Letters to the Editor

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Please consider donating some of your charity dollars to local animal shelters this year. Many animals have lost their homes due to the death of their owners and are scared and confused. Those rescued from abuse and neglect are also scared. Clean out your linen closet and donate clean towels and blankets, or consider buying pet food to donate. If you can, consider volunteering at the local shelter, or even better, adopt a new companion. Please don't forget our furry friends this year.

-- Youngstown

"One, big, beautiful reconciliation bill" like one big, beautiful, haystack, makes rot more difficult to spot. Hiding the rot is like using courts to delay, rather than deliver justice as rot is rot, revealed or not.

-- Canfield

One of 47's big tax breaks for billionaires gives that class a break if they live abroad. Of course "abroad" is just the place for their second, third, fourth, whatever, number palatial compounds they build to stave off the boredom of living in just one. That may be behind 47s crass offer to buy Greenland from Denmark. He could develop the world's largest island and offer, as a plus, immunity from prosecution for those with dual citizenship in the U.S. and the renamed Trump Land International. They'll need their private jets to get groceries under the Trump Land for Trumpers immigration laws.

-- Canfield

In "Sound Off" on 1/4/25, a writer from Liberty wanted to remind us that "we forget our grandparents and ancestors were immigrants." How true. But I have heard people express this same thought many times in the past couple years, and they always leave out one very important word. Several of my ancestors were immigrants; LEGAL immigrants.

-- Girard

Do the senseless deaths from a car ramming into a crowd in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve have any correlation with gun-toting killers? These acts – such as Darrell Brooks plowing his SUV through barricades and into a crowd celebrating the Waukesha Christmas parade in Wisconsin in 2021 – are not uncommon anymore. Now, will the anti-gun advocates who cry that “people don’t kill, guns do” proclaim that “people don’t kill, cars do”? If we outlaw all guns, let’s ban all cars from the road.

-- Hubbard

That huge sucking sound you hear is the Social Security fund now that the Windfall Elimination Provision is headed for repeal. Granted, retirees of police officer and firefighter jobs are exponentially more entitled to their social security benefits – if any – than the outlandish pensions of teachers and most federal employees, and other local and state public servants (average work/good hours). If teachers work(ed) a second job, it’s probably because they have three months’ vacation in the summer and want to fill the void. Besides, how do those who claim that they struggle to make “a living wage” afford those Florida/Arizona retirement condos? Wasn’t the WEP enacted decades ago to balance the retirement benefits between the public and private systems and limit rewarding those in public sector jobs from receiving a surfeit of monthly retirement payments?

-- Hubbard

Letters to the Editor

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In the Dec. 28 issue of the Vindicator, an article stated there has been an 18% rise in homelessness in the U.S. In the same issue, an article stated "U.S. to send $1.25B more to Ukraine." What sense does this make when so many people in the U.S. are homeless?

-- Youngstown

I grow tired of reading each Saturday the posts from liberal Democrats bashing President Trump. Face it. Your policies and candidates were bad for America. Real Americans knew this. I can't wait for President Trump to make America great again starting Jan. 20.

-- Struthers

With all the to-do about Biden "lying" about pardoning his son, I thought I would remind everyone about 45's lies. "I will only hire the best people. Mexico will pay for the wall. They're eating the pets. Tariffs (taxes) are paid for by other countries. Obama wasn't born in America. I don't know anything about project 2025. My infrastructure plan will be ready in a week. We have a replacement for the ACA." And the sad part is that a lot of people still believe him. I suggest that you record what the current unemployment, price of gas, wage gap, price of eggs, healthcare costs and inflation is. Then, in four years, compare.

-- Campbell

Fearing internal critics, the president of South Korea made an "only I can fix it" declaration of martial law and was quickly disabused of his grandiosity by the Korean people, the majority of their legislators and their military and is being impeached per the Korean constitution. Here, congressional cowardice during two impeachment trials and in ignoring an unconstitutional attempt to use military force to put down a peaceful protest, set the stage instead for insurrection. Nooses, mindless vandalism, loss of life, death threats and general criminal behavior resulted. Still, we elected the insurrectionist. MAGA my Aunt Fanny.

-- Canfield

The problems of Musk's wealth, tainting his DOGE (extra-government agency), his dominance of government contracts with little regard for reporting regulations, etc. miss an important point. His preferential treatment and money to buy it, leaves businesses he will regulate by cutting regulation of his interests, up a creek without a competitive paddle. Those with great products, service, fair prices and fair employment practices, established over years, will be quickly screwed out of existence to the detriment of all citizens. This is Not Big Box vs Mom&Pop; it's government theft by oligarchy.

-- Canfield

I think it's very interesting that many of the people who had Trump signs now have "God Bless America" signs in their yards. Why? Are these people worried about our country now? Trump is a twice impeached, convicted felon, who led an insurrection against America. Maybe these voters didn't have all the information that was needed!

-- Austintown

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"Sound off!" publishes weekly to provide readers with a forum to applaud successes, constructively discuss issues and local problems or review events. Names are not included, but residential community must be included. Preference is given to local issues, but local election issues may not be discussed here. Sound off submissions must be 80 words or less. Submit longer commentary as "Letters to the Editor." Submit your sound off via email to soundoff@tribtoday.com; or via the Virtual Newsroom by going to www.vindy.com and clicking "Submit News" and then "Sound off." The deadline is Tuesday afternoon for sound offs to appear in the weekend edition.