Keep mail-in voting

President Donald Trump recently announced a plan to eliminate mail-in voting. Unproven claims about voter fraud aside, such a move is ageist and ableist. Removing voting by mail means many people, especially those who are older, disabled, or both, won’t be able to vote. If they do manage to reach their polling place, these people often face obstacles, despite laws requiring accessibility. It’s no wonder that among registered voters, older adults are the most likely to utilize mail-in voting.

As a gerontological nurse, I witness ageism and ableism daily. Whether it is ignoring an older person’s wishes or something more widespread like the president’s proposal, it is still discrimination. Instead of disenfranchising millions of Americans, no-excuse absentee voting should be expanded nationwide. Initiatives that support voters must also be prioritized. Here in Philadelphia, we can take pride in a guide, developed, in part, by the Penn Memory Center, that helps people with cognitive impairment exercise their voting rights. Additionally, an initiative called Platinum Voters supports mail-in voting for those who live in nursing homes.

Strategies to improve voting access for older and disabled people help everyone. Eliminating mail-in voting doesn’t just suppress votes; it silences the voice of anyone for whom in-person voting is a barrier, not a choice.

Ellen Munsterman, Philadelphia

Public safety risk

During a recent visit with the National Guard at Union Station in Washington, D.C., JD Vance said: “Union Station should be a monument to American greatness … This should not be a place where parents of small children are afraid to bring them. We’ve empowered criminals over the people who actually need public safety.”

Ironically, that same day, Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro ruled that people will no longer face felony charges for carrying rifles or shotguns in public in the district.

Imagine if Vance had visited a school and said this instead: “Schools should be monuments to American greatness … they should not be places where parents of small children are afraid to bring them. We’ve empowered gun owners over the people who actually need public safety.”

If Vance and the Republicans truly cared about public safety, they’d introduce legislation in support of commonsense gun laws. They can start with reinstating the assault weapons and high-capacity magazine bans. Then, families might not be quite so afraid as their kids are returning to school now. I guess that wouldn’t be effective political theater, though — or much of a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein files. So much for being tough on crime and pro-family.

Gretchen Seibert, Collingswood

Help from afar

In 1975, the only bridge into the tiny town of Vulcan, W.Va., collapsed. The people of Vulcan appealed to the state and federal government for a new bridge, but were ignored for more than two years. In 1977, Vulcan’s desperate mayor made a last-ditch attempt to get his community the funding it needed to repair the bridge: He wrote a letter to Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev, asking the USSR for aid. The story was picked up by a reporter in Moscow, and the Soviets, constantly looking to one-up their rival, promised to build a new bridge for Vulcan if the United States wouldn’t. The West Virginia legislature promptly allocated the funds for a new bridge.

It’s time to similarly internationalize the fight for SEPTA’s transit network by asking the People’s Republic of China for a grant to fund SEPTA.

As the United States undertakes a retreat from its position of global leadership, many observers are wondering if we are at the cusp of the “Chinese Century.” China is funding infrastructure projects all over the world as part of its “belt and road initiative,” and China’s dynamic domestic infrastructure projects make a stark contrast with America’s crumbling public roads and our woefully inadequate national railway network. There is a real opportunity for China to cement its status as a world leader by stepping up to help SEPTA riders, who have been abandoned by our own government. There are also the historic ties between the city of Philadelphia and China: Temple University was one of the first American schools to establish academic ties with China in the late 70s, and maintains a vibrant academic relationship with Chinese universities today.

The question remains whether our request will be enough to motivate our state government to finally do its job, but SEPTA is too important to the region to let it collapse without exhausting every possible avenue to secure funding.

W.B. Lowry, student, Temple University Beasley School of Law

A shared struggle

Two members of the Chester County business community recently made an excellent point: SEPTA is not a “Philadelphia problem,” but rather a Pennsylvania asset “that generates billions in economic output and tax revenue for the entire state.”

They were right. But while SEPTA’s funding struggles have captured headlines, highways and bridges across the commonwealth face the same uncertain future.

The issue is bigger than just transit — and bigger than Philadelphia. Transit and highways are not separate problems; they are partners in one system. Transit runs on roads, and strong road networks help transit operate reliably. Without one, the other cannot thrive.

Last week, Philly commuters were greeted with a 20% public transit service cut, which manifested itself in the elimination of 32 bus routes and the shortening of 16 other routes and 88 bus and rail routes. At the same time, PennDot is facing urgent needs, hoping to use nearly $3 billion annually to maintain and improve roadways and bridges statewide in the next fiscal year.

These challenges are not confined to one region or one mode of travel. Transit riders depend on safe, well-maintained roads just as drivers benefit when buses, trains, and shared-ride programs reduce congestion. Businesses rely on both freight trucking and commuter rail. Families in every corner of the commonwealth — urban, suburban, and rural — depend on a transportation network that works as one.

Robert R. Buckley Jr., president, Buckley and Company Inc.

Hegseth’s troubles

The other day, someone said to me, “I think Pete Hegseth is doing an awful job!” and I said, “I don’t agree.”

While those of you who know me pull your chins off the floor, allow me to explain.

I said: “You seem to believe Pete Hegseth’s job is to maintain and enhance the readiness of the military forces of our country, and to defend the nation from threats of war. Sorry, but you’re just plain wrong. Do you really believe that someone with Hegseth’s résumé is even remotely qualified to perform that role, or that anyone in their right mind would hire him to do that job? Pete Hegseth’s job is to make sure the American military is under the control of the junta so that they don’t have generals spouting off about things like the law and the Constitution.

“Just look at the most recent purge. He fired Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), because he had the audacity to make an honest assessment of our bombing of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. That kind of assessment can help the armed services improve, to fix things they get wrong and know what they got right. It can also help save the lives of American servicewomen and men. But no, that’s not the job. The job was to get on TV and say the attack was perfect, that Iran’s program is totally wiped out … forever, and that it’s all due to the incredible, wonderful, perfect leadership from our amazing leader.”

So, the guy who provided the honest assessment is out. The service members who remain in the DIA? I’m sure they got the message loud and clear.

Talent? Experience? Those are old school. Perfect is in! And, very soon, Hegseth will have his new guy in the job, and then we’ll start getting some truly great results.

Just thought I’d share that.

Oh, and thank you for your attention to this matter. (We’re supposed to say that now, right?)

Robin McEntire,
Elkins Park,
robin.mcentire@gmail.com