Letters: Wake up, Republicans; What the Bible says about abortion

Wake up, Republicans

Today’s Republican Party is not your friend. The party’s political agenda is controlled by Trump and perhaps some oligarchs with whom he confides. To understand the implications, remember that Trump is a great admirer of Putin and Hungarian dictator Victor Orban, among others. Recall that following Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine, Trump called Putin “smart and savvy.” Really ...

Trump and Putin have several things in common: both were president of their respective nations; both were forced to relinquish office because of “constitutional inconvenience.” Putin has returned, a feat Trump would like to duplicate.

What would or could Trump do to make his presidency permanent? Martial law, on some pretext, perhaps? Should that happen, much of our present way of life would be in grave jeopardy, including the humane environment we all take for granted. Consider restrictive anti-abortion rulings that fly in the face of public preference.

Think Social Security is secure? Think again. Radical Republicans have targeted SS since Goldwater was the Republican presidential nominee in the early 1960s.

If Trump and his oligarchs gain permanent control, they’d likely emulate the Russian and Hungarian styles of government. So how many firearms are allowed in private hands in those places? How many militias?

Am I just imagining things? Note that Republican Party oligarchs attended a two-day conference in Hungary, keynoted by dictator Orban who spoke about defeating democracy, something he’s already done with the help of big lies.

Wake up Republican voters! Voting Republican because of tradition is no longer tenable.

What the Bible says about abortion

I wondered about biblical support for life beginning at conception with little known about biological conception prior to about 1875. After reading the pastors’ provided passages in Psalm 139, it is clear the Bible is silent on the topic, and one sees what one wants to see. Formation of life is continuum from fertilization to birth. Pregnancy is a period of growth — a fetus becoming a baby and a woman becoming a mother. Practically and ethically, laws require bifurcating the continuum, but declaring when life starts is not stated in or the point of Psalm 139.

Psalm 139 starts by praising an all-knowing and omnipresent God. In the pastors’ highlighted verses, Verse 13 (“…you knit me together in my mother’s womb”) suggests creation occurs in the womb, not that life starts “pre-knitting,” “knitting,” or when “knitting is done.” Verses 14-15 note being made in a “secret place” (the womb?) and perhaps connects one life to the creation story/Adam (“I was woven together in the depths of the earth”). Verse 16 suggests a potential for life (“unformed body”) predestined, but not existing, until after history and birth happens.

In Verse 19, the writer wishes punishment (“If only you, God, would slay the wicked.” Wicked people’s lives are not valued? Or murder isn’t prohibited, Ex 20, if God does it?) The psalm ends with wanting God to correct the writer’s inner most wrongs.

Psalm 139 is not about when life begins in the womb. It is praising God as all-knowing, time-less, and all-powerful.

Seeking Lemont construction solutions

I live in Lemont, and you probably know that there is construction there. The problem is it is hard to notice the signs at night and my friends and family get lost. There are two ways into Lemont through Pike Street. But since the road now only goes one way it is harder for people to get to where they need to go. Sometimes it takes 5-10 minutes longer to drive in good traffic. I ride my bike, and on Mondays, I go down Dale Street, take a right onto Pike Street, then up Grove Circle to get to piano lessons. I can get there fine but getting back is the problem. To follow the rules of the road, I have to cut through a friend’s yard and use the railroad, but you can’t bike on it that well. Imagine having to ride a bike on stairs. That is what it feels like. You may be asking why I am writing to you; it is because I need some way to get home safely and efficiently, not one or the other. Therefore, if other bikers/drivers agree with me, then I propose at certain times of the day the direction of traffic gets switched. Of course, there will be announcements that have to go out, but it will be easier in the long run.