Letters to the Editor | Dec. 31, 2024

What a remarkable life Jimmy Carter led. Not only to have lived to the age of 100 but to have lived a life of purpose and example. President Carter was a mild-mannered, dignified gentleman, something that has become rarer in today’s often-toxic political climate. Former presidents have vast opportunities to cash in after they leave the White House — that was not the postpresidential path taken by Carter. He stayed in his modest, beloved home in Plains, Ga., to the very end, and used his many years out of office to humbly devote himself to his church, teaching Sunday school into his 90s, and helping to build homes for those who needed him. Work that was as important as it was unglamorous. Carter was seen as a weak president and had the misfortune to preside over a period of great financial challenge marked by astronomical inflation and high interest rates. He left us on Sunday, having made our country and our world a better place. May he rest in peace alongside his beloved Rosalynn.

Oren Spiegler, Peters Township

Donald Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, recently opined that birthright citizenship isn’t enshrined in the Constitution. He added, “I think it’s up to the courts, I think it needs to be held by the Supreme Court.” He then said the incoming administration may separate undocumented immigrants from their children and deport the parents. He noted that “we don’t deport U.S. citizens but [the undocumented parents] put themselves in [this] position.”

The latter statement indicates that Homan begrudgingly accepts that both the 14th Amendment and an 1898 U.S. Supreme Court decision underscore that, with rare exceptions, birthright citizenship is ingrained in the U.S. His former assertion to the contrary seems to be a placebo intended to soothe any qualms of the GOP faithful as families are sundered by Trump’s deportation plan. Trump’s first administration separated immigrant families in a slapdash manner, with some children and parents remaining apart years later. Trump’s rapid effort to deport potentially millions of immigrant parents will likely be even less effectual, more costly, and more callous. He won’t suffer the little children he considers second-class citizens, at best.

Stewart Speck, Ardmore, speckstewart@gmail.com

In pushing to allow the construction of 76 Place on East Market Street, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has forever alienated a large segment of Philadelphians, while the members of City Council who approved the plan essentially ignored the serious concerns of residents and businesses from the nearby neighborhood. This despite studies that have shown that an arena there would cause monumental traffic problems and would negatively impact local businesses, especially restaurants in Chinatown.

Unless the construction project includes a huge parking garage, and SEPTA provides increased bus and train service to the arena on game days, I would never think of venturing into Center City to watch the Sixers play. The mayor, City Council, and the project’s deep-pocket investors have been acting with the expectation that such an arena will enliven East Market Street. Most people l know are very skeptical. When attending a game at the Wells Fargo Center, my friends and l, and it seems most other fans, chow down on the ample selection of food offerings there, never thinking of driving to one of the many great eateries in South Philly, instead going straight home. The arena won’t be built for several years, but the project will continue to face severe opposition, creating a current of ill will that l fear will harm our city’s image.

Jack Butler, Philadelphia

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