Musk is no Edison
The letter “Demonizing Musk” (March 28, TribLive) stated that Elon Musk “is the Thomas Edison of our time.” That would be the same as comparing road kill with salt and pepper to a 5-star gourmet meal. Edison did invent many things, with a supporting staff, from the ground up.
Despite common belief, as an example, Edison did not invent the lightbulb; he improved on the concept and applied for and received a patent before others. Musk has for the most part repurposed existing technology with modifications and tweaks to improve said technology applied to EVs and other fields. I doubt that without the engineering staff he employees, he alone would not have produced anything in the way of transportation, solar electricity generation or other fields he is involved in.
I would also like to know why the writer is so sure that the “radical left (new Democratic Party )” is the only group attacking Tesla. Did he take a survey? Seems to me that Tesla in name and Musk in person has T’d off a lot of people across all groups. You reap what you sow.
As a side note, Nikola Tesla was an inventor in the field of electricity whose contributions were such that we might not be where we are today. Technological advancements by Edison and Tesla moved the world along at a time when others were coming up in the field of electricity. They just happened to be in the front of the race, so to say.
James R. Tarn
Derry
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Democrats’ priorities
Congressional Democrats seem to be completely out of touch with the views of the vast majority of the American people. I believe they align themselves with issues that have very little public support, such as supporting transgender ideology, allowing biological males to compete against young girls and women and to use their locker room facilities; woke indoctrination of our children in the public schools without parental consent in place of being properly educated in the things needed to succeed in life; higher taxes while opposing elimination of waste, fraud and unnecessary government spending; more federal regulations resulting in higher costs for goods and services; higher energy costs in order to achieve unnecessary green energy goals; soft on crime bail policies resulting in repeat offenders being released over and over to commit more crime; illegal immigration including known criminal illegal immigrants being allowed to remain in our country (over 12 million allowed to enter our nation under the Biden administration including over 500,000 with criminal histories); and taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants.
We recently saw multiple Democratic members of Congress traveling to El Salvador to demand the return to America of a man alleged by the Trump administration of being an illegal immigrant gang member, who was accused of spousal abuse by his wife and suspected of human trafficking by Tennessee State Police. With all the issues affecting American citizens, why is this their priority?
I hope the voters remember this behavior in the next election cycle, and let them know that they don’t represent the majority of citizens of this nation.
Ed Davis
Greensburg
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Law and disorder
We live in a land of laws and disorder. A land where the rich and powerful answer to a different code of laws. One needs to look no further than the broad pardon powers of the president of the United States.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 establishes the president’s authority to grant clemency, encompassing not only pardons of individuals but several other forms of relief from criminal punishments as well.
President Trump’s use of his constitutional powers to pardon or commute the sentences of more than 1,500 people convicted of crimes related to the forcible obstruction of Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2021, strikes at the heart of America’s democratic system.
Individuals indicted and/or sentenced for the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol by a jury of their peers have had their sentences commuted or pardoned through executive clemency. Individuals who were found guilty by a jury of their peers and incarcerated have received presidential pardons.
Even more recently, we have examples of the executive branch of government ignoring edicts from the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court of the United States. Apparently if you know the right people you can literally get away with anything. Is this what a democracy is about?
Richard E. Arnold
Murrysville
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Data center concerns, opportunities
You have reported on an important new “industry” that is popping up all over our country, specifically here in Western Pennsylvania (“As data centers spread, their leaders push for transparency, consistency in state regulations,” April 25, TribLive). Your emphasis on the concern of the effect of data centers’ demand on the public’s power grid is impressive and I am glad to see the industry is considering that in their plans.
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However, it had been my understanding that, at least in the case of TECfusion (at the former ALCOA Research Center), they would provide their own in-house power generation. Their power source is reported to be natural gas. This responsible design does several good things: It provides reliable power for the data center, it does not overwhelm the power grid that the public relies on and it actually may provide excess power which it can export to the local power grid.
Please continue to update us on this new technology and maybe even delve into the technical employment opportunities that are opening up as a result. We have many bright young people in the Pittsburgh/New Kensington area that may be interested.
Gary Pallone
New Kensington
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Disappointed in Pirates ownership
As a Pirates fan since the late 1960s, I’ve never been as saddened and frustrated with ownership as I have been recently. The Clemente memorial, the Bucco Bricks and the Rowdy Tellez release all just point to an owner who doesn’t care about history, fans, players, youth or the city in general. I’ll always be a Pirates fan but never a fan of Bob Nutting.
Chuck DeLuca
Port Clinton, Ohio
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Ranked-choice voting fair for all
The Pittsburgh mayoral election is exhausting.
We know the winner of the Democratic primary will become our next mayor. That means Democrats are the only voice who will get heard May 20. Republican votes will get ignored, and independents will be silenced altogether.
On Thursday, I spoke with the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee on how to make elections work better for all voters. I joined our representatives in Harrisburg to answer their questions about ranked-choice voting (RCV), a simple upgrade to our elections that’s gaining momentum nationwide.
Here’s how it works: in addition to selecting your top choice, you also have the opportunity to list your backup choices. Under RCV, Pittsburgh would have the option to skip the charade of the mayoral primary. Instead, all four candidates could run in the November general election. Republican voters could rank their two candidates as their No. 1 and 2 options. If neither of those candidates wins, they could still have a say between Ed Gainey and Corey O’Connor with their No. 3 and 4 options. And independent and third-party voters could finally have their voices heard.
After Thursday’s meeting, we’re one step closer to legalizing RCV in Pennsylvania.
Armin Samii
Lawrenceville
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Allegheny County Council should pass air permit fee hike
We know that Pittsburgh and Allegheny County suffer from pollution. Air quality — especially in the Mon Valley — is among the worst in the nation. That’s largely due to industrial facilities like U.S. Steel, which frequently violates air quality standards.
The Allegheny County Health Department is the government agency charged with enforcing laws that protect our health. But (ironically) the Health Department gets funding for its actions from “air permit fees” paid by U.S. Steel and other polluters.
Now, Allegheny County Council is debating whether to raise these air permit fees. I urge council members to vote “yes.” Allegheny County residents deserve clean air and a clean environment. It’s essential that the Health Department has the money it needs to protect us.
Ten council members need to support the fee increase, but so far only eight do. That needs to change.
Let’s contact our county council representatives (find districts at alleghenycounty.us/Government/Departments-and-Offices/County-Council/Council-Districts) and tell them: “Protect our air. Fund the Health Department. Increase permit fees.”
Maya Fischhoff
Squirrel Hill