I would like to thank the Enquirer for taking the time to review all 123 pages of Fire Chief Michael Washington’s personnel file (“Fire chief’s file shows no record of problems,” April 5). We are left to wonder if Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long took the time to do the same prior to firing him.
According to Long, what happened with Washington was that some female firefighters complained to her about how they were treated. Of course, the first place Long looked after receiving these complaints was in the chief’s personnel file, to see if he had any work history associated with this, right? Apparently not, or if she did, it didn’t matter.
Instead, she brought in Women Helping Women, a nonprofit that does advocacy work and provides services to victims of rape and domestic violence. (No mention of their experience with fire departments in the Enquirer news article.) Did Long think for one minute that she would get an unbiased report from this organization? I’m sure she knew better. But rather, she most likely knew the direction she wanted to go with her decision from the beginning. By all appearances, she wanted to make a heavy-handed statement after her seven months of experience on the job: “I’m the boss!”
Due to the lack of transparency by the city manager, with the approval of Mayor Aftab Pureval we’re sure, its easy to draw a conclusion that the fire chief was likely hosed by the “good old girls club.” I predict the decision by Long will end up in a legal challenge against the city. That wouldn’t be a ground-breaking experience for the city, that’s for sure.
Darwin Yung, North College Hill
Republicans more interested in banning books than guns
Republicans at all levels of government are bound and determined to “protect” our children from unpleasant historical facts that might upset them. They pull books from library bookshelves and threaten to prosecute teachers who teach accurate history. Meanwhile, hundreds of children (and adults) are killed every year by people wielding weapons designed not for self-defense or hunting, but for killing as many people as possible as rapidly as possible.
Republicans’ response? “I know − let’s make it as easy as possible for criminals and terrorists to get guns!” Yeah, I’m sure that will work.
Tony Rein, Clifton
Do Catholic Sisters support elective abortion?
I missed the guest column by the Catholic Sisters of Charity and Hope in the April 2 Enquirer. But since a reader had such high praise for it, I was promoted to look it up. I, too, found their deep and heart-felt recommendations to be truly praise worthy. But I was left with one lingering question due to lack of specifics. Does “the complexity involved in how women use discernment to make reproductive decisions” include elective abortion? Is that part of the reproductive service buffet? If so, the Sisters would stand athwart the position of the Catholic Church, whose “gospels and Catholic teaching honor the sacred image of God in all people,” even the little ones.
Thomas Huller, Villa Hills
Let transgender people live their lives
I have been a psychoanalyst for 35 years and have seen how this process benefits people who can use it. The prevailing belief among mental health professionals without this experience has long been that psychoanalysis is a discredited, useless procedure that can’t be proven effective. That’s because there is hardly a way to set up a randomized, controlled, double-blinded trial of a treatment that goes on for years. That doesn’t make it less effective.
Christopher Wood, a Clifton neurologist, is approaching the plight of transgender kids in a familiar way: Since there are no good studies supporting it, it should not be recognized or supported. Having treated transgender individuals and recognizing that what is described by these individuals and the parents of such kids are accurate accounts, it seems best to live and let live.
Dr. Marcia Kaplan, Clifton
Let Ohioans decide abortion issue at the ballot box
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine speculates that the proposed reproductive rights “amendment to the state constitution is out of step with Ohioans.” The best way to find that out is to let the process of the citizens initiative continue, and let them vote yes or no at the ballot box in November.
Republicans are attempting to subvert the process in two ways: attempting to change the rules for making constitutional amendments, and asking the legislature to change the radical “heart beat” bill that just last year went into effect. Beware of a governor who speaks with forked tongue. Republicans have used this same strategy with gerrymandering process in 2018, and look what a mess they made. The deception worked once but Ohio citizens will not be fooled again.
Susan Namei, Clifton
Let’s take time to get transition to electric vehicles right
With electric motor vehicles already facing a myriad of technical issues that have resulted in numerous recalls, President Joe Biden is now calling for 67% of new cars manufactured in 2032 to be electric. In order to get the transition from gas to electric vehicles right, does it make any sense to inject a specific timetable into the process? Of course it doesn’t. Talk about pandering to your base.
Glen Becker, Fort Thomas
Justice Clarence Thomas can no longer be trusted
If U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas cannot see how receiving these $500,000 lavish vacations, $14,000 bible gifts, etc., as items that would appear unseemly from a sitting justice, how can he be trusted to interpret the Constitution? He claims that this donor who gives him all these gifts is not involved in politics. If so, please have him advise the public, just who exactly is donating to his wife’s groups attempts to overturn mine and 81,000,999 other votes in the last election. The donors are currently not available to the public. Why is that?
Felicia Duncan, Sharonville
Bad pitching decisions will doom Reds to another 100-loss season
The Reds are forecasted to lose 100 games this year. Manager David Bell’s poor decision-making skills concerning pitcher replacement will see to it that the team reaches that number.
Steve Applegate, Cleves
Wasteful military spending is nothing new
A recent letter to the editor wrote of the wasteful $70 million spending project that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton is beginning to remodel 29 military homes for officers. I worked on base for a year after I came home from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1971. I watched them reroof two large WWII-era wooden barracks one week and then tear them down the next. Nothing has changed. I’m all for adequate spending for defense, but condemn waste in government wherever it occurs.
Dennis Singleton, Dayton
Female swimmer attacked by trans activists after speech
A violent mob of transgender activists chased and attacked NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines after she gave a speech about saving women’s sports at San Francisco State University. The protesters apparently don’t like any conversation that doesn’t agree 100% with their narrative, but what was interesting about the confrontation was the lack of any response from feminists. I guess they’re going to be selective in their support of female issues and won’t “cross the line” drawn by the radical element of the progressive movement.
Debbie Conrad, Liberty Township
Respected studies support gender-affirming care for trans kids
Christopher Wood, a Clifton neurologist, stated there is no strong evidence to back trans care for kids and criticized those with opposing views for cherry-picking articles. This is “the pot calling the kettle black.” There is an excellent study by Dr. Diane Chen and others in the Jan. 19, 2023 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that concluded that gender-affirming hormone treatment involving transgender and non-binary youth improved psychosocial functioning.
I recall an opinion by columnist George Will in the Jan. 1, 2017 Enquirer that stated: “It is axiomatic that if someone is sufficiently eager to disbelieve something, there is no Everest of evidence too large to be ignored.”
Dr. Michael D. Newman, Mt. Airy
Woke cry for tolerance is rooted in hypocrisy
A common theme throughout “cancel culture” is the cry for tolerance against conservatives. This cry for tolerance initially sounds just. A closer examination of the tolerance plea reveals a much darker presupposition. Most cries for tolerance are given in the context of “hate speech.” These individuals claim that conservative views are intolerant. When the “woke” cry for tolerance, would they not be demanding tolerance, pursuing a roundabout way to force their beliefs onto others? Is this a bullying measure to force conservatives to submit to the woke belief system? Who exactly is intolerant?
Carl Rogers, Mt. Auburn
Lawmakers must protect out children with gun reform
Recently in Tennessee, we so clearly saw yet another cry for gun reform in our society today. I cannot believe our lawmakers can keep ignoring that which lies clearly before them.
To our lawmakers − we need you! We need you to protect our children, the very soul of our country. We can’t do this ourselves, but we, the people, will keep on trying.
John F. Kennedy said, “The Great Enemy of the truth is often not the lie − deliberate, contrived, and dishonest − but the myth − persistent, pervasive, and unrealistic.” It is a myth that citizens need to be armed to protect themselves. Look at societies around the world that do not use guns to express anger, fear, or disconnectedness. The Second Amendment was written to “protect” our country not to “express” our anger.
Now is the time for a change.
Ellen McGrath, Westwood
Attacks meant to damage reputations of Republican stalwarts
Isn’t it curious how suddenly so many Republican figures have suddenly come under attack? I can understand the attacks on Donald Trump, but it appears that a wider strategy is afoot. Some feel the case against Trump is weak. Is there an ongoing effort to damage the reputation of other Republican stalwarts, such as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas? This may be a case of, “If you can’t hit the target, use a shotgun.” Since President Joe Biden doesn’t look like a winner, shoot all of the opposition.
Myron Leistler, North Bend
Tennessee legislators care more about campaign donations than constituent lives
Last Thursday’s actions by Tennessee’s Republican majority legislature gave me a glimmer of hope. Of the thousands of representatives in 50 plus capitals of the United States, three shouted out how most of us feel. We are tired of mass shootings, we are appalled at children being slaughtered, and we are worried that we might be next.
How did the Tennessee legislators respond? There wasn’t any moment of silence. There wasn’t even a prayer offered for the victims of the shooting, let alone a discussion on how to prevent this happening in the future. The legislature went right into taking action to remove the Democratic legislators, to silence their voices and that of the people crying out for action.
Those legislators who brought the anti-gun protest into the well of the House floor, were told they had broken the rules of decorum, causing three votes of expulsion. The two legislators of color were expelled, while the white woman was spared by one vote. (Yes, there is racism in Tennessee, are you surprised?)
Perhaps they were deemed unpatriotic Americans for wanting to reduce gun violence. Perhaps they were considered lesser citizens because of their lack of decorum. Justin Jones, Justin Pierson and Gloria Johnson did more for their constituency by their perceived “reviled” action that day.
Though the Republican legislators say that the guns aren’t the problem, the availability of them continues to be the case. It boils down to this: By those votes of expulsion, Republicans showed how little they care about their constituents’ lives. They only care about donations they will get from the NRA.
Monica Lira, Amberley Village