Wording in article implied discrimination

The Thursday Dispatch article "276K Ohio voters face purge" was disingenuous. It points out that the the state of Ohio, through its secretary of state, has tried every way possible to make it easier to vote.

Voters have never had it so easy to vote. If one does not vote, he is dead, moved, or doesn’t care to. Despite state law requiring their removal, Ohio is giving these people one last chance. If they fail to return the form, they will be removed, and with the blessing of the U.S. Supreme Court.

A paragraph near the end reports that critics say this removal process "disproportionately affects racial minorities and poor people who tend to back Democratic candidates." Why not report that the reason for the disproportion is that the number of voters who no longer vote are disproportionately racial minorities and poor people? This would explain the reason why rather than make it appear that deliberate discrimination is taking place.

Secondly, if these people have not voted in several election cycles, how do the critics know that they tend to vote Democratic? That seems, to me, to be where the discrimination adjective belongs.

David Thiel, Pickerington

We need alternative to Do Not Call list

It must be obvious to everyone by now that the Do Not Call list is a failure.

I suggest a new registry. It could be called the I’m Not Buying List. Those of us who register would pledge to never buy anything that is introduced by an unsolicited phone call.

Also, we would not donate to any charity that called for a donation.

If a call supports a political candidate, the opponent would have to be a communist for me to overlook the call and vote for them.

Al Holtsberry, Groveport

Plan another vote on stopgap funding

Ohio’s senators should tell Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell that they want to vote on the funding bill passed by the House. Voting again on a bill that the Senate just passed and that President Trump said he would sign would send a message to the White House that America wants the government shutdown to end.

Real people are incurring real harm because of this stunt, and President Trump’s reasons for it are not true.

Violent crime is down, not up. Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, not more. Most smuggling happens at airports and by boat. Neither tariffs on China nor a retooled NAFTA will pay for the wall.

Instead of accepting a compromise to fund most of the government and keep working on actual border security, Trump has threatened to declare an emergency, bypass Congress and seize control of the nation — over lies! And the Senate, by refusing to even take a vote, is aiding and abetting.

The people of Ohio need the IRS and SNAP offices open and staffed. People are dying in our unattended national parks, and diseasecausing human waste is piling up. Workers aren’t "on strike" and they need their paychecks to feed their families.

Tracy Meisky, Columbus

Americans should vote on the border wall

I have devised a plan that would at least temporarily return our government to something resembling normal. We should allow our citizens to determine whether a wall should be built or not. My plan would be to have a national vote in November to determine what our citizenry wants and make that the deciding factor.

Both sides can spend millions of dollars convincing us that we should vote their way, plus we might even get some idea of what a 1,000mile wall will actually cost. My guess is much more than $5.7 billion, just because government estimates are usually much lower than actual costs.

This would get people back to work and restore a variety of services upon which we all depend, and hopefully those who supposedly represent us in Washington will start doing that.

Jerry Hurt, Newark

Change at top good time to improve education

Many would agree that Gov. John Kasich was no friend to public education (Wednesday letter from Michael Ian Green). Now is the time for Gov.-elect Mike Dewine and the 133rd General Assembly to make some compelling changes.

The Ohio Constitution requires the state to ensure that a thorough and efficient system of public common schools is established and maintained. The state has no right under the constitution to fund alternative educational programs that diminish support from public school districts.

Ohio must focus on this constitutional responsibility by adequately funding our public school districts, which serve the majority of our students (1.8 million) and employ more than 245,000 Ohioans full time. Lawmakers can begin by declaring a moratorium on new charter schools and on school voucher programs, which currently take funding and other valuable resources away from public school districts.

Elected leaders must also do away with the state takeovers of schools imposed in House Bill 70. They are undemocratic, unaccountable and unacceptable.

Ohioans look forward to seeing the education, health and well-being of our children move up to become a primary concern of government in the Buckeye State. Jeanne Melvin, Public Education Partners, Columbus

Wildlife has suffered from concrete barriers

Monterrey Banco is one of 115 separate tracts totaling more than 100,000 acres that make up the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Backing up to it is a 20-foot-tall concrete wall built during the George W. Bush administration. This almost mile-long barrier is one of dozens of sections of border wall that were constructed in the early 2000s.

Some segments, like this one, are made of concrete while the majority consist of tall steel-bollard fencing. Taken together, the barricades run along 650 miles, or nearly a third of the U.s.-mexico border. Jim Chapman, vice president of the Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, said recently: “If you wanted to design a structure that has the maximum negative impact on wildlife, it would be this.” The barrier has hurt wildlife. Its construction destroyed and fragmented habitat.

When a 2010 hurricane left several feet of standing water in the refuge for more than six months, animals that could not fly or swim

were trapped and drowned, including many Texas tortoises.

President Trump is pushing for Congress to appropriate enough funds to build a continuous wall along the entire 1,989-mile border. Such a massive barricade would slice through some of the continent’s most iconic and biodiverse habitats. This barrier would interfere with the ability of animals to meet their daily needs, threatening their capacity to move and survive in the face of warming temperatures.

More than 60 members of Congress agree and have signed bipartisan legislation that would ensure the most practical and effective technologies are deployed on the border. Call your senator and representative and ask him or her to support responsible security.

Ann Morahan, Westerville

Wall’s foes can pay costs of illegal immigration

I respond to the Friday letter “President’s fans can pay for wall he covets” from Jeff Kaufman. I would gladly pay for the wall, if he and his friends agree to pay for all cost (federal, state and local) associated to illegal immigration.

The Super Bowl will be played in a few weeks at Mercedes-benz Stadium in Atlanta. Remove 70 percent of all barriers surrounding the stadium to equal the percentage of a barrier not at our southern border. Then let everyone know that when they cross the threshold of the stadium’s barrier they will be able to stay and watch the game. Everyone should have the right to watch the game in person.

Hate or love President Trump, he is tackling the hard issues facing our country: trade, illegal immigration, regulations and many others.

Matt Groom, Columbus