Letters: The hypocrisy of pro-life; Where is Corman’s leadership on COVID-19?

The hypocrisy of pro-life

I couldn’t agree more with Ms. Nelson’s comments in a Dec. 16 CDT letter to the editor. However, I would like to add on to her comments, to continue the conversation. This country’s social safety nets are sorely lacking (certainly compared to other countries). They are being consistently eroded by many of the same people who tend to be “pro-life,” or more accurately, anti-choice.

I find it interesting and confounding that many of the same people don’t want the local, state and federal government to mandate masks and vaccines because it infringes upon their freedom and/or right to choose for themselves. How is that any different then making reproductive choices for oneself? Why should pro-choice be held to a different standard than masks and vaccines? Isn’t making abortion illegal or a crime the same as a “mandate” for masks and vaccines? The hypocrisy of the logic astounds me.

You can’t tell me to wear a mask in public or get vaccinated to protect my fellow citizens, but I can tell you whether or not you must have a child? Where is the equity in that argument?

None of this makes sense to me and it saddens me deeply. Women are still second class citizens in this country. If you don’t believe in abortion, prenatal care, or birth control then don’t avail yourself of those services; however, that doesn’t mean you should take away the choice from others to exercise their choices.

Where is Corman’s leadership on COVID-19?

State Sen. Jake Corman was quick to take a victory dance after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the Wolf administration’s mask mandate for schools last week. Corman was one of those who challenged the governor on the mandate to begin with.

But if Corman does not follow up with very public leadership on fighting COVID-19, he will have won the battle but lost the war. As we keep learning from this newspaper, COVID cases are on the rise and the leading area is now the 16823 ZIP code, where Corman lives and where he went to school.

It’s not enough for him to say that local school boards and parents should be the ones making the mask decisions; Corman should also be advocating not just for mask wearing and social distancing, but vaccinations for everyone. That’s leadership, and if Corman wants a chance at becoming governor of Pennsylvania, he needs to exhibit more leadership.

Thanks and no thanks due for infrastructure bill

The Dec. 17 CDT carried the welcome news (“University Park Airport to get $2M from infrastructure bill”) that more than $1.9 million in federal funds has been allocated for safety and infrastructure improvements at our local airport. This is one of the many beneficial local results from the infrastructure bill recently passed by the Congress and signed by President Biden.

Take a moment to write a letter of thanks to Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, and our local Congressmen Fred Keller and Glenn Thompson, for helping secure these needed funds.

Oops, sorry, I misspoke. Please thank Sen. Casey for supporting the infrastructure bill.

Sen. Toomey, and Congressmen Keller and Thompson, all voted against the bill! Yes, it’s sad, but true. For unfathomable reasons, they are against improvements in our infrastructure.

So reserve your thanks (but no thanks) to them for the ballot box next November. That’s a message they will understand.

Not back yet

I was surprised to see the headline “The Year We Came Back, a look at the 2021 through the lens of the pandemic” in the special insert in the Sunday, Dec. 19 edition. My first thought of this headline was that it reminds me a lot of George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech during the Iraq War. I still think we have a long way to go before we are indeed “back.” Maybe a more apt title should have been, “2021 the year we saw a dim light at the end of the tunnel.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.