Letters to the Editor | Jan. 16, 2024

Philadelphia resoundingly elected Cherelle L. Parker mayor in an election that was all about the overwhelming desire for leaders who would tackle crime. The duly elected members of the state legislature just passed a bipartisan bill providing for the appointment of a special prosecutor for crimes committed around SEPTA property. The aim of the bill is to curb what has officially been dubbed a public safety emergency by the aforementioned tough-on-crime mayor. Delaware Valley native and wildly popular governor, Josh Shapiro (who won Philadelphia with over 85% of the vote), signed the bill into law.

Now, District Attorney Larry Krasner — whose inaction on crime necessitated the bill — is bewilderingly criticizing it as an antidemocratic “erasure of votes” by people out of touch with Philadelphians. Given the undeniable threat that big money donors pose to democracy, I’d say the irony of Krasner calling this particular bill that curbs his power undemocratic is almost as rich as the multibillionaire with no apparent ties to Philadelphia who spent an ungodly seven figures on getting the DA elected.

Danny Buckwalter, Philadelphia, danny.f.buckwalter@gmail.com

The ongoing saga of the proposed 76ers arena is as ironic as it is predictable. The irony stems from the archaic tradition of “councilmanic prerogative,” that unwritten gem that allows Philadelphia City Council members to rule their districts like fiefdoms by having final say on proposed development. Usually regarded as a coveted perk, this tradition has created a paradox for Councilmember Mark Squilla. The proposed site is in his district, and many of his constituents, particularly Chinatown and Washington Square West residents, are overwhelmingly opposed. But Squilla, no stranger to Philly politics, knows this deal is a fait accompli. New Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, indebted in no small way to the building trades for her victory, will staunchly support the project. Meanwhile, dubiously using the outcome of an ongoing impact study to delay his all but certain approval, Squilla will need all the savvy he can muster to spin this ruse and placate those residents’ sense of betrayal. Let’s see if groundbreaking coincides with the next election cycle.

J. Savage, Philadelphia

I grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. My father was a dairy farmer. As a child, my parents would take the family to the Pennsylvania Farm Show almost yearly. A recent Inquirer story called a 1,000-pound butter sculpture there “a paean to the hard work of the people who power the industry that feeds us.” Well, what about the cows who suffered to produce that butter? A calf, like the one depicted in the sculpture, would have most likely been taken away and separated from its mother soon after birth to be raised separately to produce milk. If the calf was male, it would most likely have been sold for slaughter for meat or raised as a veal calf.

After separation, the mother cow grieves. I remember trying to sleep at home on the farm and listening to cows continuously mooing in the pasture behind our home, crying and walking nonstop in a desperate search for their stolen calf, their voices becoming hoarse. Approximately 38 years ago, after learning of the suffering of cows in the production of milk, I became a vegan. Our agricultural land-grant universities, of which Pennsylvania State University is one, teach animal science, which largely promotes the meat, dairy, fish, and egg industries. Our agricultural land-grant universities need to teach veganism and animal rights instead. Let’s put an end to the suffering of millions of animals and to the environmental degradation these industries cause.

David Sauder, president, Animal Rights Activists of New Jersey Inc., Voorhees, dsauder3@comcast.net

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