Letters to the Editor | March 10, 2024

As Trudy Rubin writes in her recent column, Gaza needs humanitarian aid right now. Israel’s attack on Hamas in Gaza has indeed become an act of revenge, the pain of which torments Gaza’s Palestinian citizens. By any just criteria, the time for pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is past. The people of Gaza are paying for the actions of Hamas. More than 30,000 dead, thousands upon thousands wounded, infrastructure demolished, food and water more and more scarce. The United States is still asking Israel to show compassion, and Netanyahu still plays it for a fool. It is time for the U.S., working with the United Nations, to protect and expedite food and water deliveries to the Palestinians of Gaza. As Rubin says, such aid must not be beholden to a cease-fire. Now is the time, late as it is, now is the time.

The Rev. William B. Lane, Glen Mills

A recent letter writer complained that the Editorial Board’s “The Trump Threat” series should be balanced with a similar series about the threat of a second Biden term. That might be a reasonable complaint if Donald Trump were a normal candidate with views about which responsible adults could hold a civil fact- and value-based debate. But Trump is no such thing. I disagree with almost everything the man says, but it is his appalling character that is of greatest concern.

A full list of Trump’s transgressions against decency, fairness, and truth would be extremely long, but perhaps worst of all is his continued evidence-free insistence that President Joe Biden won in 2020 through widespread voter fraud and is therefore not a legitimate president. That outrageously false and dangerous claim, combined with Trump’s ability to mesmerize his followers into believing whatever he says, is the greatest threat to democracy this nation has ever faced. Even if you hold traditional conservative views, there is nothing in Biden’s character, reelection campaign, or likely second-term policies that can compare as a danger to democracy to Trump’s incendiary demagoguery. I wholeheartedly agree with the Editorial Board’s concluding sentiment regarding a second Trump term: God help us all.

Alan Windle, Philadelphia

The Biden administration is facing intensifying criticism for failing to push for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. This culminated in more than 10% of Michigan primary voters choosing “uncommitted” in protest against his policies. Meanwhile, the media highlights the limited progress made in peace talks. Despite this narrative, the Biden administration has actually been making steady, if quiet, progress on peace in this conflict. This began with gradual public pressure on Israel to ease up on its attacks against the Gaza Strip, as well as tireless efforts to keep Saudi Arabia moving toward normalized relations with Israel. Considering these efforts began only six months ago, it is both remarkable they have progressed and not surprising they have failed to produce a cease-fire. While the compromises necessary to achieve a cease-fire will leave strident voices on each side unsatisfied, those who are truly interested in peace should recognize and amplify the Biden administration’s efforts.

Peter Henne, Burlington, Vt.

How old is too old to be president of the United States? While some folks are asking this question, perhaps some more relevant questions should be: How corrupt is too corrupt to be president? How dishonest is too dishonest to be president? How narcissistic is too narcissistic to be president? How delusional is too delusional to be president? How criminal is too criminal to be president? And how traitorous is too traitorous to be president of the United States?

Dave Posmontier, Elkins Park

Hopefully, the U.S. Supreme Court will agree with the Biden administration and decide that firearms with bump stocks fall firmly under the legal definition of machine gun. I know the court and other federal judges throughout the country like to analyze these “complex” legal issues, but this question should be fairly easy to answer. Machine guns have been banned since the 1930s, mass shootings have increased in recent decades, and bump stocks convert a firearm into a machine gun. Is it possible that a single gun shop owner from Texas, through his attorney, can prevail in this case against the interests and safety of American families and the majority of Americans who favor gun control legislation?

Thomas M. Lynch, Voorhees

The Inquirer recently reported on a new partnership between the Center for Parent and Teen Communication at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Daddy University Inc., which empowers Black fathers to talk to their teens about mental health. For the sake of our children and families, I implore the media to amplify this conversation to help stop teen suicides in Philadelphia.

As medical director of Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates, it deeply concerns me that more than 30% of high school girls and 45% of LGBTQ teens have seriously considered suicide. The deeper we look, the worse it gets: Between 2018 and 2021, the Black youth suicide rate increased by 36.6%, with the sharpest increase among girls. Locally, Black children represent 75% of suicides in kids aged 10-14. Children of all cultures and backgrounds are struggling. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to have conversations around mental health between parents and their children. As we live in an ever-changing social media-filled world, kids are exposed to so much more, and the support available needs to move parallel alongside it. Programs like the CHOP collaboration get the word out and help break down barriers to mental health for children.

Chris Pagnani, Philadelphia

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution imposed a two-term limit on the presidency. We desperately now need term limits on Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. The House should have a 12-year, six-term limit. The Senate should have a 12-year, two-term limit. The Supreme Court should have an 18-year term limit, with one justice replaced every two years. The power wielded by incumbent politicians and justices creates a tyranny of self-serving arrogance that poses a great peril for the future of our democracy. “Public service” term limits are the best means we have in creating a fluid and adaptive political and judicial culture that will be more attuned and responsive to the numerous coming social and economic changes that we must face, address, and resolve. Term limits will diminish the power of entrenched special economic interest groups that impede change for their own benefit.

Joseph Kolakowski, Philadelphia, jkolak59@gmail.com

Donald Trump was indicted last August for election subversion. The case was scheduled to be heard in March. In December, Trump’s lawyers made a motion to dismiss the case based on presidential immunity. Special counsel Jack Smith implored the U.S. Supreme Court to quickly rule on that novel defense. Trump said slow down, the case should go through appeals. Why rush? Chief Justice John Roberts and Co. said OK. The appeals court got the case in January, and in early February, ruled 3-0 against presidential immunity. Legal scholars broadly agreed the Roberts court would then either decline to hear the case or would take it up immediately, so as not to interfere with the election.

And then, for almost two weeks, the Supreme Court did nothing. Finally, the court said it would hear the case in late April. The decision will likely be announced in June. So, what will happen? Legal scholars broadly agree that the court will reject the immunity defense. But will they? The court’s Bush v. Gore decision stated that “consideration was limited to the present circumstances” and not precedent. What if the court, in a split decision, rules “present circumstances” require a one-time “consideration” that a trial during an election is too disruptive? If only the trial could have been earlier …

Lynn Strauss, West Chester

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