Readers views: Gulfport should have fixed water meter issues long ago + World depends on America
Enough of Gulfport’s do-nothing attitude
According to the Sun Herald front-page article Nov. 29, Gulfport has known about the problem with electronic water meters since 2014, but is only taking action now due to customers complaining.
And because of the lack of effort by the city the mayor wants to raise the garbage collection fee. Because of a five-year do-nothing attitude, they expect everyone to pay for it. The city should cover that cost and correct the problem much faster than the proposed two-year timeline. Instead, they are hiring five new employees that will cost taxpayers $268,375.
Here we have another example of poor leadership with no recourse for those on a fixed income, the elderly or anyone who struggles to pay bills each month.
Gulfport spends a lot of money on eye candy but does nothing for the citizens. I will be making changes at the voting booth next election and I hope you will join me.
Enough of this already!
Malcolm McBee
Gulfport
Do the right thing
The evidence that has been presented in recent weeks of bribery and extortion by the president of the United States is undeniable to every citizen who was honestly paying attention. I hope that Sen. Hyde-Smith, Rep. Palazzo and Sen. Wicker will respect the oath they took to our Constitution and will honor that oath without partisan blinders.
If the previous president (from the other party) had done this, I have no doubt he would have been removed from office and criminally prosecuted — as would have been deserved.
All elected officials should reread the oath to the U.S. Constitution that they have taken and forget the money and their ego and do what they were elected to do. This isn’t a game and it’s not about which side people are on. We are all Americans and we deserve our elected officials to stand up for our country — and to stand united against Putin and the Kremlin disinformation attack on our country.
I have faith that Sen. Hyde-Smith, Rep. Palazzo and Sen. Wicker will do the right thing for the United States and show the state of Mississippi that they haven’t been paid off by the Kremlin.
Christina Owens
Ocean Springs
The world depends on America
During the impeachment inquiry, Republican House members shamefully snubbed the mountain of incriminating evidence played out before their eyes and threw shade on President Trump.
The traditional Republican Party is gone. The current bunch has sold their souls, pushing debunked conspiracy theories, playing buddy-buddy with Fox “News,” and trembling before Trump.
If voters had not flipped the House to Democrat majority in the last midterm elections, it would be even worse.
Had Republicans kept control of both House and Senate, there would be zero accountability, only averted eyes and stony silence as President Trump and his flunkies continued their free-range corruption.
Knowing the “Trump brand,” one might suspect that personal enrichment is driving the president’s continued cozying up to Putin and Russia while neglecting our weakened NATO alliances.
Likewise for Trump’s abrupt abandonment of our Kurdish allies in Syria to appease Putin-leaning Turkish President Erdogan.
The backstage dismantling of our democracy proceeds, piece by piece.
The best inoculation against this mess would be Democrats gaining a majority in the Senate in the next elections. And, need I say, winning the presidency.
Another four years of Trump rule risks leaving our democracy trampled, our country unrecognizable, and our traditional allies adrift.
As America gets dragged to the ground, Russia rises.
Though Democrats and Republicans dwell in different political worlds, we share the same love for country.
America’s beacon must not go dark. The world depends on it.
Richard Harkness
Ocean Springs
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 5:00 AM.