Letters to the Editor | Aug. 22, 2024

I do not understand what Democratic National Convention managers were thinking when President Joe Biden was given a speaking slot well past prime time, extending beyond midnight. The Democratic Party looks out for the working man and woman. I do not imagine many who had to get up early for work were tuned to the convention as a new day dawned. If not, they missed an emotional and moving speech, and a thunderous ovation provided to our outgoing leader. Biden has accomplished a great deal despite the headwinds of an opposition party that wants him and our country to fail on his watch. The least he deserved was the respect and deference of being provided a prime speaking slot when he could address the greatest possible number of viewers.

Oren Spiegler, Peters Township

It took me 10 screen captures to copy the words of the July 9 Inquirer editorial (“Imbalanced scrutiny”) and send them to friends around the country. I hope they were able to piece together these fragments since together they represented a balanced portrait of President Joe Biden and Donald Trump and a presidential race whose outcome may determine the future of our democracy. I used to trust the words published by editorial boards in the country’s major media markets. Sadly, no more. Months ago, we canceled our subscription to the New York Times after noticing how frequently it underreported or totally ignored the incoherent ravings of our former president, now candidate, while focusing a microscope on Biden. The Inquirer makes me proud to live in Philadelphia. I pray that the results of the November election demonstrate that clear and balanced reporting, as we see in our paper of record, means we can continue to live in a free country.

Barbara Dundon, Philadelphia

Local viewers may have seen an ad featuring Julie Willoughby, a nurse in scrubs who claims our emergency rooms are being overrun by undocumented migrants using up resources meant for citizens. The ad is problem-filled. Willoughby is an Arizona state legislator and does not work in Pennsylvania hospitals. She falsely says that “hospitals everywhere are being overrun,” then blames Vice President Kamala Harris for this imaginary problem. Undocumented migrants are far less likely to use hospitals for fear of deportation. As a nurse in the Philadelphia area for 44 years, I find her ad to be a disservice to the nursing profession by implying local patients are getting inferior care from their nurses.

Brent Thompson, Lincoln University

One job of the school librarian is to instill a love of reading, especially in our youngest scholars. Philadelphia shamefully has only two certified librarians in a district of 216 schools. This would not be true in any suburban school district. With two out of three children in Philadelphia unable to read on grade level by fourth grade, librarians would be one more important addition to the literacy toolbox. Grassroots organization Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Librarians is hoping to remedy this (visit restorephillylibrarians.org for more info). Perhaps FathersRead365, which was featured in The Inquirer recently, can join hands with those of us seeking the right of every student to have a diverse, well-stocked library with a trained librarian in every Philadelphia school.

Doris Heise, Philadelphia, dorisheise@comcast.net

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