Williams cares about others — that’s a good thing

I mostly disagree viscerally with Armstrong Williams’ political musings, but his reflection on Good Friday shows us that his strong religious beliefs evoke a deep concern for all his fellow citizens (“Armstrong Williams: Aspire to selflessness on Good Friday,” April 18).

We would certainly be having more civilized debates in our society if politicians had the common grounding of empathy that Williams exudes. This doesn’t require an unwavering adherence to religion. It does require a basic decency absent from today’s administration.

— Eric Greene, Annapolis

Trump tariffs are threatening my retirement

When my wife and I sold our house two years ago, we were fortunate to be able to invest most of the profits from the sale. Our financial adviser told us that selling the house would give us a type of security that we never had before. Because of the robust economy that Donald Trump would end up inheriting — and which he passionately claimed during the campaign was in terrible shape — we earned 10% on that money last year.

Within a matter of a few short weeks, due to President Trump’s reckless and impulsive tariff policy, those gains were eradicated — and then some (“Trump tariffs: A mistake on every level,” April 5). Because Trump gave little thought to the inevitable effects that his volatile acts would invariably have on the stock market, tens of millions of Americans got pummeled in a manner that they could ill afford.

My wife and I are in our early 70s, and we rely on our investments to provide us with something approaching a secure life in retirement. Trump’s willy-nilly style of what could only be loosely described as “leadership” shows an astounding disregard for the welfare of the typical American, people whom he frequently claims to care about.

And the obsequious fealty shown to him by the Republican Party reinforces why a president running amok should never have this much power again. As the old Toyota commercial used to say, “You asked for it, you got it.” That pretty much sums up Donald Trump for president.

— Neil Rauch, Pikesville

Why waste time persecuting transgender athletes?

Two. A mere two individuals. That is the number of transgender athletes in the state of Maine with which President Donald Trump has an issue (“Trump administration sues Maine over participation of transgender athletes in girls sports,” April 16). And even though that statistic was buried in the second-to-last paragraph, it represents the minuscule number of athletes in women’s sports.

The same is true of the NCAA. Of the tens of thousands of athletes in the country playing college sports, there are fewer than 10 who are transgender, according to the NCAA president. But again, President Trump made them sign something saying they would exclude those 10.

So I just have to ask, why is Trump spending so much time persecuting such a small number of women? Is it to keep that base of his happy by attacking this one group? Or is it to distract from the fact that he has really done nothing to help the rest of the country?

Trump was ostensibly elected to bring down inflation. Well, has anyone looked at the price of eggs recently? They are still so high that people are looking to dye potatoes for Easter, rather than eggs.

— James Waurin, Nottingham

Is air travel as safe as we say it is?

I have always thought that the safety record of air travel expressed in terms of deaths-per-mile-traveled might be looked at another way. How about deaths per crash? After all, there is no such thing as a “fender-bender” in mid-air.

— Dave Reich, Perry Hall