Letters: Philly needs to develop Southport

Gov. Wolf deserves much credit for the commonwealth's $300 million investment in the Port of Philadelphia. As evidenced by recent reports of the port's unprecedented number of container imports, the governor's investment looks prescient ("Philadelphia port hits a new high for imports," Tuesday). With the Panama Canal reopened and the long-awaited Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project nearing completion, enabling the world's largest container ships to access our port, Philadelphia is well-positioned to dominate the container import business on the eastern seaboard.

There's just one more strategic move left to make to ensure that Philadelphia achieves that status - develop Southport to dramatically expand our capacity for even more container business. Already, other eastern seaports, such as Wilmington, Baltimore, New York/New Jersey, and Charleston, S.C., are jockeying for competitive advantage. I urge our elected officials in Harrisburg and Philadelphia to take a closer look at public and private investment opportunities at Southport to expand our burgeoning containerized cargo business. The world is knocking on our door.

|Boise Butler, president, International Longshoremen's Association Local 1291, Philadelphia

I could not agree more with Pennsylvania Sen. John Eichelberger's position that there should be a less-intensive track for high school students who are not college bound ("Pa. senator's comments on city students drawing fire," Tuesday). There are students who cannot do the same level of work as other students, and while it's nice to think all ships rise with the tide, that's simply not true. When students cannot do college-level work, they lose interest, become disruptive in class, and force schools to lower the standards. Instead of being pulled up, those students pull the rest of the class down.

Eichelberger will be shouted down because we all would like everyone to succeed. But that doesn't mean college. We need to go back to an era where we provide alternative training for students who are not college bound. We don't do enough of that, and we're ranked 17th in the world in education. We should look abroad, and we'd find that foreign countries do just what Eichelberger suggests.

|Dennis Stuempfle, Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

Surprise, surprise - Fraternal Order of Police leaders and members are having buyer's remorse regarding their endorsement of Donald Trump's presidential bid only one month into his term ("Union leaders wary of Trump-era future," Wednesday). Any citizen who voted for Trump is a victim of cognitive distortion. He's a well-documented huckster, liar, and self-obsessed charlatan.

Conservative columnist George Will left the Republican Party when it became clear The Donald had the nomination locked up - wasn't that enough to alarm the law-and-order supporters? If the FOP had watched the 2011 documentary, You've been Trumped about Trump's Scottish golf course debacle, they would have realized he cares not for the working man in any way. It's disconcerting that the FOP allowed its leaders and members to be so bamboozled, since sound judgment is paramount to effective policing.

|Kevin Downey, Downingtown, downeykevin33@yahoo.com

I am sad, disheartened, and angry that I seem to living in a country where parents can be torn from their children for something as minor as a traffic violation ("Trump widens net for deportations," Wednesday). Have we become Nazi Germany?

|Maxine Schwartz, Willow Grove

I suggest Pennsylvania's Christian lawmakers ("House members defend prayer policy," Thursday) reflect on two issues:

The First Amendment prohibits the establishment or endorsement of any religion. That's one major reason our founders fled Europe.

Jesus opposed public prayer: "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites . . . who love to be seen . . . but go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen."

Why can't people respect others who are not believers. Atheists, agnostics, and people of all religions have the right to be free from religious intimidation by government institutions or religious symbols that violate the First Amendment. The resolution lies in a moment of silence rather than a vocal prayer from any religious entity.

|Ernie Sherretta, Broomall, ejsherretta@gmail.com