Letters: Trump’s playground games; Leadership needed to keep children safe
Trump’s playground games
A lie is a lie but in this case it’s also a strong delusion afflicting many.
We have all experienced the common grade school playground dynamic in which a sore loser claims that his opponent cheated, and he repeats this loudly and continually, as though that would make it believable. We all soon see through the ploy and acknowledge the truth and reality of the matter. We grownups have learned to see a lie as a lie and not be bullied by bluster and tantrums. In the case of Mr. Trump, though, the fuller reality is more darkly pernicious. He contends cheating happened because that is all he knows and how he himself operates. Consider his treating the Attorney General of the Department of Justice as in his pocket. He assumes that is how all elections are won or lost. And, miraculously, he needs no proof — his claim is taken as proof itself of cheating, because he supposedly cannot lose fairly. His ego cannot bear it. The loss is thus the proof of the cheating. Again, that works once or twice on the playground but then we learned to think for ourselves. In the case of Mr. Trump, however, the stakes are frightfully greater. He is the master cheater and master liar.
Sadly, many otherwise-sensible people are captivated by a blustery lie that wouldn’t pass on a kids playground. All this as a result of Mr. Trump’s apparent incomplete psycho-social development. Think for yourself about the playground.
Leadership needed to keep children safe
After reading Kerry Benninghoff’s op-ed, it seems like he doesn’t care about our children unless they present him with a good photo opportunity. Benninghoff claims, without evidence, that the decision to leave the masking subject up to school districts was working. Yet the CDT showed, the very next day, that it was not, at least not in Penns Valley. And when I turn on my local news in the evening I see reports about other school districts having problems as well.
Benninghoff and his ilk took a page out of the Mike Pence playbook. Pence was head of the COVID-19 Task Force and rather than deal with it, he punted the problem to the states. We had 50 governors working on 50 different plans to deal with the crisis. Imagine 100-plus school districts trying to do the same. It’s our children’s lives we are talking about here!
COVID-19 requires leadership from a central point whether it is from Washington or, in the case of our school boards, Harrisburg. Wolf is trying to save our children. We need to work together, not individually. Why else call ourselves the United States if we can’t even unite to defeat a pandemic?
Benninghoff (and Corman as well) has shown a total disdain for concern about COVID-19. Look at their Facebook pages to see no encouragement from them to wear masks or get vaccinated. They show no sympathy or condolences for those lost to the disease. They don’t care.
Support for a price on carbon
Bloomberg News reported Sept. 3 that the Senate Finance Committee is seriously considering putting a $15 per ton price on carbon in the budget reconciliation package. This fee would be paired with a rebate for low-income taxpayers and a border-adjustment tax to ensure that foreign companies can’t take advantage.
This is encouraging news. President Biden has set a 50% reduction goal for carbon emissions by 2030. But, without a price on carbon, projections are clear that the goal will not be met even accounting for the administration’s other carbon-reducing actions and plans. Adding a price on carbon would guarantee that America uses its best tool to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey is a key member of the Senate Finance Committee. I encourage Senator Casey to support a price on carbon in the budget reconciliation package. He will be helping his constituents, his nation, and the world if he does.