Letters to the Editor | Jan. 7, 2026

Why doesn’t Donald Trump direct his boat strike/invasion show toward Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru, where most of the cocaine is manufactured, or China and Mexico, where the majority of fentanyl comes from, if his intention to rid the U.S. of illegal drugs killing Americans were true?

K. Mayes, Philadelphia

Donald Trump’s “special military operation” in Venezuela puts him squarely in the same category as Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who used the same phrase to describe his invasion of Ukraine, and China’s Xi Jinping. It was all about oil from the beginning. Bombing boats in the name of “narco-terrorism” was just a cover and a distraction. And he intends to “run” Venezuela? Trump has injected himself and the United States into a big mess in which I don’t believe he has any idea how to actually “run” the country, or any idea of the enormous cost involved. This adventure is simply another episode of self-glorification and probably self-enrichment somewhere down the line, as well. It’s all about himself as usual, not for the good of the United States and our people or our standing in the world. This is hardly making America great again.

Elsbeth Wrigley, Wyndmoor

Your recent editorial on Donald Trump’s illegal invasion raises many valid objections to our president’s headlong rush to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without any advice or consent from Congress, let alone the United Nations. I never voted for Trump, and I agree in general with most of your points about where we are with Venezuela. But I was gravely disappointed in your statement that “[f]ormer President George W. Bush at least sold a phony story about weapons of mass destruction to get Congress to go along with his reckless invasion of Iraq.”

Authorities with more expertise on the Iraq War than The Inquirer Editorial Board beg to differ. I refer you to a 2015 op-ed from the Wall Street Journal headlined, “The Dangerous Lie That Bush Lied.” It was written by Laurence H. Silberman, who served as cochairman of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, a bipartisan body. The gist of what Judge Silberman and others have written is that the motivations for the invasion were much broader than WMDs, and that Mr. Bush’s decision was unduly colored by woefully inadequate intelligence. Hindsight is always 20/20.

While your concerns about how the invasion of Venezuela might affect Ukraine and even Taiwan are also worth stating, the Editorial Board needs to remember that even the noninterventionist Biden administration had put a substantial price on the head of Mr. Maduro. So there is little doubt he is just as bad a character as Mr. Trump portrays him to be. Thus, in the end, though we have probably (to paraphrase former Secretary of State Colin Powell) bought something because we broke it, the invasion may, after a long struggle, advance democracy in the Western Hemisphere.

John Baxter, Toano, Va.

Without the consent of Congress, the invasion of Venezuela was both illegal and unconstitutional. Without a follow-up plan, it was also incredibly reckless. It clearly was not about drugs or democracy, but about wealth, power, and greed. It was about oil. This disaster not only negatively affects the U.S. but has the potential to change the world order. It gives other countries permission to do the same. Do we want China to take over Taiwan? Do we want to legitimize Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine? I think not. Now, more than ever, we need Congress to step up to the plate and put a stop to this insanity. And it is the job of We the People to make sure that happens. Each and every voice needs to be heard. We are in a mess.

Anne B. Zehner, Palm City, Fla.

Having observed the behaviors of protesters at Planned Parenthood’s location at 11th and Locust Streets over the past year, I would encourage the people and/or organizations that pay or otherwise support some or all of the repeat protesters to evaluate their performance and outcomes. Weekday protesters are usually a small number of older men whose dress and loud manner are difficult to ignore. They approach most patients with a brochure and candy, and most often call out loudly to not kill the baby, followed by offers to “help.” Their appearance and boisterous behaviors appear counterproductive. The Planned Parenthood facility provides a variety of healthcare services, so not every woman who arrives is seeking an abortion. I have yet to observe a single woman turn away from an appointment. We should respect the right of the protesters to express their beliefs. But if they hope to influence patients, they could be more respectful. Supporters of the protesters should more carefully monitor conduct and results.

L. David Wise, Philadelphia

As children learn in grade school, “We all live downstream.” That premise is at the heart of the federal Clean Water Act. If you want clean water for fishing, swimming, and drinking, you need to protect from pollution not just lakes and rivers, but the upstream waters that feed them. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin is currently pushing new, polluter-friendly rules that would exclude 80% of the nation’s headwater streams and wetlands from pollution protection. The proposal would go beyond recent U.S. Supreme Court decision-making in narrowing the scope of federally protected waters. Even in Pennsylvania, with its own state-level protections, this cutback in the Clean Water Act would make it harder for an already stretched state Department of Environmental Protection to hold the line against more pollution dumping. Americans must tell the EPA to abandon this assault on our nation’s waters.

Robin Mann, Rosemont

A recent article in The Inquirer poses an intriguing question: Why has Philly, an overwhelmingly Democratic city, so far been spared the federal troop deployments President Donald Trump has inflicted on several other Democratic-led cities?

To the list of possibilities explored in the article, I’d add one more: the central role of Philadelphia in the ongoing celebrations of our nation’s 250th birthday. President Trump, ever hungry for the media spotlight, has sought to make himself a focus of these celebrations. (A “fact sheet” on the official White House website is titled, “President Donald J. Trump previews plans for the Grandest Celebration of America’s Birthday.”)

Even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s National Guard deployment in Chicago, the president has suggested that troops could return “in a much different and stronger form.”

If so — and if they show up in Philly — how will it play across the nation, and to the increasing number of Americans disenchanted with the president, if federal troops occupy the city where our grand experiment in democracy began? Does the Trump administration really want viral videos of National Guard troops carrying weapons, or anonymous masked immigration agents bundling people into unmarked vans, with Independence Hall as a backdrop?

Shobhana Kanal, Bala Cynwyd

As a pediatrician, I see every day how social media is shaping our children’s and adolescents’ lives long before their brains are ready to handle it. My patients tell me about sleepless nights, bullying that doesn’t end when the school day does, and algorithmic “rabbit holes” that amplify their anxiety and depression. I see the toll in headaches, weight changes, panic attacks, and exhaustion. These aren’t isolated cases; they’re part of a public health crisis affecting young people across Pennsylvania.

Families and doctors can provide support, but we can’t prescribe much for an algorithm or a billion-dollar company taking advantage of kids. Other states have already passed Kids Code legislation that requires tech platforms to design their products with children’s well-being in mind. Pennsylvania can and should do the same.

Our kids deserve digital environments that are as carefully protected as the homes, classrooms, playgrounds, and pediatric clinics where they spend the rest of their lives. Lawmakers must step up and pass a Kids Code now.

Joey Whelihan, Philadelphia

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