Slow starts a sign Bengals need to play starters in preseason | Letters

Do you think that Bengals coach Zac Taylor will ever figure out that not playing his starters for at least a quarter in each preseason game is a very bad idea? The 24-3 debacle on Sept. 10 against the Cleveland Browns again showed that this a disastrous plan. Last year, the first two games were losses due to no preseason work for the starters. In the season opener a week ago, quarterback Joe Burrow was hit while passing on nearly every drop back. With no preseason play, the offensive line has no chance to jell as a unit.

Take a hint, Zac, and play the starters for at least one quarter in each preseason game. Our competition in this year's three preseason games played their starters for a portion of each game. Going out there cold is going to get our franchise quarterback hurt.

Mike Thompson, Loveland

LaRose tried to deceive voters with ballot language change

Clearly, Secretary of State Frank LaRose isn’t working for Ohioans. He tried to trick us into giving away our right to amend the state constitution with the sneaky August election. Even though Ohioans voted against him, defeating August's Issue 1, he hasn't stopped trying to silence us.

LaRose’s attempt to deceive us by changing the abortion amendment’s ballot language is disgraceful. He’s abusing his position as secretary of state to overrule us. What will stop him from doing the same as senator?We can’t allow LaRose to fool us. Send him a message by voting "Yes" on Issue 1 in November.

Joy Bennett, Mason

Proposed railroad sale a no-win choice for Cincinnati

How appropriate, even providential, that the ill-conceived sale of our Cincinnati Southern Railway will appear as Issue 22 on the November ballot, for this whole sordid effort evokes the toxic smell of a "Catch-22" situation, something all too familiar to residents of East Palestine. Home and business owners there could either stay in the toxic cage imposed on them by Norfolk Southern’s catastrophic derailment, or they could escape by selling their contaminated property at considerable loss − a no-win choice.

Similarly, Cincinnati residents face a virtual no-win outcome should the sale succeed. Certainly lost forever would be any possible community oversight and control over Norfolk Southern’s operations, a risk which invites more calamities; and a secure municipal income of $25 million annually would vanish altogether, replaced by pie-in-the-sky prospects from insecure investments and speculations launched by a considerable cadre of financial consultants laughing all the way to the bank.

Perhaps most importantly, Cincinnati would lose the honor and distinction of retaining the only municipally owned railway in the nation, an enviable status and one of priceless value. Also of priceless value are the endangered lives of our sisters and brothers in East Palestine. That’s where the proffered $1.6 billion needs to go, and perhaps with the richly deserved defeat of Issue 22, it will.

Werner Lange, Wyoming

Anti-abortionists should focus on maternal care

Regarding, "Ballot measure puts late-term Ohio abortions in spotlight," (Sept. 11): Abortion opponents are claiming that Ohio's proposed amendment will result in more late-term abortions being performed. They seem to take issue with the language in the proposed amendment which allows abortions after viability "if, in the professional judgment of the...physician, it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient's life and health." They express concern that doctors and patients will "take liberties (and) proceed with abortions that aren't medically necessary."

Well, guess what? Every pregnancy poses a threat to the pregnant patient's life and health − especially if you're a mother-to-be in the USA.

This great country of ours has a higher maternal death rate than any other industrialized nation on Earth. In fact, our maternal death rate is even higher than that of the impoverished nation of Tajikistan, and it has nearly doubled in the past two decades.

Can you guess the number one cause of maternal death in the United States? Homicide − by the fetus's father. Google it.

And yet, abortion opponents want to deny women the basic human right of choosing whatever measure we deem necessary to stay alive as long as we can. They obviously aren't concerned with protecting the lives of women − unless those women are in the form of a non-sentient clump of cells inside a uterus.

If abortion opponents were really concerned about protecting lives, then they'd stop trying to force women to endure pregnancies that they might not even survive, and instead focus their efforts on better maternal care and on reducing, or maybe even stopping, violence against women.

Belinda Stoner, Mount Washington

Poor lighting, lining makes interstate unnecessarily dangerous

Dangerous roads of Cincinnati. Why are only half of lights along Interstate 71/75 and the entrance to the Brent Spence at night lit up? That, along with the poor lining that separates the highway lanes, makes it unnecessarily dangerous.

Neil Frankl, Park Hills

Police deserve the highest respect

Regarding the letter to the editor, "Better guidelines needed to govern police actions," (Sept. 10): The letter writer proposes that there should be prescribed limits applicable to the behavior of police officers when confronting someone suspected of criminal behavior. He asks how many times should an officer allow someone to "shove," or "spit on" him or her, or a "speed at which a suspect" is permitted to flee before the officer is allowed to react to it should be established.

The most absurd redress suggested is that the police should withhold firing their firearms at armed individuals until a pre-determined number of rounds are fired by the suspect(s) at them. Quite the contrary. A shove should be immediately addressed and, if necessary, the perpetrator thrown to the ground, pepper-sprayed or whacked with a night stick if necessary. If they are fired upon, they are not going to stay there and risk dying or being injured, and should respond immediately. Certainly, there are individuals who are upset or mentally ill, but the life of the police takes precedence over all of that.

Maybe the article was intended as a joke, which is what it is, but it doesn’t read like it. The police deserve the highest respect as they had prior to the present-day madness.

Bill Rhoads, Anderson Township

A fetus is in a woman's body, but it's not her body

Stop abortion. When you say, "It's my body," this is not accurate. Yes, it is in your body, but every cell of you body has its own and unique and separate DNA. The fetus in your body has its own and separate and unique DNA. Therefore, it is in your body, but it is not your body.

Sally Mills, Mount Washington

Fears about homeless camps in Burnet Woods not based in facts

True Cliftonites aren’t scared of urban life. They don’t assume that people who are different or poor are dangerous. The Clifton folks who kicked up a ruckus about "homeless encampments" in Burnet Woods now look like timid fools, due to the Enquirer’s reporting at a community meeting. No one had any actual evidence of such camps. Not the timid folks, not the bemused police, not park workers.

Burnet Woods is fine. I’ve visited, hiked and/or taken my granddaughters there 500 times since moving to Clifton 25 years ago. Maybe more. The worst recent problem there is fear-based road blockages that make some areas unnecessarily hard to access and deny the option of a nice drive through the park. As for the homeless-camp scaredy-cats, whose fears apparently are as fact-based as Rudy Giuliani’s conspiracy theories, maybe they’d be happier in the burbs.

Jack Brennan, Clifton

To his supporters, Trump's leadership outweighs his flaws

Instead of blindly railing against those who continue to support former president Donald Trump despite his indictments (and even potential conviction), maybe we should step back and try to understand their rationale. The three major reasons they cite for endorsing him are. First, his accomplishments as president which include low inflation, energy independence, no wars, securing the southern border and brokering new partnerships in the Middle East. The second reason is that he is the only candidate who has already demonstrated that he'll put American interests ahead of global ones. And, finally, he has vowed to continue his attempt to dismantle the elite establishment in Washington ("the swamp") that doesn't have the average citizen's interests at heart.

We all know the downside of another Trump presidency: the drama, baggage and narcissism that he would bring with him. His supporters obviously look beyond that and feel that is a small price to pay for his obvious leadership skills.

I, for one, get the pros and the cons.

Jeff Moffat, Loveland

Supreme Court decisions do reflect the will of the people

Regarding, "All Supreme Court decisions should be reviewed," (Sept. 7): The idea of having all Supreme Court decisions reviewed is preposterous and unworkable. Non-stop litigation and reviews would be the result, which is what one would expect from an attorney. Supreme Court decisions are made by justices appointed by the elected president and then confirmed by elected members of the U.S. Senate. Thus, those decisions truly reflect the will of the people.

Jack Felton, Green Township

The days of speaking without fear of reprisal are gone

Times have certainly changed. If you're old enough to remember when Andy Rooney closed the "60 Minutes" TV show with a short segment, you'll remember that he was a Democrat in the mold of John F. Kennedy. Rooney had many profound things to say, but in reading a book about him recently, I came across this quote which typified his commentary: "I think if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion."

Boy, do I miss that type of common sense and, more importantly, the ability to say it without fear of reprisal.

Fred Nelson, Mason

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Slow starts sign Bengals need to play starters in preseason | Letters