Letters to the Editor | Dec. 7, 2022

As the U.S. Senate resumes its lame-duck session, the upper chamber must promptly fill all four Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacancies in Philadelphia with the very experienced nominees whom President Joe Biden selected in June. Kelley Hodge, who is a Fox Rothschild partner, has practiced law for more than two decades, while she served as the interim Philadelphia district attorney from 2015 to 2016 and as a public defender for six years. Mia Roberts Perez has served as a Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas judge since winning election in 2016, while she was previously a private practitioner for six years and was a public defender across four years before that. Kai Scott has served as a Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas judge since 2015, as the Eastern District Federal Community Defender Office trial unit chief from 2010 to 2015, as an assistant federal defender from 2004 to 2010, and as a public defender for six years before that. John Frank Murphy, who is a Baker & Hostetler partner, has practiced with the highly regarded law firm since 2007 and clerked with Kimberly Moore, the federal circuit chief judge. All of the nominees earned well-qualified American Bar Association ratings. Three openings that the nominees would fill have remained vacant for more than 17 months and another for more than 50. Because the nominees would be well-qualified mainstream judges and the vacancies they will fill are prolonged, the Senate must expeditiously confirm all four.

Carl Tobias, Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond, Richmond, Va.

Thank you for the retrospective “The Philly We Were Promised.” It brings to mind an idea that could solve many problems and advance our community. The DisneyQuest failure at Eighth and Market Streets could be the home of a new Sixers arena — only across the street and down one block from the current proposal. It would save the character of Chinatown, as discussed in an earlier article about local opposition and the disastrous Washington experience, and would enhance East Market Street. Perhaps not to former Mayor Ed Rendell’s vision, but it would get rid of that big empty space and bring much-needed revenue to the area. I understand the Sixers don’t share in parking and concessions in their current location, and the owners did go to Wharton. Let’s use some common sense and make our city great again.

Angus Love, Narberth

Hats off to the U.S. men’s soccer team, who performed as well as anyone expected them to do. Beating a world powerhouse like the Netherlands is more than anyone could have assumed. The U.S. team is getting better by degrees. Sure, it’s a molasses-slow process, but one that has to happen for them to walk onto the field and expect to win against the likes of Germany, Argentina, Brazil, and Italy. And although the game can be slow and plodding at times, it’s a game I greatly enjoy. Watching a four-hour-plus World Series baseball game that ends after midnight can engender the same feelings. I enjoy all the sports on their own terms, whether it’s the Eagles, the Phillies, the Sixers, the Flyers, or the Union. As the saying goes, the more the merrier.

Fran Steffler, Philadelphia

Certainly, there’s satisfaction in discovering more about the 1957 “boy in the box” homicide case. However, anyone involved is likely dead. I doubt I’m alone in questioning use of police resources to solve a 65-year-old mystery in a city suffering some 500 murders, thousands of crippling shootings, and other violent crimes this year alone. In less violent times, devoting much effort to this case was appropriate, and I’m not criticizing detectives who’ve been dedicated to it. But on the day this article appeared in The Inquirer, a letter writer recounted her ordeal of attempting unsuccessfully to get two officers’ assistance with a threatening person who’d committed a street assault. Philadelphians need help today. Otherwise, decades from now, police wishing to solve cold case killings from our era will, unfortunately, have thousands from which to choose.

Dave Campbell, Wildwood

Former President Donald Trump posted that the Constitution should be suspended. How is this not top headline material? Buried on Page A6, the story showing that man is unfit for office should have been front-page news. When taking the oath of office all presidents swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Calling for the Constitution to be repealed for his personal gain shows Trump has no concept of duty, honor, or the rule of law. His statement should be grounds for being permanently banned from holding any office in our country.

Ross McIntosh, Bristol

The potential impact of the U.S. Supreme Court argument in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis cannot be overstated. The court will decide whether the First Amendment right to religious freedom outweighs the rights Coloradoans have in equal access to public accommodations. At first glance, this seems limited to the Colorado legislation — which protects its LGB (no T, Q, or I+ here) citizens from being precluded from using services that should be available to all. But the legal principles at issue loom larger. The Constitution itself does not prohibit citizens from discriminating against each other on the basis of gender, religion, disability, national origin, veteran status, or many of the other protected classes we have come to recognize. Those protections are largely statutory creations. Instead, the Constitution limits the government’s ability to treat its citizens differently. Left open by an opinion endorsing the desire to refuse service to gay couples will be our own ability to discriminate against each other, to create a fractured union, poisoned by blind faith in our own moral righteousness, and cloaked in the seeming impenetrable veil of religious belief.

H. Girer, Moorestown

I am a long-term civil servant at the National Labor Relations Board, writing in my personal capacity to sound the alarm. The NLRB is at a crisis point due to massive funding cuts. Today, we have half as many field staff as in 2002, yet caseloads have doubled and tripled. No matter how hard we work, we cannot effectively protect workers against retaliation for speaking up about mistreatment or trying to form a union. If Congress does not act now, furloughing staff is likely — effectively leaving workers without protection under the law. As a Pennsylvanian, I thank U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and other Democratic representatives for leading the fight. I also thank U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick for his support but urge him to convince his fellow Republicans to increase funding before the end of the year. Jun Bang, Ambler Counteract price gouging Economists are worried that sturdy job growth is muddling the inflation flight. If the goal is price stability, then maybe we shouldn’t focus so much on raising interest rates and keeping wages in check, but go straight to the main issue of price gouging. Let’s try some price control — particularly with the fossil fuel companies, who appear to be using the fear of inflation to increase prices just because they can — and see what happens. We might learn a thing or two.

Jun Bang, Ambler

Economists are worried that sturdy job growth is muddling the inflation flight. If the goal is price stability, then then maybe we shouldn’t focus so much on raising interest rates and keeping wages in check, but go straight to the main issue of price gouging. Let’s try some price control — particularly with the fossil fuel companies, who appear to be using the fear of inflation to increase prices just because they can — and see what happens. We might learn a thing or two.

Pamela Haines, Philadelphia

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