Letters to the Editor | Sept. 10, 2025

While announcing plans to remove vaccine requirements for Florida’s schoolchildren, the state’s surgeon general asks, “Who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body?”

As surgeon general, it’s his job to stand there and safeguard the public’s health.

It has been scientifically proven over and over again: The spread of disease can be minimized when most people have vaccine immunity. Removing vaccine mandates for schools can cause significant illnesses because the pool of people able to spread disease will increase drastically. It’s a fallacy to think that when a parent chooses not to vaccinate their child, it won’t have any effect on the health of other children in school, especially those who are immunocompromised.

Florida’s logic is the public health version of malpractice, and frankly, should terrify us all.

Judith Samans-Dunn, retired, public health administrator, Philadelphia

I read with interest in Sunday’s Inquirer that fewer than 10 of our esteemed Pennsylvania legislators have voluntarily decided to forego their paychecks with the current state budget situation, apparently as a symbolic gesture. Thus, these electeds, who selfishly, cluelessly, and deliberately have delayed the budget approval because of party loyalty, continue to cause many of us unnecessary difficulties and stress. Please tell me where the empathy and sense of duty to constituents are in the mindsets of our electeds. It seems that allegiance to a political party is vastly more important to them.

As a transit user and taxpayer, I believe I can speak for many of us that the constant confusion of what SEPTA routes are running on what schedules and how a reasonable person has to plan for the “moving target” to which this situation has apparently been deliberately allowed to degrade is something we would expect our representatives to prevent rather than cause.

Our electeds need to learn the meaning of the word deadline, which working people know very well. Instead, we have representatives who are willing to make life more difficult for those whom they supposedly represent. The electeds would prefer to insult us with advising, as noted in the article, they are “living paycheck to paycheck.” We who work to pay taxes do not have the luxury of the per diems and expenses the electeds have given themselves. Maybe they need to feel our literal pain and enact a rule that when there is no budget, there is no paycheck. Until then, let’s hopefully remember this next November when they ask us to reelect them. Maybe then, when they are in the “real world” like the rest of us, they will finally get it.

R M Wright, Philadelphia

Regarding a recent article on activists who monitor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, these are not “legal” immigrants whom the advocates are supporting; they are “illegal” immigrants, something not explicitly stated in the article. The article makes heroes out of activists who are harassing ICE officers for enforcing federal law. The article also fails to mention that these illegal immigrants were part of an orchestrated invasion of millions of people from all over the world, which was supported and encouraged by the Biden administration. Frankly, because of lax enforcement of our immigration laws that has gone on for decades under both Democratic and Republican leadership, today we have an estimated 18.6 million illegal immigrants living in our country, according to FAIR.org, although many people think it is much higher. The question needs to be asked: Don’t these activists and others who support illegal immigration understand the practical necessity for federal immigration laws? Don’t they see the wisdom of our U.S. Constitution, particularly the “separation of powers,” grants only to the federal government the right to determine who comes into our country — not 50 states, countless municipalities, and enumerable compassionate activists? Otherwise, we will have endless invasions and outright anarchy.

Lynn Landes, Philadelphia, lynnlandes@gmail.com

In Will Bunch’s telling of the U.S. military’s recent intervention into Venezuelan state-sponsored drug and human trafficking in the Caribbean Sea, in which a boat and its occupants were eliminated, our dedicated men and women in uniform who pulled the trigger are not heroes dedicated to protecting the homeland, but cold-blooded killers who shoot indiscriminately. Nothing could be further from the truth. The facts are that Venezuela has chosen to be our enemy. It has shown this by its alliances with the hostile Iranian and Cuban regimes, by facilitating drug and human trafficking (which are by themselves acts of aggression), and by threatening to seize the assets of U.S. companies in neighboring Guyana. For this reason, Donald Trump sent a large naval force to to end these hostilities. The boat in question was given ample opportunity to cease operations, failed to do so, and paid the consequence as an enemy combatant should. For too long, state-sponsored acts of aggression against our country have gone unpunished. Thanks to Trump, the world is learning that those days are over.

Michael Hudson, Cape Charles, Va.

The operation that resulted in the sinking of the suspected drug cartel boat, killing 11 people onboard, appears to have been well-planned as part of an attack on one of the drug cartels (Tren de Aragua) that has been sending fentanyl to the U.S. and operates from Venezuela. Our counterintelligence has probably been gathering information about this for some time. As we know, the unpopular and ineffective administration of President Nicolás Maduro has allowed this and other cartels to operate in Venezuela. Cartels can easily pay local corrupt officials to work with them. There are many Venezuelans opposed to Maduro and the lack of security in their country, so they would eagerly provide us with information. The high-speed boat was ordered to surrender, but chose to try to outrun our naval forces, which was a big mistake.

Barry McKeon, Newtown Square

The Inquirer’s recent “Partner Content”/advertorial about Peco’s new CEO, David Vahos, somehow left out the fact that the utility company is owned by Exelon Corp.

Exelon is one of the nation’s largest utility companies, with approximately 10 million customers.

Peco/Exelon lobbyists and political donations are the reasons the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission awarded Peco the ability to increase average monthly residential customer bills by 10% this past January.

If Mr. Vahos wants to truly become a “Changemaker,” how about making Peco bills affordable for most of your customers without directing us to assistance programs?

If Peco is committing $10 million to help customers pay their bills, that sends the quantitative message that their rates are too high, although it is a drop in the bucket for Exelon.

Mary Kay Owen, Downingtown

Despite the Pennsylvania budget being more than two months late, Gov. Josh Shapiro still found time for a photo opportunity at Dobbins High School.

“We want to see more schools across Pennsylvania doing what Dobbins is doing,” said Shapiro.

But not all Dobbins students agree with the governor’s assessment. In 2022, as many as 100 students protested the violence they faced while attending Dobbins. Plus, about 92% of Dobbins students tested below proficient in English language arts. Math scores were even worse, with 99% testing below grade level.

“There is no one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter way to train or learn the skills to be put on a path to self-sufficiency,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker during the event.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mayor Parker, which is precisely why Dobbins students — as well as the more than 200,000 students attending Pennsylvania’s lowest-achieving schools — need educational alternatives.

These students don’t need cheap PR antics. Instead, they need Gov. Shapiro to get back to work and finish the state budget. Moreover, they need him to fund school choice — such as increasing funding to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program, or enacting Lifeline Scholarships — and help them escape violent, failing schools.

Andrew J. Lewis, president and CEO, Commonwealth Foundation

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