State must share blame for Key Bridge collapse

As we sadly mark the one-year anniversary of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, we should remember some facts and not the twisted truths of Gov. Wes Moore and his agents (“Key Bridge collapse: One year later, a loss still keenly felt,” March 26).

First, many people are to blame for the people who were killed. Second, since we have known for years about the bridge’s vulnerability given the increasingly large ships traveling to the Port of Baltimore, something should have been done much sooner.

Third, who allowed these huge ships near the bridge? Who set the speed limit? Who was responsible for investigating the bridge and making recommendations for safely improvements? The Democrats are in charge of state government, not the captain of the Dali. The container ship and its crew should have been subject to more restraints. Elected Democrats failed to protect us here, just as they have failed to restrain spending responsibly.

The Dali’s captain, crew and owners should be held accountable for failing to operate the ship correctly and in a safe manner but the Democrats in this state are hugely responsible for other related failures. That they never admit their errors is a proof of their inability to administer government morally or well.

Governor Moore’s smooth blaming of others is just another way for him to lie to us.

— Rev. Michael T. Buttner, Bel Air

America has been ‘Signaled’: Inmates run the asylum

If there was ever any doubt that the inmates are running the asylum, the group chat on the Signal messaging app about the attack on Yemen should have erased it for all but the most diehard MAGA supporters (“Editor who received leaked Signal chats releases complete attack plan text chain,” March 26).

The spin that is being used to try to defend this act of incompetence is nothing short of absurd. Kudos to The Atlantic for publishing the full transcript of the discussion. It reveals the depth of depravity and ignorance of several of the participants.

If Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, are not fired then we can only expect such incompetence to be repeated for the next four years — with the blessings of the man pretending to be president.

— William L. Opfer Jr., Bel Air