The United States was once a super power. That is changing under our current President. He is an autocrat that recently aligned this country with Russia, North Korea, Belarus, and Hungary on a vote at the United Nations. His apparent negotiating position in regards to Ukraine is to align with Russia while extorting Ukraine for mineral rights. He insulted our European allies with the accusation that the assistance they have provided to Ukraine in the war with Russia has been a loan. He is alienating our neighbors Canada and Mexico with high tariffs. If economists are correct, that may backfire on him by hurting the United States.
This is a global world in which we must reason with allies and neighbors without threats.
It is time for our spineless legislators to start to participate in what our forefathers intended when they created the concept of separation of powers.
JAMES D. STEWART
Woodville
Maumee water bills paying for sewer
Recently Maumee residents received a letter from the city administrator titled “Official Sewer Repair Updates.” The letter says city council has taken steps to reduce the potential burden of sewer repairs to Maumee residents. Now the city will cover the cost of sewer repairs up to 300 lateral feet. According to Bluefield Research, inflation over the last 10 years ranges between 2 and 4 percent. But water rates nationally are going up about 6 percent a year. We all understand the need for a fair rate hike to compensate for the costs of treatment, maintenance, and infrastructure upgrades. My winter water bills from 2019-2024 went up 80 percent in 5 years, averaging a 16 percent rise every year. My 2025 bill alone went up 105 percent. Maumee water rate hikes are not fair and equitable when compared with the national trend. Are we being led like sheep to believe there will not be any direct cost for sewer repairs to Maumee residents? We believe those sewer repairs are being indirectly paid for by extremely high water bills.
DOUG BADYNA
Maumee
Trump invaded Zelensky’s space
Every American should be mortified, embarrassed, and sickened by what they saw from a U.S. president last Friday. It was not assertive or reasoned diplomacy. It was not frustration with the diplomatic process. It was the behavior of a gangster.
The President touched Mr. Zelensky several times as the debate became heated. In most cultures, that is a sign of aggression/dominance.
Vance, always the eager sycophant, blamed Mr. Zelensky for trying to litigate the issue in public. His aim seemed to be to force Mr. Zelensky to grovel on camera. I was waiting for him to demand that Mr. Zelensky kiss the President’s feet. It is fine if a new administration sets a new direction. If the United States is unhappy with how much the European Union contributes to NATO, have a tough heated conversation in private. But in public, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
TERRILYN COPELAND
Toledo
Problems with EVs were overlooked
Not surprisingly, the federal government, under the last administration, enacted mandates without conducting the best research. When it decided that at least half of all new cars sold had to be electric by 2030, it did not confirm that there would be ample charging capacity in our infrastructure or our electrical grid.
In 2023, only 7 percent of new car owners opted for an electric vehicle. Why?
Possibly because of the inconvenience of running out of electrical charge or an inability to find an open charging station. What the government should have done was support hybrid vehicles until the grid and charging stations were readily available.
That would have allowed vehicle owners to transition into the electrical vehicle concept as the infrastructure was developed.
Right now, 60 percent of electric power production comes from fossil fuels, 19 percent from nuclear power sources, and only 21 percent is from renewable energy like wind, solar, hydroelectric, etc.
So, the idea that electric vehicles produce zero emissions is a misconception. There is also a significant amount of emissions from producing the batteries, which cannot be ignored.
LARRY GILLEN
Maumee
Stick to Founding Fathers’ vision
Our country has always been a work in progress. Our Founding Fathers had their faults and flaws but they were brilliant in two regards: the Constitution and the three equal branches of government with built in checks and balances.
It will do us well as a nation, now and going forward, to always use the basics of what the founding fathers set up as our “road map.”
Does not matter who the president is, staying true to the Constitution AND the equal power of the government branches will keep this country on the rails.
For most of my lifetime, the executive branch has always pushed for more power versus the other branches. This is true no matter the party in power.
We as a nation should always refer back to the basic model of equal checks and balances and keep this unique and brilliant form of government as intended. To stray from the original concept is to flirt with disaster.
FRANK RENNER
Swanton
First Published March 6, 2025, 5:00 a.m.
