Donald Trump badmouthed the US. We shouldn't stand for it. Hillary Clinton should rescue us.

Save us Hillary

Now, more than ever, the country needs Hillary Clinton to step forward to run to become the next and first female president of the United States.

Sure, she has lost before and has lots of baggage and age on her but she is sane not senile, knowledgeable not know nothing, and crafty not crazy. She may not be perfect but she is a damn sight better than the two alternatives we currently have.

Michael Oser, Columbus

Badmouther-in-chief

Watching the June 27 debate of former President Donald Trump lying and badmouthing the United States of America, I was reminded of a scene from the movie "Animal House."

When the Deltas are in "court" with Dean Wormer and the Omegas, who have, by the way, an uncanny resemblance to some of today's Republicans, Eric "Otter" Stratton says, "We're not going to sit here and listen to you bad mouth the United States of America." They got up marched out while humming "The National Anthem," and that was that. Sorry if you don't get the reference, but it fits.

Trump vs. Biden debate: 10 cartoons about first presidential debate

Stephen V. Torsell, Grove City

Founders didn't want a king

Originalism is a theory of interpreting legal texts holding that a text in law, especially the U.S. Constitution, should be interpreted as it was understood at the time of its adoption.

Some members of the U.S. Supreme Court are particularly enamored of this concept.

Maybe the original framers couldn't conceive of a populace that needed to debate whether a man who has demonstrated physically threatening behavior to his spouse should be able to bear arms.

Maybe they didn't put in language that would give the leader of the United States absolute immunity because they had just freed themselves from the King of England who — wait for it — had absolute immunity.

Maybe they couldn't conceive of a world where women could vote, own property and have agency over their lives.

On the basis of their thinking, I'm sure judges Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and the rest of the gang would like to declare the 19th Amendment null and void. While they're at it, pitch the 13th as well.

Maybe they couldn't conceive of all of the things that freedom - over time - might encompass. Then again, they included language allowing future amendments to the original, so maybe they could.

Maybe they figured some things were so obvious they didn't need to spell them out.

Dave Schwendenman, Columbus

Care facilities aren't very caring; Politicians should fix that

Reps. Sara Carruthers and Jean Schmidt, I am writing to bring to your attention a pressing issue that is affecting many families in Ohio.

It has become increasingly clear that our most vulnerable loved ones in long-term care facilities are not receiving the attention and care they deserve.

One particular concern is the lack of oversight and transparency in these facilities, as exemplified by the manipulation of Esther's Law. This law, designed to allow for cameras in residents' nursing home rooms, is being exploited by unscrupulous facilities to deny families and residents the right to have a camera installed.

It is imperative that the language of Esther's Law be expanded to address this issue and to include assisted living facilities as well. By doing so, we can ensure families have the peace of mind of being able to monitor their loved ones' care and well-being, even in the face of resistance from certain facilities.

I urge you to take immediate action to address this critical issue and to protect the rights of our most vulnerable loved ones.

Steve Piskor, elderly nursing home abuse advocates, Cleveland

No reward for conscientious gas usage

A majority of Columbia Gas customers may not realize that each month the company charges each customer $39.10 for fixed monthly delivery charges, $4.03 for infrastructure replacement program rider, $0.09 for infrastructure replacement program rider, $2.99 for capital expenditure program rider, $0.63 for infrastructure development rider, $0.13 for usage-based charges and $2.23 for taxes and fees.

This makes the total fixed monthly charges $49.31.

All these fixed costs are charged regardless how much gas a residential customer uses during a billing cycle. My last gas bill totaled $50.20. The cost of the gas I used during this billing cycle was only $0.89 or 1.78% of the total bill.

This Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved system discourages conservation. Fixed charges should be prorated based on a customer’s gas usage in order to reward customers who conserve natural gas. It is amazing that the commission approved this billing scheme. However, that is not surprising at all.

George A. Elmaraghy, Columbus

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trump-Biden debate debacle shows why we need Hillary Clinton to save us