Letters to the Editor | May 19, 2026

Most Americans can easily recall catastrophic dates of our nation’s past.

The Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack — a day of infamy, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it — has always topped most lists. Some would argue the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks should be first. Jan. 6, 2021, is another egregious date — even though our current president and his lackeys consider the blatant acts of treason on display that day were just a peaceful demonstration.

Should Americans now realize July 1, 2024, was our democracy’s worst-ever day?

On that day, six appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices gave broad criminal immunity for acts committed under presidential authority — even if those acts would be otherwise illegal under U.S. statutes.

The conservative majority on the court — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Neil Gorsuch, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh — is fully responsible for the unbridled corruption and inept leadership we now endure on a daily basis from Donald Trump, his cabinet, and staff.

When future historians detail the tragic story of the downfall of our once-proud and admired country, I am certain July 1 will be identified as the most infamous date of all.

Thomas M. Bradley, Emmaus, Pa.

Both major political parties use partisan redistricting to favor their candidates. In extreme cases, and we’ve seen it in Pennsylvania, gerrymandering results in weirdly shaped electoral boundaries that allow politicians to choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. Many attempts are currently underway to change voting districts prior to the 2030 decennial census; indeed, prior even to the elections this November and in 2028. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on redistricting have all but gutted the Voting Rights Act.

Things are fast getting out of hand, and lots of different voting reforms are needed. Drawing nonpartisan electoral districts is one thing that could be done readily easily. Artificial intelligence has widely taken hold in our lives, boosting Wall Street to record highs despite otherwise gloomy economic and political news. Lots of ordinary people enjoy using AI tools like ChatGPT and Siri. AI could be used to draw voting districts that don’t consider race or party advantage, but instead are based on equal population, compactness, contiguity, and respect for communities and local government boundaries. The results are sure to displease politicians from both parties, but if done under the auspices of independent commissions, with transparent criteria and public hearings, we the people might get back to the foundational principle of “one citizen, one vote.”

Stephen Kunz, Phoenixville, spkunz@aol.com

While it is inarguable that the size of San Antonio’s population is gaining on Philadelphia’s — in part due to boundary expansion in the Alamo City — there are other dynamics at work.

Tax, regulatory, social, law enforcement, and immigration policies in left-leaning cities have contributed to decades of migration south and west.

Seven of the top 10 fastest-growing states between 2022 and 2023 — South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Idaho, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah — voted for Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

I have no enthusiasm for the MAGA crowd, but the Democrats need to come up with better policy formulations than the ones that have led tens of millions of Americans to vote with their feet.

Andrew T. Greenberg, West Conshohocken

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