What freedom?
July 4 is around the corner. A day people celebrate with fireworks and getting together to honor the flag. A day in which America won its freedom. But have we lost our freedom? Many people are afraid of sitting out on their front step and sending their children to school, due to fear of being shot at. Children as well as adults have died because of bullets flying in the air. Even shopping in stores has become a hazard. Flash mobs have destroyed stores, taking thousands of dollars of goods while customers are in the store. This has caused stores to close or to place enclosures around products. Meanwhile, the customer walks away. Just tried parking your car. Often, people find their car is gone, windows have been broken or parts have been removed. All of this makes you wonder, do we still have our freedom or has our freedom been destroyed?
Marie Patton
Fox Chase
Beware Project 2025
In response to letter writer John Farley’s “Asking for a Vote,” while allotted the majority of the June 19 Opinion page’s column inches to paint Donald Trump as somehow the dispassionate mere “asker” for votes … the underlying reality is something insidious and entirely otherwise.
Mr. Farley characterized the crowd at Trump’s Bronx rally as “50 percent minority,” which, accurate or not, fails glaringly in its implication that Trump’s worthy of such voters, given the overtly stated objectives of a Trump second term, namely, “Project 2025.”
In my opinion, no reasonably intelligent American could possibly view Project 2025 as anything but what it is, authoritarian, frightening and dangerous.
While its policy proposals are sweeping and would affect nearly every facet of American life, its overarching goal is clear: to lay out an authoritarian playbook that would destroy the system of checks and balances our forefathers designed when they sought freedom and popular sovereignty almost 250 years ago. In dissolving the American idea, the plan’s extremist policies would give far-right politicians, judges and corporations more control over Americans’ lives.
This radical policy agenda would concentrate federal power in the presidency, direct all levers of government to dismantle democracy, and pull the rug out from under America’s middle class.
This is no mere “ask for votes,” rather, it’s a “spit-in-in-your-face-and-tell-you-‘it’s-raining’,” wolf in sheep’s clothing outright con.
Don’t take my word for it, as they say, just look it up.
Arthur Gurmankin
Bustleton
Ranked choice for more choice
Seems like many folks in Northeast Philly and beyond are not fond of the two main choices for president of the United States this year. A Pew Research poll reveals that, “About half of voters say that, if given the chance, they would replace both candidates on the ballot.” In fact, Biden and Trump together polled as the most negatively viewed duo since 1988. Meanwhile, per Gallup, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults overall and 75 percent of independent U.S voters have said that the Republican and Democratic parties do “such a poor job representing the American people” that alternative parties are needed.
Organizations like MarchOnHarrisburg see a solution. Ranked choice voting promises to create a pro-voter climate while ensuring a majority winner. RCV has been in use for over 100 years, and Maine and Alaska will use RCV to pick a president in November. In an RCV election, voters have the option to rank their choices in order and if anyone wins 50% of the vote right away, they win. However, if no candidate grabs a majority of the vote, the last-place candidate is out and those votes count for the voter’s second choice.
This process provides more choice to voters, while eliminating the third-party candidate “spoiler effect” and the “lesser of two evils.” Just vote for who you think is best and rank the rest. Let’s work with MarchOnHarrisburg to adopt ranked choice voting in Pennsylvania at https://www.mohpa.org/ranked-choice-voting.
Jayson Massey
Nicetown
Casey has accomplishments
This is an answer to someone who has no idea what they are talking about. You know who you are. Bob Casey has introduced numerous bills in Congress. Too many to list here. He introduced 120 bills in the 118th Congress (2023-2024). He introduced 130 bills in the 117th Congress (2021-2022). That is just in the last four years. Try looking up his record before you submit false statements. That is what Donald Duck does. Tells lies and hope somebody is dumb enough to believe them. Unless you live in the woods you would know that most speeches are read from cue cards. Bob Casey not only has to sharpen his pencil he needs boxes of pencils for all of his accomplishments. Try reading the facts before making statements.
Vince Mosiniak
Torresdale
No lane reduction on Blvd.
While I believe the red light and speed cameras on the Boulevard have helped reduce accidents, I’m not so sure about reducing traffic lanes. I think it will just make driving in the Northeast more inconvenient, which I believe is their plan. People will try to avoid the Boulevard (I do it now), and roads such as Academy and Bustleton Avenue will see traffic increase. People are not suddenly going to stop driving and take public transportation, which seems like what they want us to do. What it will do is put money in the pockets of politicians and unions associated with the project.
I am against the new Boulevard traffic plan as it will just make living in Philadelphia that much less tolerable.
Peter DiGiuseppe
Rhawnhurst
