Officials’ call was unfair to the Saints
So, an egregious non-call unfairly cost the New Orleans Saints their legitimately hardearned trip to the Super Bowl. The late game pass interference against their receiver near the end zone was blatant, as witnessed by everyone in the stadium as well as millions across the country watching the indisputable replays. It was a horribly inept error on the part of two officials close to the play.
Ironically, perhaps the poor Saints now know exactly how the visiting Steelers felt last month in the same stadium and the same end of the field. The phantom pass interference penalty called against them on fourth down surely cost the Steelers that game, a trip to the playoffs and a shot at the Super Bowl. It is hard to comprehend how a trained official could call interference on a play where no contact was made and no interference occurred. In today’s vernacular, it amounted to a fake penalty.
I guess what goes around comes around. As shameful as it is, when it comes to the Saints, what the refs giveth, the refs taketh away. JIM HART Trafford
A real crisis
The real crisis is the Transportation Security Administration officers at all airports are not getting paid. If we go back to 9/11, when thousands died, the access to the attack occurred at the airports and not from those coming across the Mexican border. I think it is up to our government to take this seriously enough to get the TSA employees back to work with pay.
It is being said the drug industry uses planes, vehicles, drones, tunnels and all other possible means of transporting the drugs to the mainland. If our country is so serious about drugs getting into our country. the time is now to pay the TSA employees and show them how much they are appreciated.
The crisis is not the border. The crisis is the airport security. Pay the TSA and appreciate the workers making this country safe via airports. This needs to be done sooner rather than later. RON KASPER Whitehall
McConnell shutdown
I am disappointed in Mitch McConnell, that with his length of service in government, he does not know his job in the legislative branch of the federal government.
Let’s review: The legislative branch is an equal branch of the federal government. The House and the Senate pass legislation and send it to the president, regardless of the political party in the White House or Congress. The president can sign the legislation or veto it. The House and Senate can override the veto with enough votes.
Funding the federal government is the job of congress. The House has sent several bills to the Senate to fund the government (one of which already passed the Senate last month). Mr. McConnell will not let these bills come to a vote. Has he forgotten the Senate’s job? Does he think the Senate reports to the president now? Or maybe he thinks the Senate reports to some other group other than the American people.
One way to help the situation is for the media to refer to the government shutdown as the “McConnell Shutdown,” since he is holding up the entire process. I am sure Mr. McConnell will get the message.
I realize President Donald Trump wants to run the United States like Vladimir Putin runs Russia, but that is a discussion for another day. MICHAEL SIDORA Marshall
Masculine virtues
In their infinite wisdom, the members of the Post-Gazette editorial board chose first to publish two sexist editorial cartoons from Steve Kelley on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14, then followed the cartoons with David French’s op-ed piece, “Forget the Gillette Ad” (Jan. 19).
In this piece, Mr. French writes of “masculine virtues” and “manly virtues” that “benefit women,” who “want to see those virtues developed in their sons and want the men they marry to possess those virtues in abundance.” What are those virtues? “To be tough ... to be seen as a ‘rock’ and ... to provide for their families.”
Why, I wonder, does Mr. French choose to see those as exclusively masculine virtues? What about all the women in the world who want to provide support, security, and safety to those they love? Why isn’t Mr. French able to recognize these virtues as human virtues? I guess Mr. French and Steve Kelley are inhabiting the same world, where men are “manly” and women must look to men “to provide for” them. ELIZABETH GARVEY Verona
A failed democracy
I’m flying to Georgia in a few days and with the Transportation Security Administration and air traffic controllers working without pay, I am frightened and angry. How is it that 435 House representatives, 100 senators and nine Supreme Court Justices can’t stand up to one deranged, narcissistic tyrant for the sake of our safety?
This is the kind of despot we learned about in high school and were assured, “That could never happen in America.” Well, it has. Our president is no less unhinged and lethal than Henry VIII or Ivan IV. I’m sorry, but our democracy is a failure. MATTHEW GALBRAITH Reserve