Letters to the Editor | Aug. 20, 2023

There’s a good chance Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for president despite his multiple indictments. There is even a reasonable chance he will be reelected. The various dangers inherent in those possibilities are manifold and palpable. Other than Chris Christie, however, the Republican candidates have been loath to take Trump on consistently. I am reminded of silent film star Buster Keaton’s most recognizable stunt. In 1928’s Steamboat Bill, Jr., Keaton stands in front of a two-story house during a fierce cyclone. The facade of the house falls forward toward him as if to crush him, but it falls around him because he is perfectly positioned at the precise location of an open window. Keaton courted death to make that iconic shot. He had but a two-inch “window” of safety around him. The passive Republicans are counting on a similar minuscule margin to save America from the destructive Trump cyclone endangering our democracy. Luck won’t do it. They must do more.

Edward J. Gallagher, Bethlehem

Will Bunch sure got it wrong this time in his Tuesday column (“From a Kansas newsroom to a soccer pitch, why the right hates America and democracy”). He starts by condemning the raid on a newsroom in Kansas, but the action was court-ordered. Rather than let the justice system determine the legality, he immediately blames the right for some undefined reason. This is typical Bunch. He doubles down on his bias against the right by touting the U.S. women’s national soccer team and decrying any notion that people would root against them.

Did he watch the team’s conduct during the playing of the national anthem? They totally disrespected the U.S. and sent a horrible message to the world. It should be an honor to represent our country. Praising Megan Rapinoe for her fight for social justice also rings hollow. She did fight for equal pay for female soccer players, championing women’s rights. In contrast, she has recently spoken out in favor of trans players possibly replacing biological women on the national team. This is the height of hypocrisy. Bunch points to both situations as proof of the right showing “hatred” and threatening democracy. Not even close.

Mark Fenstermaker, Warminster

As a consequence of illegally challenging the verified and vetted 2020 ballots of legitimate Georgia voters, Donald Trump and his amateur cronies have now found a formidable foe in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The DA is saying that death threats against election workers, trying to compromise Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and attempting to disenfranchise mostly Black voters in a state where it took lives and bloodshed to create equal voting access are despicable actions that should have serious consequences. The prosecution is holding these crooked bullies accountable for presuming they could just bulldoze law-abiding officeholders. It’s illegal and it hurts this country. Fortunately, for this trial, unlike the others, cameras are allowed.

Mary Kay Owen, Downingtown

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