Letters to the Editor | April 7, 2023

It is no small task putting the genie back in the bottle. This genie was released when Donald Trump, a reality-TV star and real estate mogul with a questionable business background (including several bankruptcies), was allowed to capture our attention during the 2016 presidential race. Calling Mexicans rapists and Democrats socialists, and making up a steady stream of lies, the media ate it up with front-page headlines almost every day. I clearly remember ABC’s George Stephanopoulos grinning from ear to ear as he repeatedly said Trump was “doubling down” on his outrageous statements. Entertainment trumped real news, ratings soared, and Trump’s campaign took off without spending a penny on advertising. Sadly, entertainment, no matter how ridiculous, is more interesting to the average American TV viewer than hard news and the difficult decisions that must be made in a democracy about our country and our future. Now comes Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, from the bluest of blue cities in one the bluest of blue states, who reignites the media firestorm. Thirty-four felony counts for a couple of sexual trysts. Can you spell opportunist? With much more serious crimes in the on-deck circle, why are we wasting our time with this charade? Let’s get back to real news with real issues and put the genie back in the bottle.

Angus Love, Narberth, anguslove76@gmail.com

Thank you to Robyn Hannigan and Stacey Robertson for their overview of mental health efforts at Ursinus College and Widener University. My son is a college student at New College of Florida, a public college in Sarasota, where the leadership seems to be hellbent on destroying student mental health. In January, Gov. Ron DeSantis stacked the board of trustees with hard-right ideologues with a mission to erase any institutional or academic consideration of systemic racism, sexism, and LGBTQ concerns. The students have been bombarded with “the next awful thing,” targeting a tiny school that was seen as a haven for queer, neurodivergent, free-thinking, and academically driven students. Florida House Bill 999 will extend those policies statewide, and DeSantis, in his likely bid for president, hopes to make those policies national. Please support student mental health by keeping politics out of our schools.

Hannah Galantino-Homer, West Chester

Baseball is on the clock because Americans can’t pay attention. The game of inches, with infinite boundaries that never ends in a tie, now panders to cries from the masses who are unable to pay attention to a game that they’ve (ironically?) decided to watch. The game and genuine baseball fans will suffer as changes to our national pastime accelerate the dumbing down of America. The invaluable commodity of time and one’s perceptive ability on how to spend it has been upended. Cell phone fiddling and social media posting are no longer distractions, but the new institutions. Conversely, true institutions like baseball have become the distractions that need to change.

Michael Dobson, Indian Rocks Beach, Fla.

Wouldn’t it be far better for mayoral candidates to spend those millions — $13 million so far — on improving the city, instead of on TV and other advertising? They could initiate or further the public and private entities that they support throughout the city. In return, the TV stations and other journalists could report on those actions and their outcomes/success (not to mention save us from the ads). The city could ban all campaign funding, and the job of mayor would be based on past performance vs. future promises — the way the rest of us get jobs.

Ben Weinraub, Philadelphia

Some recent stories in The Inquirer: 1) As Easter approaches, already financially stretched families hoping to have a nice dinner and treats for the kids face price increases on eggs (55%), ham (2%), chocolate (11%), and candy (9%). 2) Credit card debt increased by $130 billion between December 2021 and December 2022. 3) Spending in the race for mayor tops $13 million. What’s wrong with this picture?

Marie Conn, Hatboro

A recent letter to the editor proposed ending grand juries, an unnecessary, uncertain, and lengthy process. The Fifth Amendment requires “infamous” federal crimes allowing more than one-year imprisonment to be initiated by grand jury presentment or indictment. The New York Constitution also requires a grand jury indictment for infamous crimes. Grand juries determine only whether probable cause exists that a crime was committed. High indictment rates result because prosecutors don’t waste resources pursuing weak cases. No experienced district attorney would prosecute a politically fraught case that isn’t supported by substantial evidence and solid witnesses. Grand juries are no more archaic than the rule of law or the belief that no man is above it. Donald Trump has gulled much of his base into accepting his legal defense strategy, which inadvertently channels Carl Sandburg. If the law and the facts are against you, then argue politics, fabricate in public, and take the Fifth when under oath.

Stewart Speck, Ardmore

In response to columnist Jonathan Zimmerman and countless others who seem to equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism, they are not the same thing and should not be confused as such. Anti-Zionism is a political position. Antisemitism is an ethnic or racial position. I am Jewish, but I am not Zionist. In some ways, I am anti-Zionist, but I am definitely not antisemitic. I believe there are many Jews who are not Zionist. That does not make them antisemitic. Nor does it make all anti-Zionists antisemitic. This distinction is important. Many Zionists use accusations of antisemitism against anti-Zionists with a destructive purpose; it paints anti-Zionists with the wrong brush and conflates two important and different issues on purpose. I do believe that Kareem Tannous’ comments about Israel were anti-Zionist, but I do not see any of the comments/tweets attributed to Tannous as being automatically antisemitic.

Jeffrey Plaut, Elkins Park

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Columnist Jonathan Zimmerman omits a significant difference between the views of University of Pennsylvania professor Amy Wax and former Cabrini University professor Kareem Tannous. If a teacher stated that they would automatically fail any Black or Jewish student in their class, I think that would be grounds for dismissal. The question is whether Wax crossed that line, and I believe that she came close enough for her to be fired. The remarks by Tannous may have been offensive but did not specifically indicate retaliation against anyone in his class. The idea that, no matter what a professor says, it is never grounds for censorship or dismissal, is overly simplistic.

Jay Donner, Philadelphia, jay.donner@att.net

I found the recent article on how fresh produce is being “prescribed” to chronically ill patients very informative, particularly in terms of the effect that the quality of food has on people’s health. As a supporter of the Borgen Project, which fights global poverty, I want to encourage people to help extend these opportunities to people across the world. Millions of people suffer from hunger, which leads to deaths in various countries. By reaching out to their representatives, people can help encourage the U.S. to play a bigger role in helping to end world hunger and improving our global community.

Pablo Espejo-Saavedra, College Park, Md.

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