Relief money to Catholic Church violates Constitution, decency

I was dismayed to read that the Associated Press reported the Catholic Church, which pays no taxes, received at least 3.5 billion dollars in taxpayer money. This data was released only after pressure from Congress coupled with a lawsuit from news outlets.

The article further reported that the Catholic Church invested $50,000 to pay lobbyists to change legislation to allow for eligibility. Even bankrupt dioceses, which sought protection because of the self-inflicted infamous scandal of clergy abuse cover-ups, received millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money. President Trump touted himself as “the best president the Catholic Church has ever seen” in a blatant attempt to buy the Catholic vote.

The AP further reported that legal experts said that such special consideration the government gave churches further erodes the wall between church and state provided in the First Amendment.

The churches did not resist the allure of worshipping the golden idol that the federal government offered in this election year. The prophets of old would rail against such seduction. Such practices add to the cynicism with which some view institutional religions. These money grabbing endeavors would not pass the WWJD test.

Bob Gaffey, Delaware

What would Keller say to a suffering COVID patient?

I read a brief Cincinnati Enquirer article Saturday in The Dispatch about Ohio state Rep. Candice Keller, who went into a Walgreens without wearing a mask. She posted a selfie on social media with the comment, “Be Brave. Try it. You’ll like it.”

Our news outlets tell us every day that the United States is far behind many other countries in controlling COVID-19 because our leaders did not act quickly enough to implement lifesaving measures like masks and social distancing. I find Keller’s behavior reckless and irresponsible and her constituents should be outraged. Maybe she should walk around a hospital where COVID-19 patients are fighting for their lives and tell them to be brave.

Linda Lewis, Westerville

Maybe police union should rethink its billboard slogan

In regard to the Saturday photo of the Fraternal Order of Police’s billboard “We’ve Got Your Back”: It is so perfectly tone-deaf that irony is officially dead. I’m sure George Floyd, Walter Scott, Rayshard Brooks, Oscar Grant, Michael Brown, their families and so, so many others appreciate it.

Elaine S. Farrington Johnson, Columbus

High Street in Short North has been a construction mess too long

It’s time to take back North High Street. Or at least clean it up. Endless construction has turned the strip from campus to the Short North into a shrunken 2-lane caricature of its former self, as ugly in appearance as it is frustrating to use.

Seven blocks, from 2nd Avenue north to 9th, are in clear violation of the city’s Division of Traffic Management standards. Those require that when a “roadway under construction is being used by through traffic” it must be maintained “so that it is smooth, free from holes, ruts, ridges, bumps and dust.”

Any motorist or cyclist can confirm that “smooth” is hard to find but “holes, ruts, ridges, bumps and dust” are everywhere.

Between 5th and 7th avenues, there are the added violations of “conflicting markings.” Because lanes have been switched back and forth, traffic is faced with surface signage that makes no sense.

Upside down turn arrows point in wrong directions, double yellow lines run down the middle of single lanes, and at least one crosswalk dead ends into a concrete barrier. Columbus deserves better.

Bob Singleton, Columbus

Our city is in peril and we need to take it back

Patricia Noland’s July 6 letter to the editor was on target. The silent majority in Columbus needs to awaken to the peril we face in the city. We have been invaded by protest groups committing criminal acts, and the government officials only give in to their demands and have placed the police in jeopardy. Defunding the police. No purchase of needed supplies.

The citizens of Columbus no longer have protection from the police. We are on our own, like back in the old west. Crime has increased. Removing statues and memorials of our past is a daily activity by the protesters.

It is past the time we should have acted. We should call our mayor and city council to task for accountability. They should either act in the best interest of the citizens or resign. Put the statue of Chris back where it belongs. Remove the protesters.

The death of George Floyd was a senseless act by one police officer. Not all police officers should be painted with the same brush. We should all be sensitive to such a horrible act. We should show sympathy to his family and friends. Violence by the protests accomplished only criminal acts that destroyed buildings, businesses and stores of people who were working to care for their families.

It’s time for all patriots to come together and work together to rebuild our city.

John Hughes, Columbus

The last thing Ohio needs is a tax hike for small businesses

The Dispatch continues a relentless and clueless crusade to raise Ohio’s income tax on the small business owner. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with “S” corporations surviving on Paycheck Protection Program loans to avoid layoffs of their employees, The Dispatch opines that in the interest of “fairness,” small business owners should pay more taxes.

In 2020, the U.S. Census will once again conclude that Ohio is shrinking relative to other states and we will lose yet another Congressional delegate. Most, if not all the states gaining in population, congressional delegates and opportunity will be amongst the nine states with no income tax, including Florida, Texas and Tennessee. If the Dispatch seeks fairness amongst Ohio taxpayers, there is a better path. Let’s return the Buckeye State to the pre-gilligan era, when Ohio had no income tax.

Jim Atkinson, Lewis Center

Discredited statues could be basis of museum exhibition

I agree with Roger Hixson’s Sunday letter to the editor that statutes that are being taken down should be given to the Ohio History Connection. There was a fantastic exhibition at the Maryland Historical Society in 1992 called “Mining the Museum” in which Black artist Fred Wilson dug through the museum’s archives and put together a show that used artifacts like KKK hoods and whipping posts in ironic contexts to make the viewer really think about these objects and the history around them.

It was designed to make the viewer uncomfortable and to have visitors really consider what they were looking at, and to question how museums display history. I think the OHC could work with a Black artist in creating something like “Mining the Museum.”

Caroline Somerson, Columbus

Kids need school; safety costs money; let’s provide for it now

Everyone seems to agree that it will be much better for children to go back to in-person classroom learning this fall. What will it take to do this safely?

Twice as much space, twice as much staff and about five times as much cleaning. Oh, and masks. Only the last one is free. Everything else will cost some money, but if we want our children not to fall too far behind, that’s what it will take. If we plan for the worst case and it turns out not to be so bad, well, won’t we feel silly? If we plan for best case and it turns out to be worst, the consequences are much more serious.

To legislators and school boards: Address this now. In a few weeks it will be too late. History has its eyes on you.

Jennifer L. Bell, Westerville