Trump makes toxic choice in Pruitt to lead the EPA

Opinion: January 22, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

President Donald J. Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has a record of disdain for protecting the environment. He’s been on the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of history.

As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Mr. Pruitt sued the EPA many times and lost almost every time. Now he wants to throw out the rules and disregard science to make it OK for power plants to spew mercury and other pollutants into our air and water (estimated by the EPA to lead to 11,000 premature deaths each year).

The EPA is a science-based agency charged with protecting our health and environment of our nation now and for future generations, but Mr. Pruitt has repeatedly shown that he doesn’t believe in science. He has challenged the findings of the National Research Council (part of the National Academy of Sciences), the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (a Bush administration body of 13 federal agencies that issued 21 reports on climate change), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In doing so, citizens are at risk. Once environmental damage occurs, it is costly and difficult to remediate, and this results in a negative long-term impact on the economy.

Vindicator readers should urge Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown to reject this dangerous nomination to our health and the health of the planet.

Dr. Jim Andrews and Dr. Gary Walker, Youngstown

Dr. Walker is professor and chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences at Youngstown State University. Dr. Andrews is professor and former acting chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at YSU.

Buckle up for bumpy ride under President Trump

We all hear of the “honeymoon period” every elected president experiences. But in 2017, as we have all witnessed, it’s a little different. It appears there was no trip to “Niagara Falls” (aka: honeymoon) for President Donald Trump. Now all the blame shouldn’t be placed on those who didn’t support or lost to to Donald. His newly chosen Cabinet is somewhat causing a disturbance, even before they take office. So the question is: How does someone lead, administer, and direct his subordinates that he handpicked if they themselves don’t agree with your positions?

Trump supports “less government” and wants to give power back to the states. This is a long- standing Republican principle. Now take that position, and apply it to Trump’s appointee for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions. He and Trump don’t agree on a number of positions. I’ll give you just one. If we follow the “less government” position, then the recent legalization of marijuana in a number of states would be accepted by the Trump administration, right? Well, if Sessions becomes attorney general, that may not stand.

As U.S. attorney in Alabama in the 1980s his comments suggested the KKK “were OK until I found out they smoked pot.” He has also criticized FBI Director James Comey and Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch for not vigorously enforcing the federal prohibition on marijuana .

Look also at Andrew F. Puzder, chosen for Labor secretary. Puzder is totally against raising the federal minimum wage. Is this in agreement with Trump? He has flip-flopped on increasing the minimum wage at least a dozen times or so.

Last but not least, take a look at President Trump’s appointee for secretary of State. We all are aware of “Russiangate”. True, not true, who really knows? But Rex W. Tillerson, Trump’s appointee for secretary of State knows a little about Russia (wink and a nod). Other issues President Trump and Tillerson don’t see eye to eye on: climate change and nuclear weapons proliferation.

To use a famous quote: “Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride” the next four years. God Bless America.

John P. Leseganich, Canfield

Brutality toward birds goes beyond cockfighting

It was heartening to see recently the roosters rescued from the perils of cockfighting and then subsequently placed in sanctuary to live out their days in peace. This is fantastic.

However the fates of billions of their relatives are not so rosy. The conditions in egg-producing facilities are far worse with hens (female chickens) being imprisoned with no space to move – their beak points blunted with no anesthetic to try to prevent them from pecking at each other as they try to cope with the torture they are subjected to in this brutal industry (not to mention all creatures raised for consumption).

Male chicks (future roosters) are often placed on conveyor belts to be funneled to their doom – ground up alive for pet food. For all her work at producing eggs, when she can no longer meet her quota, a hen is rewarded with brutal violent slaughter.

Over 65 billion sentient land animals face similar fates each year. This barbarism and violence is totally unnecessary as a plant-based diet is not only more healthy, but it also spares the needless torture, suffering and violent slaughter of billions of helpless innocent beings. The upshot is that consumers of eggs, flesh and other animal products are guilty of inflicting as much, if not more, severe pain, torture and cruel violent death on self-aware creatures than those in this criminal cockfighting operation.

John E. Malley, Youngstown

Opulence amid poverty

Alas, we have the Trump Tower in New York City. It’s a place of unimaginable, entitled opulence.

We have this, while 1 in 5 American children go to bed hungry. What a disgrace! What an unspeakable moral disgrace!

Rev. Thomas E. Sagendorf, Lakeside, Ohio

Let Ohio join other states against Electoral College

Am I the only person in the U.S. who has to turn the remote button for my TV on mute because 99.9 percent of all commercials have an everlasting thump, thump, thump in the background? Merciful heavens! And it seems to only be getting worse.

However, this discomfort is nothing really in comparison to the lack of anything positive being done about the absence of information being put forth about the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. If enough states were to sign on to this, the damnable Electoral College would not be electing presidents; rather citizens would be electing the president to be.

Immediately after the election of November 2016, there was so much “talk” about the popular vote becoming necessary. Now for the fifth time, we have a president who lost the popular vote by close to 3 million votes. This is hardly fair! The populace of this country wanted the popular vote candidate to become president.

Is it any wonder with the Electoral College making the determination as to wins the presidency, so many are heard to say: “Why vote? My vote does not count anyway.” The Electoral College outlived its usefulness by what, 100 to 200 years ago?

In 2008, Ohio had HB524 in a committee for Ohio to join the other 10 states and the District of Columbia that have already signed onto this Compact. The committee, rather than letting the bill even go to the floor of the House, much less the State Senate, let it die.

Why? The committee members who did not act on this HB524 are no longer in the Legislature. Why not get behind the members of the Legislature to have Ohio become part of the compact? A 2007 survey found 60 percent of Republicans are in favor of a popular vote for the president. With Ohio being Republican, why isn’t the constituency of the state being honored? Democrats and Independents had even higher percentages.

I have the 20 pages concerning the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact and HB524 should anyone be interested. In my opinion everyone should be interested so that every vote counts, and the popular vote is the count that elects the president.

Shirley Bartlett, Austintown

Lakeside, Ohio