Letters: Presidential oath or not?; Spay/neuter your animals
Presidential oath or not?
President Trump betrayed his oath of office by pretending not to understand his job.
In January 2025 (and January 2017), Trump took the presidential oath, pledging allegiance to the Constitution:
“I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God.”
Less than four months later, Trump either forgot his solemn obligation — or never meant it.
When asked by journalist Kristen Welker whether he agrees with Secretary of State Rubio that everyone — citizens and noncitizens — deserves due process, he replied, “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.”
Welker reminded him that the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution ensures due process. He repeated that he doesn’t know.
Finally, when given a chance to correct himself and speak directly about his obligation, he again showed his failure to do his job, formalized in his public oath of office.
Asked, “Don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?” he replied “I don’t know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me ...”
Democracy cannot survive when the president openly dismisses the Constitution, the foundation of our great nation — and when Republican sycophants, who took similar oaths, allow such violations to go unchecked.
We must act before our Constitution is meaningless.
Spay/neuter your animals
To people in Bellefonte and adjoining Spring Township (and of course everyone): Please, please spay/neuter your animals. We are trying to get friendly with a litter of kittens so that we can get them fixed, checked and adopted before they are too feral. But there is another litter just a couple houses away! These are adorable, I know, but the mom and kittens need to be fixed so that there is not an endless supply of feral cats and hawk feed. This is a litter of five kittens — they seem quite healthy, but we don’t need another five feral cats around here. We don’t mind if you let your cat roam — this seems quite natural — but get them spayed/neutered. Centre County PAWS can help with vouchers to save of the cost involved. Thank you.
Penn State BOT doesn’t trust alumni
Recently, the Penn State Board of Trustees amended their procedure for electing alumnus representatives, supposedly to make it easier for alumni to run. But nominations will now go through a nominations committee to see if the candidates are “qualified.” Trustee Gursahaney stated: “We need the right kind of people on the board.” The right kind of people? Does that mean that the people we have chosen as alumni are not “the right kind of people?” I guess the board does not trust the alumni to decide who should be eligible to represent them. Let that sink in. The board does not trust the alumni to make decisions that are in the best interests of this great university. Shame! Shame!
This may well be due to the recent disagreements between some alumni representatives and the executive board. Disagreements and disputes are not always a bad thing. As NCIS’s Gibbs notes in his Rule 51: “Sometimes — you’re wrong.” Disagreements often help a board make better decisions.
Though I was president of a award-winning alumni chapter, among many other alumni positions, I suspect I would not be considered the “right kind of person,” as I have voiced my displeasure in the past with some board decisions. Thus, my giving has and will go elsewhere.
Trump administration hasn’t made us safer
The recent column crediting President Trump for a reduction in gun violence misrepresents both the facts and the recent actions of this administration.
Gun homicides dropped 38% by the end of 2022, as significant investments in violence prevention programs began. This administration taking credit before they even took office is insulting to the community leaders who hit the streets to save lives.
Here are the facts: Trump eliminated the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, a hub for coordinating national strategies to reduce shootings and save lives. He reversed restrictions that kept guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. His administration cut grants to community violence organizations — many in Pennsylvania. These actions didn’t make us safer — they made us more vulnerable. And, he recently ended a policy that held licensed gun dealers accountable when they knowingly violated public safety laws — potentially putting firearms in the hands of domestic abusers and individuals with a violent criminal record.
Where will we be a year from now? The evidence suggests fewer graduations, more funerals. Fewer birthday parties, more empty chairs. We warned that Trump’s rollback of common-sense protections threatens to flood communities with more firearms, reduce oversight and gut valuable community programs. This is a fact: enforcement of background checks and investment in community violence intervention are the keys to lasting safety.
We should not thank a man who dismantled the protections we overwhelmingly support. If we want to keep crime rates trending down, we need leaders who put evidence, lives ahead of ideology.