Letters to the Editor | March 25, 2024

“No one is above or beneath the law” is a platitude past due for elimination in the U.S., as both the criminal and civil courts comprise an injustice system in America. One only has to point to how people like C.J. Rice and victims, mostly women, in domestic violence situations are treated if they have no money for competent representation. Compare that with how someone like Donald Trump is treated. The former president has been able to rise and remain above the law for so long because of the voice of money. Rice did not have the funds to secure justice on his own, so he spent 12 years of his life imprisoned until he was freed thanks to the efforts of Theodore Tapper, his son, Jake, and the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project. Only until new laws are created regarding judicial/legal immunity, and we begin to see malpractice advertisements for the legal profession as we do the medical profession, will there be any justice for the poor, the underrepresented, the unrepresented, and everyone.

Madeline Schaeffer, Glassboro

The recent Inquirer article “Better patient care, at a lower cost?” provides a clear overview of the Medicare Shared Savings Program and how it can succeed by aligning payers and providers on delivering cost-efficient primary care — a worthy goal. However, a few points deserve further clarification: First, improving patient “risk score” accuracy, a core mechanism for success in accountable care organizations, is no simple task; it usurps significant provider time and energy from patient care. Second, the financial gains for medical practices in these arrangements are not a luxury. Rather, they simply enable investment in essential resources — clinical and support staff, expanded hours, and more comprehensive services — to meet patient needs. Third, unlike more technical medical specialties, the core skills of primary care — active listening, whole-person care, and problem-solving — are still woefully undervalued and inadequately reimbursed. Incenting provider and payer collaboration to reduce health-care costs is a high priority, but should not be a financial crutch we lean on to provide basic primary care services.

Jeffrey H. Millstein, regional medical director, Penn Primary Care NJ/Bucks County, Jeffrey.Millstein@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

I read with horror Trudy Rubin’s revelatory column about Mousa Shawwa, an aid worker who was killed by an Israeli missile even though his organization had met security requirements, and Israeli forces knew exactly what buildings were occupied by staff. Rubin asks the question, “Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” My answer is no, not if you haven’t bought into the one-sided reportage that has been legitimizing Israel’s unconscionable murder of Palestinian civilians.

Rubin’s perspective primarily starts after Oct. 7. My perspective begins in 1948, when the plan to ethnically cleanse Palestine began. We do not hear reports from the Palestinians. They are all lumped together as supporters of terrorism, and those of us, like myself, who question the carnage being perpetrated on them are accused of being antisemitic (I am Jewish) or on the side of Hamas.

We make excuses for Israel. All of Israel’s actions are played down by the mainstream media as accidents, mistakes, overzealousness, etc. The mass starvation that now threatens Gaza is part of a deliberate plan to force Palestinians to their knees. We don’t hear about the violence settlers inflict on Palestinian civilians that is going on in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is part of a group that supports ethnic cleansing. Itamar Ben-Gvir, his minister of security, and Bezalel Smotrich, his minister of finance, have been very vocal about pushing Palestinians out of Gaza. President Joe Biden is on the wrong side of justice by unequivocally supporting Israel.

Judy Rubin, Philadelphia

It makes no sense to support a two-state solution after the war in Gaza ends. It only rewards Hamas and terrorism. All terrorist groups in the world will take notice. Who would be the leaders? Mahmoud Abbas, whose group pays a stipend to families of “martyrs” who are killed attacking Israel? The Palestinian Authority currently funds more than 30,000 families. A two-state solution — if it is possible — should take place only after a period of de-radicalization, and after the Palestinians can prove they could be actual peace partners. I see no proof of that today. Germany was occupied by three of the four Allies until 1952. The Soviet Union — which lost 27 million people in World War II — only withdrew in 1989. The Allies coordinated a denazification campaign after the war ended. Would that work with the Palestinians? The Quran says that Israel belongs to the Jews, and yet Arab nations have tried to destroy Israel many times. Unless there is a change in the mentality of Israel’s opponents, an immediate attempt at a two-state solution is folly.

Pauline Rosenberg, Philadelphia

As reported in The Inquirer, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has begun an initiative to clear homeless encampments from Philadelphia International Airport in collaboration with the police department. While SELF Inc. was dispatched to provide emergency housing to those displaced, the Parker administration worked to clear anyone who did not have “official business” with the airport. What that refers to remains somewhat unclear.

Police efforts to remove the unhoused population from PHL come as the city has issued a request for proposals to “create a safer environment and improved guest experience” at the airport. That’s nice, but to effectively uplift those currently unhoused, the Parker administration needs to focus both its efforts and its resources on the root causes of poverty in our city, such as substance abuse, lack of employment, and housing. The Parker administration and the police need to provide a human-centered, research-driven solution to homelessness instead of moving these at-risk individuals out of sight and out of mind so tourists can have a perfect Philadelphia.

Jackson Gold, Philadelphia

Rural Erie County residents, according to Tom Eddy’s op-ed, are hardworking, America-loving people. Unlike, say, the people of Montgomery County, where I live, who are lazy bums. We like to lay down on our couches at home all day, watch our flat-screen TVs (which the government provides), talk on our cell phones (which Joe Biden pays for), and send our kids to public school so they can learn about depraved sex acts.

The chair of the Erie County Republican Party further tells us that hardworking rural residents know immigrants are slackers. Those cleaning up my neighbor’s lawn, putting a new roof on my other neighbor’s house, the ladies who clean several neighbors’ houses, and those picking our crops do nothing but take the highly sought-after, cushy jobs so many U.S. citizens want.

Additionally, the millions of people who live on the East and West Coasts of America don’t pay taxes. Why, if it wasn’t for the hardworking rural residents of this country, who are the only ones paying their (unfair) share, there would be no streets, water systems, public schools, trash collection, sewage systems, sidewalks, streetlights, or any other things we rely on the evil government for. Thank heavens for this op-ed to enlighten us on the real America.

Claire Gawinowicz, Oreland

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 200 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.