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Trump is right about Mideast peace

It’s the United States and its reliance on Israel that is maintaining the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

U.S. blocking Mideast peace

Columnist Trudy Rubin sneered at President Trump's claim that an Israeli-Palestinian deal might not be as difficult as people have thought ("Advice to president for his first overseas trip," Sunday). In fact, Trump is absolutely correct. The main obstacle to peace is the United States. We cannot be an honest broker when our government puts Israeli interests above our own. We could stop taking direction from the Israeli lobby, and the rest of the world could end the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory just as it ended the apartheid regime in South Africa about 25 years ago.

|Mac McCarthy, Ocean City

A respite for Trump?

It just might be that the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel is serendipitously great news for President Trump ("Sharper scrutiny," Thursday). Mueller, a highly respected and experienced prosecutor, is known for running a tight investigation with no leaks. The constant drip of almost daily leaks in recent weeks has debilitated the Trump presidency and brought its legislative progress to a grinding halt.

If the congressional inquiries are muted by the priority of Mueller's investigation, and the information flow to the public is reduced to a trickle, it might benefit Trump greatly. Without the glare of the spotlight, and with the prospect of a long investigation, it might give Trump and the Republican Congress time to get some meaningful laws enacted.

Even if Trump were eventually to be indicted, it might be too late to prevent much of his agenda from becoming law. So, in a strange way, far from being the biggest political "witch hunt" in history, as Trump has said, the special counsel might be a blessing in disguise for the president.

|Ken Derow, Swarthmore

Be objective about president

Those of us Americans who are looking forward to a positive change from the same, old, worn-out lies spewed by the Democrats and the liberal media, such as Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, elected Donald J. Trump ("A quick end would be best," Friday). We are behind him come hell or high water. So, on behalf of those Americans who were/are fed-up with the stagnant approach to nothing getting done in Washington, I urge Dionne to try being objective.

|Dan Dufner, Southampton

Hardly Christian principles

On Saturday, the day before some Notre Dame graduating seniors walked out on their former governor's commencement speech, Vice President Pence spoke at Grove City College's graduation ("Some walk out of Pence speech at Notre Dame," Monday).

Grove City, a Christian liberal arts college, chooses not to accept federal funding so that it will not need to "comply with specific federal mandates, such as Title IX, which bans discrimination based on the sex of a student." To be a Christian means to believe, as Genesis and Jesus teach, in the total equality of all people. Choosing discrimination over inclusion just doesn't seem to fit.

|Marie Conn, Hatboro, mconn56@yahoo.com

Ignoring history

Critics of Democrat Larry Krasner's nomination for Philadelphia district attorney choose to ignore the long history of race-based prosecutions and mass incarceration of young blacks and Latinos because of minor charges and high bail. The DA's office needs urgent reform, and Philadelphians voted for a reformer. Only those who defend its racist history have anything to fear.

|David R. Fair, Germantown, drfair@comcast.net

Keep traffic moving

Vision Zero has some excellent elements, but eliminating a heavily used auto lane to fit in a bike lane, as is now planned for Chestnut Street, is not one of them. Such harsh traffic-calming ignores statistics that prove most of us do not speed.

It substantially oversimplifies the challenges of designing safer streets and creates an inappropriate balance between the two modes of transportation. From motorists' point of view, it collides with basic American ideals relating to excessive government intrusion and the respect we believe should be shown every responsible citizen. Trapping everyone in slow-moving columns of traffic to quell the bad behavior of a small minority punishes every one of us for the sins of a few.

Ideal Vision Zero traffic calming would affect only the minority of truly bad actors and would have a more subtle effect. The sensible and safe majority of hard-working commuters deserve free-flowing traffic lanes, not harsh anti-car measures. Philadelphians need to look for a better solution.

|John Baxter, Downingtown, jmbaxt@aol.com