Trumplicans

Trumplicans

Trumpublican leaders opine that we won't be safe under a Joe Biden presidency. However, the civil unrest and violence occurring in cities today are not mythical future events, rather in the present, under their watch.

Do you feel safe today in the Trumpublican dystopia? Does unchecked gun violence, social injustice, racism, abject violation of protesters' constitutional civil rights, death by lack of healthcare, inept response to a pandemic, climate change denial, erosion of global, international respect, nepotism and ethical rot in the people's White House, a constant stream of lies and disinformation from the administration, perversion of scientific fact for political gain and paranoid conspiracy theories make America safe?

Let's unite and end the pandemic of misery. Vote President Donald Trump out in November.

MARK MAZER

Arnold

CORPS Act

As talks between the White House and Congress stall, Americans are grappling with the impact of the pandemic. To move our country forward, we must bring Americans together to help communities recover from the coronavirus.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators have a plan to do just that through the CORPS Act, which would expand and strengthen AmeriCorps, our domestic version of the Peace Corps, to provide critically needed services and give Americans purpose-driven work, living stipends, and college tuition assistance.

Since the outbreak, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members have stepped up nationwide and here in Anne Arundel County, volunteering to provide surge capacity for food pantries, crisis hotlines, shelters, and community health centers to assist students, families, and those in need of extra care.

But we need more boots on the ground. As proud Commissioners and AmeriCorps alumni, we know how transformative service can be for individuals, organizations, and communities.

We urge Congress and the White House to act quickly and include the CORPS Act provisions in the next pandemic-relief stimulus bill.

JOHN PALINSKI

SAMELIA OKPODU-PYUZZA

Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism

Annapolis

Nobel Prize

Now that Israel and the United Arab Emirates, with help of President Donald Trump's administration, have agreed to normalize relations I'm wondering if the Nobel Committee might consider Trump for their Peace Prize.

In 2009, then-President Barack Obama was given the prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation." Any fair and neutral observer could also apply that wording to the Trump administration's ongoing Middle East peace efforts.

By many accounts, Obama was a tad embarrassed by his Nobel because he'd been in office for less than 11 months and knew he'd not truly earned the accolades. So, to be fair maybe the former president should hand his prize to Trump as a gesture of professional courtesy of one con man to another.

DENNIS McGEE

Arnold

Arnold Post Office

I would like to comment on Wilfred Candler's guest column in the opinion section of the paper (The Capital, Aug. 24).

First of all, the post office in Arnold is not closed. I went and asked. The statement was false. This is another Trump hater trying blame Trump for something that didn't happen.

My view is, you may not like our president, but he is our president and should be respected. This was another voting propaganda. My advise is, know your facts before you write/publish an opinion piece.

CAROLYN LICAMELI WELLS

Arnold

Editor's note: A correction for the letter ran on Aug. 26.

Testing

We congratulate the Anne Arundel County Health Department for their orderly, efficient process for COVID-19 testing. The staff are all pleasant and professional and seek to make this a simple straightforward experience.

They are some of our front-line heroes as well. We are grateful.

BOB and VERNA PELRINE

Arnold

Good service

Many of us have griped about inefficiency and unresponsiveness in government and public utilities. This week I have been extremely impressed by two separate events that demonstrated prompt and efficient response.

The first issue was submitting a passport renewal to the U.S. State Department. My previous passport would have expired next spring. I was worried that the renewal might take many months.

The passport agency website noted that they were not operating with full staff and delays were likely. I prepared the application and mailed it on July 30. The new passport arrived in the mail on Aug. 22, roughly three weeks after I mailed the application.

The second issue involved the unlit street light in front of my house. I submitted a street light outage notification to BGE on Aug. 17. They sent a crew out the next day and advised me that the repair would require work on the underground power cables. They told me it would be finished by Sept. 8. To my surprise, they returned just two days later and completed the repairs. My street light works again, and the workers were careful not to disturb my wife's flower plantings next to the light pole. She is happy too.

While many things in our country are somewhat out of whack, I was really pleased to have two separate events get completed well ahead of schedule with no hassles. Kudos to the passport agency, the postal service, and BGE!

JOHN VEIL

Annapolis