Letters to the Editor | July 21, 2026

More than 100 million Americans were under some form of smoke warning last week when Fearless Leader took to the airwaves to blow smoke at voters about his imaginary victory against Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. No apology for his “drill, baby, drill” policies, which play their part in creating the conditions that produce this hideous climate change. As for the election fraud allegations he repeats endlessly without proof, I am puzzled why his baseless claims are given any space, ink, or airtime. He is a seriously disturbed individual whose reckless claims are dangerously deployed for no other purpose but to place him in the news frame every day, and to give many readers a sense of competence he certainly does not deserve.

Michael J. Cummings, Philadelphia

States don’t need to ban data centers; they just need to enact legislation that, first, requires any commercial or industrial facility above a certain size to also build a sustainable energy-generating plant that will completely power the facility. Second, no water can be used for cooling the facility. This will either stop construction of these data centers or force an evolution in technology, which will benefit everybody.

Also of concern: Taiwan manufactures over 90% of the world’s most advanced, high-end computer chips. This production is overwhelmingly dominated by a single company, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Overall, Taiwan accounts for about 60% of all global semiconductor manufacturing capacity. If (or more likely when) China invades Taiwan, it will then control the global supply of these chips. Why this is not a top priority national security issue for this country has baffled me for years.

Andrew Benton, Flourtown

What I love about Marcus Hayes’ writing is that he doesn’t pull punches. But, boy, did he in one of last week’s columns.

No, Zach Wheeler is not “weird.” He is gobsmackingly entitled. First, he complains about the pitching rule that does not allow him to play in the All-Star Game. (Sorry, but a rule is a rule.) Then, he’s asked to participate after all, for whatever reason escapes me, but does it even matter? Clearly. They disrespected him. Oh, boo-hoo.

And Bryce Harper? How on God’s green earth can he also get a pass? He literally said the word FanDuel in the video he was asked to record. I personally have lost all respect for him. Being disingenuous is not “weird.”

I’m sorry, but he’s way off base, pun intended.

Ted Schmiechen, Philadelphia

A recent article in The Inquirer indicated how several City Council members are probing the increased assessments on thousands of Philadelphia properties. How did City Hall think it was a good idea to raise property taxes at the same time the president’s policies cost the average family hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in increased food and gas costs? Many Philadelphians are seeing increases of thousands of dollars in additional property taxes — something that should never happen all at once. Council can do something positive by lowering the millage rate, which is the tax rate expressed as tax dollars per thousand dollars of assessed value. This rate is set by Council, so unless you see some brave City Council member put forth that idea, Council’s efforts are just window dressing.

Charles Brennan, Philadelphia

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