from Trump and his followers.
But here’s the thing. Joe Biden won the election in 2020. There is no Biden crime family. There are no court cases directed by Biden. The Americans who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 are domestic terrorists, not hostages. The attack on the Capitol was carried out by Trump supporters, not the FBI. House Republicans have no evidence for the impeachment of Biden. But Trump followers have lost touch with basic reality, they believe in sweeping conspiracies, and they have become so radicalized that the threat of political violence has been largely normalized for them. Just read a recent response to one of my opinions here, in which Tom Anderson endorsed Trump’s weaponization of U.S. federal law enforcement. This belief is a path to the normalization of political violence. Filled with the poison of anger, contempt, resentment and aggrievement over fantasies of their political persecution, the MAGA cannibals have arrived at the conclusion that nothing will impede them – even if it means violence against their fellow citizens.
Both Democrat and Republican judges and prosecutors, state and local officials, senators and members of the House, both Biden and Haley are all being threatened with violence. One common thread binds these people together; each of them did something to hold Trump accountable for his actions or opposed him politically. Threats and acts of political violence are never acceptable. Nevertheless, many of these Trump radicals are ready to follow him off a cliff. They embody a bullying, mob mentality where violence has become normal, justified and acceptable, even as the rest of us know that violence is far from any of those things. That baby can go out with the bathwater.
One of my neighbors is a poll worker. He’s a Republican. He’s an honest, stand-up guy. I trust him. If anyone threatened him just for doing his job on Election Day, that person would need to be held lawfully accountable for their actions. We do not threaten violence to achieve political goals and we do not accept it from our fellow Americans. We are America. We rise above that.
I don’t think Mr. Anderson meant to threaten me personally with political violence. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt in that regard, but he does openly endorse the weaponization of law enforcement by Trump, which is the path to normalizing political violence. Yet unlike Trump, Biden has never committed any threat or act of political violence, and that’s why he is the only candidate befitting of the presidency.
Michael A. Podgorski
Fox Chase
Boulevard subway a waste of money
To the gentleman from Jenkintown who wrote about favoring the Boulevard subway, have you really traveled that stretch of highway that’s 12 miles long?
And you even mention that you don’t even drive, so how is it that you favor a project that you never experienced first-hand driving on that highway?
First of all, if you are not familiar with the highway, let me sketch out the 12-mile highway for you.
From Erie Ave. to Neshaminy, there are 3 underpasses that this “subway” will supposedly be tunneled through: one at Bridge Street at Oxford Ave., the second is at Cottman Avenue and the third at Nazareth Hospital.
And finally, before it reaches Neshaminy Mall, the Boulevard overpasses Street Road in Feasterville, and finally the biggest obstacle before reaching Neshaminy will be crossing over the six-lane Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Now explain to me how this is possible to tunnel a subway?
I don’t think so.
I think getting people to sign Mr. Jenkintown’s petition for this delusional scheme is in itself a delusional concept.
Also, what’s more delusional is that an overwhelming number of people favored the notion of a subway over a monorail or an elevated train, according to state Rep. Jared Solomon. So my question is, “How deep are you going down to build this tunnel and how wide to accommodate 2 trains traveling 12 miles under the Boulevard?”
Talk about Mr. Driscoll repairing the sinkhole on I-95 was a piece of cake, wait till he has 12 miles of it.
Furthermore, Mr. Jenkintown thinks there will be less homeless on the streets.
They’ll all be off the streets all right and camping underground on the platforms, protected from the elements.
And if you believe that this “underground subway tunnel” is to be built under Roosevelt Boulevard, expect a whole lot of blasting, because that’s what’s going to take to clear 12 miles of earth, not jack-hammering.
If it took 50 years for roadwork to be completed on I-95, I won’t be surprised if it takes 50 years for this subway to be completed, something I won’t see in my lifetime.
I think the money can best be used if the city spends it on repaving our crummy streets.
Al Ulus
Somerton
