Letters to the Editor | Nov. 14, 2025

As a Navy hospital corpsman serving as a combat medic with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam, I provided emergency care for our troops who were injured by landmines, who’d been shot. The men I couldn’t save included a Marine radio man who had the top of his head blown off by a mine in a tree, a Marine shot during a firefight in the mountains on the Laotian border.

I am a Vietnam War veteran, and I am gay.

I am asking for your support of the Marriage Equality and Respect for Marriage Acts, recognizing the right of all U.S. citizens to be married. I have been with my spouse, Steve, for 32 years; we have been married for 10 years. Our marriage is as valid and as worthy as yours.

In the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the right to same-sex marriage, Justice Anthony Kennedy (U.S. military veteran) wrote: “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family … The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy and spirituality. This is true for all persons, whatever their sexual orientation … Excluding same-sex couples from marriage thus conflicts with a central premise of the right to marry … Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”

I served our country. I have had the blood of men who died for our country on my hands.

I and my LGBTQ brothers and sisters deserve the rights and dignity granted to all U.S. citizens. We deserve the right to be protected against discrimination.

Mike Felker, U.S. Navy hospital corpsman (August 1968 to August 1972), combat medic, 1st Marine Division Vietnam (December 1969 to December 1970), Philadelphia

The defining characteristic of this administration is cruelty. It was born with the image of a man of privilege wielding a chain saw, taking delight in the cruelty he would unleash. His mosh pit of followers roared in agreement, they, too, taking delight in the cruelty about to be projected onto their fellow citizens.

This administration has lived up to that dark promise and cast many into unemployment, stress, and anguish. In our most recent episode, those in opposition were given a false choice of choosing one cruelty over another: access to food vs. access to healthcare. Starvation vs. medical bankruptcy. What kind of person would do such a thing? What kind of leadership is this?

The most recent decision by Democratic leaders to withdraw their opposition to the budget emphasizes how important leadership is. That decision may well cast millions of our fellow citizens into a future of despair. Democratic leadership has accepted Hobson’s choice. This will not bode well. The rising pushback against this administration of cruelty has come from the people themselves — and our leaders have not lived up to the moment provided by their activism. It is important to remember that we choose our leaders. The choices they make inform the choices we make.

Kevin Deeny, Levittown

With Congress back in session, maybe we’ll finally get to see everything in the Epstein files. Do the files play any role in Donald Trump’s recent pardons? Could they explain why he seems so beholden to Vladimir Putin? Can they tell us why the GOP has been dragging its feet about making them public? It’s past time justice was granted to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, who were children at the time of these crimes. This is not — and shouldn’t be — a partisan issue. Former Prince Andrew, who recently lost his royal titles, is experiencing a reckoning over his relationship with Epstein. Others will, too. Follow the money. Patiently, I wait for the truth to surface.

Tiffany Long, Cherry Hill

Next year is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years in Philadelphia’s history, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to visit our city to celebrate our country’s 250th birthday, six FIFA World Cup matches, the MLB All-Star Game, neighborhood block parties, festivals, and countless other events. This is Philadelphia’s all-hands-on-deck moment.

Market Street will be the crucial connector between the waterfront, Historic District, Parkway, and Fairmount Park, whether on foot or riding the Philly Phlash. We have less than six months to ready our Main Street for the company that is most certainly coming.

That’s why Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s “Reimagining Market East Initiative” and the 76ers and Comcast’s plans to jump-start development on the 1000 block of East Market are welcome investments demonstrating leadership and commitment to this timely cause.

There’s no question East Market Street needs an ambitious, actionable, and well-resourced vision for its future — and Mayor Parker and Jerry Sweeney have enlisted a strong, experienced team to help build it. In the near term, we must all work together to ensure Philly’s Main Street is primed and poised to make the best possible first impression next year — with inviting and exciting spaces for community and visitors to enjoy throughout the spring and summer of 2026.

Kathryn Ott Lovell, president and CEO, Philadelphia Visitor Center and Philadelphia250

So much is being said about Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City. Is he a socialist? Anti-Jewish? As the first Muslim to be elected mayor of a major U.S. city, the critics have come out. Not unlike the critics bemoaning John F. Kennedy’s election as our first Roman Catholic president. Society did not crumble. The world did not come to an end. Could it be that the majority of our citizens don’t care about their leader’s religious affiliation? Political party? The color of their skin? Are willing to elect the person who is concerned about their actual needs and not solely playing to their emotions? We are not there yet, but perhaps on our way.

Tim Reed, Philadelphia

With the government shutdown at an end, Republican legislators are still not offering any alternative to Obamacare. They simply rail against it and claim it is too expensive and ineffective. The president has not even offered “a concept of a plan” to replace it. Here is mine. All eligible Americans should receive the same medical coverage our senators and representatives enjoy. After all, they do work for us. Don’t they?

Anthony Munafo, Warminster

The Senate vote on the shutdown makes clear that both parties are at odds about how to deal with the most expensive and dysfunctional healthcare system on the planet. A healthy citizenry is our most essential national asset. Traditional Medicare, not the Advantage plans that advantage the insurance companies at the expense of the public, is the most successful and cost-efficient care delivery system in our country. Extending traditional Medicare to cover every citizen is the sanest way forward. Progressives and capitalists can all agree that Medicare for All is the only pathway that ensures every citizen gets the healthcare they deserve. Now is the time to institute this simple fix to our embarrassingly broken and exploitative system.

Brewster Fay, Narbeth, brewster.fay@gmail.com

In its interesting article about Donald Trump’s latest harebrained scheme, the 50-year mortgage, the Associated Press leaves out the most obvious problem: By the time your home is paid for, you’ll be dead.

Nice way to build intergenerational wealth.

Rosemary McDonough, Narberth

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