Letters: MAGA Republicans hurting own country; Expansion no reason to celebrate
MAGA Republicans hurting own country
Once again, the conspiracy-drenched party of Joseph McCarthy (who, in the 1950s, thought there was a Communist under every bed) has brazenly revealed its utter hypocrisy.
A recent tweet from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) appears to legitimize Putin’s claims to annex provinces — which was based on a referendum that the U.S. and allies viewed as illegal. CPAC tweeted that the U.S. should “end the gift-giving to Ukraine” and referred to “Ukraine-occupied territories.” The tweet concluded with an image of a fluttering Russian flag. (The tweet disappeared hours later, likely a recognition of the outrageous statements.)
Continuing the deference to dictators, MAGA Republicans cozy up to pro-Russian prime minister Victor Orban of Hungary, who spoke at a Republican conference in August. And remember that Trump tried to blackmail Ukrainian President Zelensky in order to receive U.S. aid.
Trump and his MAGA Republican allies side with Putin. They don’t condemn the Russian invasion that has devastated the lives and homes of thousands of Ukrainians. They follow Trump’s lead when he accepted Putin’s statements about Russian interference in the 2016 elections over those of our own U.S. intelligence.
Wow. Trump voters: Why are you continuing to support Republicans? Do you know where we are headed if the hard right has its way?
You may enjoy “owning the libs,” poking them in the eye, but honestly, you’re really, really hurting our country.
Expansion no reason to celebrate
Mount Nittany Hospital has just announced a major expansion plan. This is not an occasion to applaud because this local hospital continues to make no provision for treating emergency patients. Instead those patients are routinely sent off by helicopter to other treatment centers, often Altoona. How much treatment delay and extra cost does this mean for the injured person?
Vote to protect reproductive health
Doctors, not government bureaucracies, should help women make decisions during pregnancy. Though most pregnancies proceed well, some families face excruciating choices when fetal abnormalities appear in a 16-week amniocentesis or a 20-week anatomy scan. No one is happy about pregnancy termination in these situations, but for the past 50 years, doctors have helped families with their options.
Since the Supreme Court reversed 50 years of precedent, ending the rights of women to seek abortions, women and their health care providers face uncertain new standards. Restrictive new laws are in place in 17 states, soon to be 26. Medical decisions are complex, and government officials trying to come up with lists of exceptions — everything from ectopic pregnancies, incomplete miscarriages, early water breaking, plus non-viable fetal diagnoses— put physicians in a bind and lower the standard of care for women.
Many medical groups (American Hospital Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, and others) have signed on to lawsuits against limiting abortion care.
Now, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is proposing a nationwide 15-week abortion ban with no exceptions for fetal abnormalities. This would override Pennsylvania’s current laws that uphold families’ choices. Graham’s mandate would doom women to carry non-viable pregnancies to term (“a baby dying inside you,” one mom said), putting their physical and mental health at risk.
If you disagree with Graham’s cruelty, be sure to register to vote before Oct 24. Then, on Nov. 8, vote your conscience by choosing candidates who will protect women’s autonomy, equality and reproductive health.
Their body, their choice
Reminder:
To all those who protested against the COVID-19 vaccination by saying “my body, my choice...”
Reminder to vote for a woman’s right to choose.
Their body their choice!!!