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Letters to the editor

Area lags behind America

DEAR EDITOR:

I have lived and worked in Warren my whole life and have seen many businesses, of which I have been a part, close. I now run a business in Warren and am treasurer of my church.

When is everyone going to wake up? We have lost thousands of jobs, and they are not coming back.

The same party has been in control of this area for as long as I can remember, and nothing gets fixed. We revert back to the ways of tax and spend. We keep getting taxed; they spend all the money, then come back to the voters to get more and spend that.

I just heard the Trumbull Commissioners want to raise the sales tax rate. What next?

Take a look at your next pay check or a sales slip or the gas pump. Pretty soon they will tax us on the air we breathe.

When Paul Clouser called the city of Warren out, I said to myself, it is about time. Come on!

They told us before the election that everything was great, look what we have done. Then, all of a sudden, there is no money. How stupid do we look? They have lied to all the citizens who believe them. They drained cash reserves to balance the books.

In my business, we get taxed, which eats any reserves we would have. We just cannot add tax to cover up the balance sheet. Look around. Businesses are moving out of Warren because of the payroll tax. They go to Howland, where there is no income tax. This is not rocket science. Look around.

We went through a very tough political season, where the news media lied to us and the politicians all lied — about the e-mails, the foundation, the DNC chair resignation. The former Niles mayor was indicted, and the Youngstown mayor pled to a reduced charge. This is where we live, and it’s not getting better any time soon. We had to read Wikileaks to sort out the truth.

I have traveled many places in this great country, and when I look around at other places, we are so far behind in many ways because we do not have the infrastructure to make us great.

I joke with my family that we live in the backwoods of America. I have learned in business if you can make it in Warren, you can make it anywhere.

We need to make America great again. I will bet our forefathers are turning over in their graves.

RON FENSTERMAKER

Howland

Give Trump a chance

DEAR EDITOR:

Regarding Alfred DeVengencie’s recent letter, please be advised that maybe the country is very weary of Democratic rule for the last eight years and beyond.

A perfect example is in the Nov. 30 Tribune where the headline reads, “Shhh: Tax hike on the way?” All three county officials in the article are Democrats, and they somehow made a mistake in not notifying the people of Trumbull County!

And you want people to get off their duffs and vote Democrat? Do you realize that if you look at our country, most mayors, governors and legislators, both locally and on the state level, are now Republican? There are now 33 GOP governors nationwide. This may be a Democratic area, but America is now basically conservative.

I find it incredulous that you tell the American people that they will be in deep pain for the next four years. Perhaps President-elect Donald Trump really will be able to make America great again, but you don’t want to even give him a chance. That is simply sad and wrong.

ROBERT W. BALSON

Warren

Can’t give Donald           Trump a chance

DEAR EDITOR:

So the Republicans and the people who decided to vote Republican got their man. His campaign united such groups as the Ku Klux Klan, White Nationalists and the Islamic State, which will celebrate Trump’s election because it will help them recruit Islamic Jihadists to do everything possible to make him look like the con-man he really is.

Republicans have been rewarded for their efforts to sabotage the economic recovery, and they will control all legislation that they think will help them get re-elected in two years, and more. A sad day for America will start when Trump nominates a new justice to the Supreme Court, and if the aged justices leave the Court, then he will pack the Court with a right-wing majority. With this majority, there will be an all-out assault on organized labor and regulations on corporate America will all but disappear.

What amazed me about this election is that 42 percent of women voted for Trump. Didn’t they understand that Trump boasted about sexually assaulting women, was accused of molesting several women and calling some pigs? He also stated that women who get abortions should be punished. What were they thinking?

I think Americans are finally waking up to the fact that members of Congress are nothing but a bunch of two-faced liars and con-artists. Look at all the wannabes in the debates who all said some nasty things about Trump. Now they, and others, are sucking up to him and fighting for a position in his administration. They never thought he would win, and now they are groveling and apologizing like there’s no tomorrow.

Everybody says that we have to give him a chance. I can’t give him a chance, knowing what he is going to do to this great country of ours — and my Social Security.

BUD MCKELVEY

Hermitage, Pa.

Trump not          ‘draining swamp’

DEAR EDITOR:

One of Donald Trump’s campaign slogans was “drain the swamp.”

He is now in the process of selecting his cabinet nominees and has, instead, decided on many Washington, D.C., insiders, as well as at least one individual with ties to Wall Street.

To date, he has nominated Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, a U.S. Senator from Alabama who has been in Washington for nearly two decades; Tom Price, a member of the U.S. House who has been in Washington for over 12 years; Elaine Chao, a long-time D.C. insider who served in the administration of George W. Bush and is married to Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell (who has served in the Senate for over 30 years); and Steven Mnuchin, a Wall Street insider and former Goldman Sachs partner.

This is how Trump “drains the swamp”? It looks to me like he is restocking it. I hope Trump’s supporters are paying attention to these picks and realize they have been deceived. They better get used to it, because it appears they are going to experience a lot of broken promises over the next four years.

MARTIN BRAMLETT

Ravenna

Need and greed           not the same

DEAR EDITOR:

Something is wrong with this picture, there is so much contrast! It makes a person wonder what is going on in the political Mahoning Valley.

Elected or appointed officials should never demonstrate the behavior I read about in the Nov. 20 newspaper. Charges coming from every direction and still one politician can hold a pretty good job with his political party. I understand everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but by the same token, should the party be paying for his services while the charges are pending?

I am beginning to think politicians have the best of both worlds. Guaranteed income while charges are pending, and whatever temptation serves on the side. I question why intelligent public officials do such drastic things. Is it because they can or is it to make an appointment to serve in prison and a reputation that never heals? Any one of these people make a decent living without temptation and corruption being involved.

Need and greed aren’t in the same family, they are not spelled the same and Webster’s definition is different.

FLO HUTTON

Cortland

Media paints wrong picture of Castro

DEAR EDITOR:

You bet Castro reshaped Cuba — with a hammer and a sickle.

The Nov. 29 Associated Press article, “Castro reshaped Cuba, even the milk” portrays Castro as a benevolent and kind leader. The AP notes examples of Castro’s great kindness such as energy-saving rice cookers, his passion for agriculture and energy efficiency, chocolate flavored milk and even ration books supplied to the people that were good for enough food for a month, but were reduced to 15 days’ worth. How anyone could write, or buy into a fairytale story like this — about one of the most brutal dictatorships in history — is beyond comprehension.

No mention of the poverty and physical atrocities endured for 60 years by the Cuban people under Castro’s regime. Thousands of political dissidents were convicted of treason after mock trials and were executed by firing squad. Many that opposed the regime became the longest suffering political prisoners in history.  This is worse than the so-called fake news.

More people died fleeing Cuba than trying to flee East Germany across the Iron Curtain. Cubans braved the 90-mile Florida straits to escape the tyranny of Fidel Castro; and many died attempting it. These were real refugees, not the ones we see today, landing in air-conditioned airliners with some lame excuses about their refugee status. The media, in general, has been very soft on the reality of Castro’s Cuba and, by not telling the whole story of Castro’s legacy in Cuba, has outright lied! Somehow, the media can justify not telling the whole story and that we just accept their ramblings as the whole truth. Cuba wasn’t perfect under Batista’s rule before the revolution, but Castro turned the highly civilized country, with a higher standard of living than many European nations, into a slum ravaged by tropical diseases and injustice for those that wouldn’t accept the tyranny of socialism. That’s Fidel Castro’s legacy, and I’ll decide what’s fake news and what’s not!

ALAN MASAITIS

Warren

Be involved in your child’s education

DEAR EDITOR:

After seeing news that two school teachers arrested for things that they should not have done or ever been accused of doing while teaching our children, it seems there are several responsibilities that are not a part of being a teacher in the public school system.

The parents entrust the school district with their children; thus they are putting their children’s care in the hands of their teachers. They do not expect their teacher to be arrested for any type of crime. When their child / children come home and say “Mom, my teacher did this,” and you, as a parent think that what the teacher did is wrong, then you need to visit the school, starting with the principal.

If the principal does nothing, your next step should be going to the superintendent. If nothing is done by the superintendent, then you go to the school board as a last resort. Always make sure that you document everything that was done and include every response. If need be, hire an attorney as a very last resort.

Remember, a young child does not know how to lie or tell stories; therefore, if he or she tells you that something is wrong at school, listen and investigate. All parents want their child to have the best education possible. You, as a parent, want your child to be happy. So listen when they tell you something about their school. Take an active part in your child’s education. Make it a memorable experience for them.

DORIS A. GARRETT

Masury

All cancers           deserve focus

DEAR EDITOR:

As Americans, most of us know October is breast cancer awareness month. How many of us know when ovarian cancer awareness month is though? Do you know when lung cancer awareness month is? There is a high percentage of Americans that get diagnosed with cancer every year. Some of these diagnoses will be breast cancer, but not all of them. Often the emphasis is put on the well-known cancers and the less known types get overseen.

More of an emphasis should be put on cancer awareness in general. The general population should know what to look for and what tests to get. We know to get a yearly mammogram, especially when October comes around. However, do we know women should be getting yearly pap smears? Men should get prostate exams starting around the age of 50. Everyone should be getting colonoscopies starting at the age of 50 or 10 years prior when an immediate relative was diagnosed with colon cancer. I am not putting down breast cancer awareness month though, because it does bring light to this type of cancer. However, we should be proactive with our health and know about cancer preventive measures. Preventing cancer and detecting it early increases the likelihood of beating it if someone gets diagnosed.

If you have any concerns about your health or think you may have cancer, you should go to your health care provider who will know more about what to do and look for. You also may go to the American Cancer Society website to find facts, current research and support groups.

Yes, there is no way the general population can know everything about the different cancers, but there is a way to be more aware of them. Be knowledgeable. Don’t just focus on the well-known cancers, and be proactive with your health.

Nicole Schmidt

Hubbard

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