Letters: Credit mayor with Bengals' playoff loss

The Bengals’ loss to the Chiefs might be attributed to many things, even to ignorant comments made by the city’s mayor. Those comments about the opposing quarterback were indeed weak and embarrassing.

Cincinnati has many problems that need tended to. Mayor Aftab Pureval should stick to this business and stop giving opposing teams any more fuel than they already have.

Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce was right Mayor Pureval, "shut your mouth." Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is right, too − we “have Jerry Springer and no rings.”

Doug Graves, West Chester

Help make Cincinnati the Hi-Five capital of the world

Ticket to Hope is a Hamilton, Ohio-based 501(c)3 whose mission is to bring hope to individuals needing it the most by creating unforgettable experiences. This year, we are partnering with the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon and Cincinnati Reds to achieve two primary goals: capture the Guinness World Record for "Most High-Fives in 24 Hours" and provide 1,000 tickets to children and families from our Cincinnati foster programs to a Reds game this summer. One game, all together, screaming at the top of their lungs. It will be challenging but ultimately extremely rewarding and life-changing for many.

Our partnerships will help us connect with the required hands to make Cincinnati the "Hi-Five capital of the world," and boost awareness of our charity. We will be stationed at the "Finish Swine" of the Flying Pig May 6 events, including the PigAbilities, designed to promote inclusion and support our community members with disabilities. We'll be parked in front of GABP later that evening with a mobile DJ truck provided by Jake Sweeney Automotive, and Hamilton's own Unsung Design Company will be live-printing t-shirts. We'll be heading up "Hi-Fives on Mile 5" the following Sunday morning during The 25th Flying Pig Marathon.Please consider supporting Ticket to Hope. Only through your support can we make these goals a reality.Jim Foliano, Executive Director, Hamilton

New voter law is an attempt to repress non-Republican voters

Regarding "How Ohio's new voter law compares to other states," (Jan. 23): I want to address this statement in the article: "...the new law is a solution in search of a problem." The State of Ohio does not have a problem with voter impersonation, the specific type of fraud photo ID's are meant to prevent. Neither does Kentucky, or any other state in our union. Yet, Ohio's law is mirrored by Republican state legislatures across the country.

Simply put, these laws are an obviously orchestrated attempt to "legally" repress non-Republican voters. I say obvious, because the root of these laws are firmly planted in election denialism, and an overriding GOP fear that their base is deteriorating. Call it what it is.

Mark Habig, Fort Wright

School boards should focus on education, not politics

I ask that we please stop using critical race theory and diversity interchangeably. They are not synonymous. We have a diverse community (38% of students in Lakota schools have a multicultural background), state, country and world. That is a good thing and respecting each other is important.

What happened to Matt Miller in Lakota was a loss to that district and community. Isn’t it time to stop supporting people like Darbi Boddy who lie just to get support for a political viewpoint?

The school board is not supposed to be a political role but rather one focused on preparing our children to live in a diverse world. While I don’t live in the Lakota Local School District, I do contribute via state taxes, and attacks on educators is a national problem.

Kathleen Stewart, Batavia

There is a more workable solution to gun violence

The Jan. 25 article, "Threat center report examines mass attacks," seems to ignore the problem. Instead of calling for "communities to intervene early when they see warning signs of violence, encourages businesses to consider workplace violence prevention plans and highlights the connection between domestic violence, misogyny and mass attacks," should we look at what might have caused the recent explosion of gun violence?

Is it possible that Johnson’s "hand-up not hand-out" experiment that has swollen to trillions of dollars being spent to help those less fortunate has made people angry? Are we not giving them enough? Why are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? Has paying mothers more if dad is gone created problems for children?

When I look at the history of gun violence that preceded 1964 and the growth of violence that has expanded exponentially since then, it would seem we might want to return to the days when people were responsible for themselves, for their children, for their friends, and for their neighbors.

Who knows? Maybe we could return to to the days I remember of not locking our doors so our neighbors could use our phone or borrow some sugar.

Randy McKnight, Clifton,

US must increase refining capacity for diesel fuel

Something that is rarely mentioned as the Biden administration tries to curb, and then ultimately eliminate our country's reliance of fossil fuels, is the looming scarcity of diesel fuel. Since this "drives" the trucking industry and most other forms of transportation delivery (including the electricity needed for our power grid), unless we increase our refining capacity for diesel, our country is going to find itself in deep trouble.

While everyone hopes that one day "green" energy will provide the major source of power for the entire world, that day is at least 50 years away. In the meantime, Democrats in particular had better realize that diesel fuel holds the short-term key to both our economic and military security.

Janice Milller, Mt. Washington

Replacing IRS with sales tax caters to the rich

The Republican idea of abolishing the IRS, to replace it with a 30% sales tax, could hardly make clearer what, and who, they value. If such a thing should become law, people working at McDonald's and people in the 1% of 1% of income would each be paying the same amount for milk, cars, clothing and food. The untaxed income of the rich would explode, while the rest of the population would struggle to survive. When people show you who they are, believe them.

Madeena Nolan, College Hill

Eight seconds can hurt a lifetime

Dear Bengals fans, we feel your pain. Eight seconds. It hurts. Your sentences will all begin with "what if" and "I can’t believe" for days.

Eight seconds. We felt the pain of 13 seconds. The city ached for days, weeks, months. We still ache. We still hope.

I would like to tell you that it will hurt less, but Buffalo still hurts over the wide right. When you beat us fair and square a couple of weeks ago, a pilot on a charter flight back to Cincinnati congratulated you on the win and asked only that you beat Mahomes. You tried your best. You will stare at the ceiling, listen to the sports talk shows and relive every moment. You will watch the Super Bowl and ask if you could have beaten the Eagles.

Eight seconds. I had my checkbook out and Venmo open, ready to donate to whatever charity the Bengals support. Your city would have been flooded with donations. If only...

Your friend in pain.Catherine Lee, Hamburg, NY

Bengals were great this year in their wins and losses

The Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, sending the Chiefs to the Super Bowl and the Bengals back to Cincinnati. It was a hard loss to stomach for Bengals fans. I’m sure many of us are revisiting several plays and calls in our heads. What if that ball was caught? What if that throw was intercepted? What if that referee made a different call? "What ifs" are infinite. What isn’t is life.

What I love most about sports is what it can teach us about life and how it can inspire us, especially in defeat. Losing, coming up short, failing − these are realities that happen to all of us in just about every facet of life. Ironically, losing is part of winning and how we act during those times and how we respond say so much about a person or in this case a team. Hats off to the Cincinnati Bengals for how great they played this year and how great they lost. And to Joseph Ossai, you're good man. You played your heart out. Be proud of what you accomplished with your team this year.

Adam Hayden, College Hill

Got to admire the judgment of clever Democrats

Four years ago, several Democrats teamed up with some Republicans to elect Larry Householder as Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. His trial for corruption has just begun.

A few weeks ago, several Democrats teamed up with some Republicans to elect Jason Stephen as Speaker of the House. The Republican majority is now standing frozen like a deer in the headlights; they can’t even tend to ordinary housekeeping chores.

I have to hand it to those clever Democrats − you have got to admire their sagacity!

Clyde Stauffer, Finneytown

Bengals championship chemistry will be costly to keep

Thanks to the mayor of Cincinnati for his comment about Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes and to all the TV stations locally that stuck mic after mic in Bengals players' faces about how good they are. The AFC championship game was jinxed and odds of getting this far again even in two years is like 20-1. Players will leave, we will always be decent with Joe Burrow at quarterback, but the championship chemistry the past two years is hard to replace. So, Mike Brown, dig deep because it will cost to keep this going.

Lee Eyerman, Amelia

Braver Angels offers an alternative to political echo chambers

Regarding, "Our politicians might be at war, but US citizens are not," (Jan. 29): Judging by letters printed on the Jan. 29 Forum page, most writers are moved by strongly held political opinions likely forged without regard for objective consideration of many realities. The guest column by Jason Klein was a welcome relief from that tone.

Braver Angels provides a wonderful opportunity for people to meet others from their city, to talk and listen with respect, and overcome the isolation and immersion in "media" that creates information echo chambers. Bravo!

Marcia Kaplan, Clifton

Nonprofit's tactics raises questions about its findings

I was disheartened to see the Enquirer shame local school districts by publishing the "findings" of Accuracy in Media ("Hidden recording features schools in area," Jan. 26). The trickery used by this nonprofit makes one question the validity of the results.

I taught in Wyoming schools for 29 years and was never asked to teach critical race theory. I hope that I encouraged a climate of belonging and inclusion. Is this not what we want for all of our students, families and staff? What would Accuracy in Media prefer − bullying, shaming, ridicule, divisiveness? Tim Weber has been an excellent leader, and I cannot imagine finding fault with his statement.

Anne Keen, Wyoming

Time running out for our fragile planet

There are so many things to be concerned about today − the war in Ukraine, gun violence, civil rights and the climate crisis. Today, I am going to share my concern about survival of the human species due to the climate crisis. Without food from plants and animals, we would not survive. But the plant and animal kingdoms are dependent on us to protect them from destruction and extinction, and we are not doing enough to protect them. If we do not ramp up efforts to address the causes of flooding, drought, wildfires, and erratic weather, the fragile ecosystems on which our agriculture depends will collapse.

For perspective, in the 1800s during the industrial revolution, the human population was about 1 billion. During this time, people transitioned from creating goods, growing crops and preparing food by hand to using machines, which required fuel. Homes and workplaces were also using coal, oil or gas as their energy sources. This continues today, but today we have over 8 billion people living on Earth and she can no longer handle the amount of heat-trapping methane and carbon dioxide we keep pumping into the atmosphere. She is the same size she was in the 1800s, and she is sending us a message.

Progress has been made toward the transition to clean energy, but more needs to be done and at a faster pace to keep us from reaching the tipping point when time runs out and the Earth is no longer a planet on which humans can live.

Janet Hackman, Highland Heights