Immigrants seeking acceptance should learn English

The Baltimore Sun’s article, “Anne Arundel County seeks to market itself as welcoming environment for immigrants” (Nov. 21), provided a heartwarming policy that Anne Arundel County is pursuing to create a welcoming environment for immigrants. The 10-month process covers many different facets such as civic engagement, communities, education, equitable access and economic development.

I agree that diversity in the workforce isn’t just desirable, it’s undeniably important. However, I do question the undocumented immigrant who was quoted in the article saying that “we belong here and we are here to stay.” She has been here for 19 years and yet needs an interpreter at the news conference.

Am I wrong to ask that all newcomers to our country at least try to learn the recognized language of our country as soon as possible? It would benefit people on all sides of this situation.

— Welby H. Loane, Towson

Big savings in scrapping military hardware

Your editorial (“A reality check on $2T budget savings,” Nov. 20) ignored the huge savings that could be had by taking a quick look just at the U.S. Department of Defense budget.

For example, instead of modernizing our existing fleet of aging nuclear missiles, the Pentagon is planning to replace the entire triad of land-, sea- and air-based weapons to the tune of $1.5 trillion. This is a huge waste of taxpayer money as these weapons can never be used without causing unimaginable damage to all life on the planet.

The U.S. Air Force plans to purchase at least 100 B-21 Raider bombers to replace the B-2 and B-1B Lancer bombers. Each new B-21 bomber costs an estimated $700 million for a total of $70 billion. Again, to carry nuclear weapons that we can never use.

The DOD’s 2025 budget includes $12.4 billion for purchasing 68 F-35C aircraft despite the fact that the program has been criticized for cost overruns and quality management shortcomings by contractors. It’s also been more than a decade behind schedule and has exceeded original cost estimates by $183 billion.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. If Elon Musk is serious, I’m sure he can find a lot more than the “pitiful examples of waste” you suggested.

— Dan Jerrems, Parkton

Van Hollen dead wrong on military aid to Israel

A reader of The Baltimore Sun praises U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen for his vote to deny a U.S. arms shipment to Israel (“Kudos to Van Hollen for opposing weapons sale,” Nov. 22). This is a dangerous and misguided position on the part of the senator and could lead to Iran dominating the Middle East, a situation extremely dangerous to the United States.

At one time, Iraq was the counterweight to Iran’s dominance but then we destroyed Iraq, leaving Israel as the only challenger to Iran and its terrorist regime. Denying military support to Israel guarantees Iran dominance of the Middle East.

Senator Van Hollen is an intelligent man and his failure to see the obvious should be of deep concern to all of us who are his constituents.

— Jack Kinstlinger, Towson

What’s all this about Ocean City popcorn?

Recently, I read with interest the article in The Baltimore Sun about the Ocean City offshore wind project (“Maryland gives go-ahead to wind project on Delmarva Peninsula, over objections from Ocean City residents,” Nov. 20).

However, I am confused about the “pier for local fishers” that was referenced. Why does Fisher’s Popcorn need such a long pier? Certainly, the furry little fisher that looks like a weasel doesn’t need such a long pier.

It can’t be that the word “fishermen” is deemed offensive because it is not gender neutral. I’ll stick with Fisher’s Popcorn.

— Ron Davis, Owings Mills