Letters to the Editor | June 13, 2025

As a U.S. Marine, I was deployed in 1969 from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms to Los Angeles during riots in Watts. We were armed with loaded M-14s and bared bayonets. We discussed what we would do as we sat in trucks in the foothills outside the city. Some said they didn’t want to shoot fellow Americans, and some were eager to shoot rioters. All would follow orders. Luckily, reason prevailed, and we were loaded back onto the trucks and returned to base without contact with the rioters. We deployed a second time to control student riots in Palm Springs. No ammunition — just rifles and bayonets. Pushes from students were responded to with rifle butts. Again, we were quickly returned to base. Everyone from privates to the base commander seemed to realize that using combat troops as cops was a bad idea. It still is.

Hal Morris, West Grove

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field personnel have no uniforms. They show up in random tactical gear and full face masks, without warrants, seize people from the streets, and drive them away in unmarked cars.

As reported by the Washington Post, when a small-business owner in Massachusetts interrupted such a seizure and asked the abductors for identification, “the agents said they didn’t need to show identification and accused [her] of promoting lawlessness.” It is ICE that is lawless, and thanks to mainstream reporting and social media, we all know it. Now, citizens who protest this outrage are threatened with military force. In six months, Donald Trump has so corrupted our democracy that we must fear our own soldiers. If military leaders don’t stand up to him, all of our rights will disappear.

Dale Kinney, Bala Cynwyd

Stunning examples of waste, fraud, and abuse:

1) Creating chaos in LA by illegally sending National Guard and perhaps U.S. Marines to quell “riots” following masked, plainclothes officers from unmarked vans who grabbed people off the streets without warrants … at a cost of at least $134 million.

2) Spending at least $45 million taxpayer dollars to present a parade to “honor the Military of the USA” … but really to aggrandize his ascension as a “dictator wannabe” on his birthday. Open history books and look for military parades in Munich, Moscow — just change the flags.

The tremendous cost of D-Day was celebrated on June 6. Donald Trump once had the audacity to call those who gave their lives to defeat brutal dictatorships “losers.” Now he chooses to endanger all democracies by a shortsighted, narrow-minded agenda that will possibly benefit the wealthy — at great cost to the rest of the world. If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.

The courts must continue to rule for upholding the Constitution and laws of the land. Congress must stand up for the Constitution, the good of the people who elected them to serve the needs of citizens, not to kiss the ring of a wannabe king.

Nancy Krablin, Downingtown

The decision began with solar panels. My wife and I needed to upgrade our electrical panel first, which led to insulation work, then replacing our gas stove with an induction model. One project led to another, the way home improvements do. The federal energy tax credits made each step possible. The 25D credit saved us $5,000 to $6,000 on solar alone. The 25C credit helped with our insulation upgrade through a five-year contract where we pay based on our actual energy savings. Our monthly electric bill dropped from over $100 to $20 in winter. We’re even selling power back to the grid now. But the numbers tell only part of the story. My two sons have asthma. Every time we used our old gas stove, methane leaked into our kitchen air. The induction stove eliminated that risk entirely.

These credits work because they make upgrades affordable for middle-class families who want to do the right thing, but need help with upfront costs. They also support local contractors and small businesses throughout Pennsylvania, as The Inquirer reported in “What’s in the new tax bill for small businesses.” That’s why the House proposal to eliminate these credits after 2025 is so frustrating. They are practical policies that save families money, make homes healthier, and create jobs. Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman should stand up for Pennsylvania families and defend the 25C and 25D tax credits.

Jason Sandman, Philadelphia

I read the recent op-ed about St. Elizabeth Church, which I’d hoped would be my forever parish (1955 until it closed in 1993). Many Black Catholics and non-Catholics supported the school and parish over the years; however, when a fire happened in the lower church, some of us were able to secure the architectural and pro bono services of Gray Smith for an assessment of the damages. If memory serves, he explained that if the parish had insurance, the damage could be repaired. Instead, the entire church was torn down. I remember some of us trying to get an injunction to prevent this, even meeting with former Attorney General Shane Creamer and a staffer of the Annenberg Foundation, and two other law firms to stop this travesty (the supporters needed at least $10,000 to proceed on an injunction). Unfortunately, our efforts were unsuccessful.

I recall the person who was hired to demolish our beautiful church, almost in tears, saying it wasn’t what he wanted to do. While I appreciate former pastor Rayford Emmons’ overall comments about the parish, I cringe at the disrespect he received from two priests who, during the closing, entered the church and took away items from the sanctuary (Father Emmons was on an errand and didn’t see what happened, but I recall the look on his face when he was told). Going back in time, as the article describes, shows the determination of (now Msgr.) Edward F. Cunnie to serve the Black community of St. Elizabeth’s and beyond.

The shameful closing of Black parishes in North Philadelphia — Our Lady of Mercy, Most Precious Blood, and St. Elizabeth — resulted in each church being demolished. The physical structures are no more, but for some of us, the memories will remain. At St. E’s, many of us began our journey in Mrs. Mattie Franks’ kindergarten class, some first graders with Sister St. Hugh, and others graduated for the last time under the principalship of Sister Mary Norbert, SBS (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament), with Father Emmons as pastor. St. Elizabeth’s school and parish will never be forgotten.

Jacqueline Wiggins, Philadelphia

It’s difficult to understand how a new parking garage for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia employees at 3000 Grays Ferry Ave. would disturb anyone or anything. Google the site and take a look at it. Anything at that location would be an improvement.

The article claims that parking around the hospital is presently only three-quarters utilized. That would be news to anyone who drives to work there.

CHOP is one of the most important institutions in the city. Anything we can do to make the workforce more comfortable should be a no-brainer.

Mike Egan, Plymouth Meeting

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