Israel deserves recognition for killing the Beirut attacker

Israel is responsible for the killing of a suspect in the 1983 Beirut barracks explosion

Fact: According to the United States, Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was one of the main culprits in the murder of 241 US soldiers, including 220 Marines, in Beirut on October 23, 1983.

Fact: He has evaded arrest for the past 41 years.

Fact: The United States has offered a $5 million reward for his search and bringing him to justice.

Fact: The Israelis found him and killed him.

Conclusion: Shouldn’t the State of Israel receive the $5 million reward?

Sheldon P. Siegel

South Whitehall Parish

Economic figures speak for Trump administration

My working- and middle-class friends, family members, and neighbors tell me that they were better off four years ago under the Trump administration. Is that true?

The average inflation rate during Trump's time in office was 1.9%. The unemployment rate immediately before COVID in the Trump administration was 3.6%. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.94% before COVID. The price of gasoline averaged $2.66 per gallon.

Inflation rates in the US reached 7% in December 2021 and 9% in June 2022, while the consumer price index (prices for a variety of consumer goods and services) has risen 20% since January 2021. Mortgage rates are currently at 6.78%. Gasoline prices averaged $3.48 per gallon in July.

My neighbor is trying to keep his small business afloat, and low-income families I talk to remember that the economy was great under Trump and that it was the Biden administration that threw the economy into chaos. These numbers prove it.

Dennis Engle

Salisbury Parish

Trump's racist statements show a lack of character

Donald Trump on racial identity: Native American or black?

Mr. Trump, you too are a child of God.

Kindness, according to Webster's definition, is goodness, class, compassion and humanity.

Is this the person America wants to have leading our country? I say no. Mr. Trump is disrespectful and he has no character.

Kamala Harris is qualified because she is well educated and very intelligent.

Beverly A. Kunkle

Palmer Township

Don't forget the people killed and injured in Trump's shooting

The former president boasts that he was shot while defending democracy. He usually doesn't mention that the bullets that were meant for him killed and injured other innocent people. Many of his supporters consider him a hero because he was shot at and survived. It's a shame about the dead and injured. The heroes are the veterans who were shot at. Not the conscientious objectors.

David R. Peters

Bethlehem

Will the Harris-Waltz ticket leave Trump helpless?

After seeing the excitement generated by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz's campaign, a pleasant thought occurred to me. I imagine Donald Trump giving a speech on the stern of a sailboat drifting out to sea, slowly fading out of sight and hearing.

Daniel Gasda

Bethlehem

Trump and Harris’ slogans tell the story of a changing America

The slogans used by the Trump and Harris campaigns represent very different views of America.

Donald Trump's slogan “Make America Great Again” implies that the nation must return to a time that was in some way “better.” In contrast, Kamala Harris' campaign, with her slogan “We are not going back,” seems more focused on moving forward.

A more precise explanation of each slogan is speculation; however, a plausible explanation comes from the following statistics: Whites will make up 56% of the U.S. population in 2030 (based on census projections), up from 90% in 1950. Between 2010 and 2018, minorities accounted for 92% of U.S. population growth. Trends indicate that whites will no longer be the majority by 2045.

For the MAGA movement, this means that white control over the power structures, both political and social, is significantly diminishing and being replaced by more diverse ones. Kamala Harris, with her multiracial and multiethnic background, embodies this change. For MAGA Republicans, the threat posed by a multiracial democracy is far greater than an authoritarian system ruled by a white minority, as envisioned by Project 2025 and Donald Trump.

Rich Israel

Bethlehem

Allentown police should take action against traffic violations

I read far too often about the people killed or injured by cars in Allentown. The drivers in this city are some of the worst I have ever seen. And I have driven all over the country, even in Los Angeles for many years.

I have lived in Allentown for three years and have seen, almost every day, cars constantly running red lights, weaving through traffic, cutting people off, and double-parking all over the city, holding up traffic and creating a hazard.

But during these three years, although I have constantly seen police cars driving through the city, not a single car has been stopped for such violations.

At several intersections in the city, dozens of traffic tickets can be issued in one day. In some places, stop signs are useless because many drivers completely ignore them.

The city could come up with the idea of ​​just putting a few specially marked cars in place to punish all these traffic violations. The tickets they issue would fund the use and our streets would be safer.

Rudy Savelli

Allentown

Tax credits to finance college debt relief

The federal government should create a fund funded by a flat 1% annual tax on the endowments of for-profit colleges and universities to pay for student loan forgiveness. According to U.S. News & World Report, the average size of endowment funds is about $1.6 billion. In fiscal year 2023, universities reported holding a total of $839.1 billion in endowment funds. A flat 1% tax would raise about $8.39 billion each year. That tax money could go into a fund that could be used to fund student loan forgiveness programs and repay defaulted student loans. According to Forbes, college endowment returns increased an average of 7.7% in fiscal year 2023. Most of these colleges wouldn't even feel a flat 1% annual tax. Politicians always say they want the rich to pay their fair share. Just look at Harvard University (endowment valued at $50.7 billion in fiscal year 2023) and all the other colleges and universities. I don't know of any small or medium-sized company that has $50 billion in its reserve accounts. Many retail companies are even in the red by Black Friday.

Edward J. Smitreski

Northampton

The Morning Call encourages community dialogue on important issues. Send a letter to the editor at [email protected].

Originally published: August 15, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.