Letters: Rehashing big election lies; Important to share safety reminders

Rehashing big election lies

In the Dec. 6 edition, a letter from one of the CDT’s most radically “conservative” readers, rehashing the lie that the presidential election was “stolen” by “corruption,” was published. This is a big lie that appears likely to be featured in the history books along with the lies of Dr. Goebbels and his Nazis as well as Stalin and his communists — because the loser insists on fighting the legitimate will of the people as expressed in their lawful votes, and stirring up his supporters to seditious rebellion. This becomes a serious potential crime when people who have occupied positions of high trust, including generals, are urging the president to declare “martial law” to overturn the election. Other more cowardly Republicans know it’s a lie but refuse to condemn the lie or the liar who speaks it. Republican election officials as well as Democrats are justifiably insulted and outraged by the lie.

Hardly a shred of evidence has been put forward to back up these baseless accusations. Republicans do not like ease of voting, but even our gerrymandered ultra-Republican state legislature had made it lawful to submit ballots by mail or early, in-person. Republican officials made it impossible to process those ballots ahead of time, so that they had to be opened after the close of in-person voting Nov. 3. Pro-Trump voters are angry over a process, as well as a result, that was bound to happen because Republican leaders had made it inevitable.

Important to share safety reminders

On Dec. 7th, I saw a video posted on the CDT’s website from Dr. Brian Newcomb about the coronavirus. He mentions making sure to wear masks, being socially distant from others, avoiding large gatherings and washing your hands regularly. I fully agree with all of these and encourage people to follow these guidelines.

I have noticed that some people still wear masks improperly by either putting it below their chins too often, or not covering their nose. I think it is important to stress that wearing masks properly is important to help stop the coronavirus.

I also think it would be a good idea to show or link some kind of visual to help stress the importance of washing your hands properly. I know some people just put their hands under the sink for a couple of seconds and walk away, which won’t really do anything to clean them off.

I think this little 30-second video was a great idea to share with everyone. Hopefully, this will make an impact on the amount of people wearing masks and practicing proper social distancing.

Time to change the rules in Harrisburg

If it’s true that “all politics are local” then is it possible that the internal threats to democracy we are facing nationally might be a reflection of local politics gone wrong?

The Pennsylvania state legislature’s authoritarian operational process might give us some insight. In Harrisburg our elected representatives are forced to play by rules that effectively silence the voice we give them. How? It begins when the majority party writes the procedural rules, which give the majority party leaders complete control over the legislative process. This is the first thing voted through by the majority in every new session.

Effectively, the rules are: (1) the Majority Leader and the Speaker have absolute authority over everything, including committee chairs and (2) committee chairs have absolute authority over the handling of all bills in their committee. Thus, the Majority Leader, Speaker and committee chairs in both the House and Senate maintain absolute power. No matter how popular a bill is with Pennsylvania voters or how extensive the bipartisan agreement, party leaders alone will determine its fate.

So, are we truly living in a democracy where our voices are heard by our democratically elected representatives? Or are we being fooled? Pennsylvania’s legislature looks like a dictatorship to me. Maybe this explains how we could recently end up with 64 democratically elected Pennsylvania representatives, including local Representatives Benninghoff and Irvin, signing off on a clearly indefensible attempt to invalidate the voices of their voting constituents. It’s time to change the rules in Harrisburg.