Letters to the Editor | Dec. 21, 2022

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special prosecutor to investigate Donald Trump. Smith should hire three deputies to focus on three things: the top secret and classified documents illegally found in Florida and elsewhere; the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and criminal conspiracies against President Joe Biden; and other misconduct including income tax evasion, retaliation, intimidation, and violations of the First Amendment.

Frank T. Brzozowski, Pa. Democratic State Committee, Philadelphia

I disagree with the premise of Solomon Jones’ column on Brittney Griner. Namely, that her income disparity is caused by racial and gender bias. It is, instead, a fact of economics. Her salary doesn’t compare to NBA salaries for a number of reasons. Professional basketball salaries correlate directly with the yearly revenue from advertising, merchandising, sponsorships, and ticket sales. According to Forbes, the NBA earned $10 billion in 2021, while the WNBA made $157 million in revenue. The WNBA does not have the funds to pay salaries comparable to the NBA average. Why? Start with viewership. Each NBA game has an average of 1.2 million viewers, while WNBA games have less than half that amount. Griner’s average annual salary for her current contract is $215,515. Compare this to the median U.S. household income of $70,784 in 2021 and she is not doing too badly. Although this is not an equal comparison, neither is that with the NBA, in which Griner does not play.

Richard Colucci, Pennsauken

Enslaved Africans were first brought to what would become the United States of America in 1619. Twenty years later, a shipload of captive Africans arrived at Penn’s Landing. Thomas Jefferson brought his enslaved valet, Robert Hemings, to Declaration (Graff) House, where he wrote the Declaration of Independence. African Americans were intentionally excluded from the nation’s founding document, a majority of whose signers were slaveholders. It is shocking that Philadelphia 250 has excluded the nation’s origin story — and by extension African Americans — from the city’s official observance of the country’s 250th anniversary. How can there be an “inclusive and transformative celebration” when 40% of Philadelphians are, at best, an afterthought? For the descendants of enslaved Americans, Frederick Douglass’ observation is as relevant in 2022 as it was in 1852: “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?”

Faye Anderson, Philadelphia

Last week, a judge in Chester County dismissed frivolous court petitions challenging the integrity of this year’s election in the county. The petitions were filed as part of a coordinated campaign to undermine the integrity of elections across the commonwealth, which the Pennsylvania Department of State has described as “a deliberate attempt to flout the will of the people as expressed in the election results.” We could not agree more. These petitions represent an attempt to abuse the court system to undermine the will of the people. Chester County will never stand for that. Voting is the foundation of our democracy. We take our stewardship of the right to vote very seriously, and we will always defend the right of our citizens to make their voices heard. Chester County Voter Services is made up of professionals with extensive experience in running elections, and we are extremely confident in their expertise. We have safeguards in place to ensure that every legitimate ballot is counted, and that nobody can tamper with the vote. We know that the results reported were accurate. Chester County’s elections have always been free, fair, and accessible, and that will continue under our watch.

Marian Moskowitz and Josh Maxwell, Chester County commissioners

Columnist Jenice Armstrong’s glowing approval of Meghan Markle is in stark contrast to how I have perceived Ms. Markle’s behavior since she became engaged and married to Prince Harry. Initially, I was an enthusiastic supporter of their marriage. It was wonderful to see two people so in love. I did not for an instant think about Meghan’s race.

Their wedding touched me as I watched the queen, Prince Charles and other family members participate in a very different ceremony from that of the traditional Church of England. It was a spectacular event. As I recall, Prince Charles even offered his arm to Meghan as she initially walked alone (without her estranged father) toward the altar. These are the same people that Meghan and Harry have now completely humiliated and embarrassed around the world.

To me, marriage represents a joining together of two families with the intent to help and maintain relationships, not to destroy them within a two-year period. If “Love wins” really is Meghan’s tagline, then she missed how to achieve it. Harry lost his father, brother, sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, and, possibly, the respect of his country. Wasn’t there another way?

Patricia M. Duffy, Cherry Hill

It is heartening to learn of sleuthing to solve the mystery of the “Boy in the Box.” It is the culmination of a determined effort to bring closure to the child’s horrific suffering. His death was profiled on TV’s America’s Most Wanted and had been the subject of countless true crime projects and fictionalized cases on popular television crime shows. None of that attention was given, though, to keep a different tragedy in the public consciousness. The “Girl in the Box,” found five years later on May 3, 1962, has gone mostly forgotten. This death has glaring indicators of domestic violence. Someone who could not care for this child or protect her was present in her life. There was a ribbon in her hair, as well as a pitiful attempt to attach a finger taken from her hand. The answers are out there somewhere and finding them is as important as finding the answers for the boy child. There are further questions that beg to be answered: Why the lack of attention to this child? Because she is a girl? Because she is Black? Both?

SaraKay Smullens, Philadelphia

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