The Dec. 30 edition of The Republican carried a front page article entitled “Jimmy Carter dies at 100.” Regarding the 52 hostages held for 444 days by Iran, the story said this: “(Carter’s) negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan.”

There is more to the story. The Reagan campaign was secretly and actively negotiating with Iran in 1980 to not release the hostages until after the American election. They were released on Reagan’s inauguration day, giving credit to Carter, but too late to aid his chance of being re-elected. The hostages, their families and friends, and even the American people were the victims of the Reagan campaign’s misdeed.

The country was trying to recover from the dirty tricks of President Nixon. Apparently not all dirty tricks are illegal.

REV. JONATHAN C. TETHERLY, Chicopee

What Americans want from D.C.

This is what Americans demand from their president.

We want a president to obey our laws and our Constitution.

We want a president who says what his presidency will do and does what he says.

We want a president to take a break from the beach and show up and answer our questions by the media once in a while.

We want a president who doesn’t use the power of our government to destroy his political opponents.

We expect to elect a president who is the one making the decisions for America, instead of unelected unknowns.

We want a president to demand respect from the rest of the world and make those fear the consequences of starting wars and land-grabbing by force.

Actions by a weak or easily manipulated president like Joe Biden will not destroy us. What will destroy us is if we do not demand that the news media respect their readers with honesty about lies like who started this “enemies list.”

Who is claiming that white supremacy or parents in a school meeting are top sources of terrorism in America? This very “deep state” will continue without a free press that sees this trainwreck with their own eyes but flips the reporting or simply censors it completely.

The intentional cover-up of the bad Biden moments are now widely reported as “what a surprise” by the media.

Then the usual: “It’s Trump’s fault.”

It gets old after a while, but to the American voters last November, it’s no surprise.

RICH HILBERT, Westfield

Use of electricity saves this household

During the past 10 years, we’ve electrified our home in Feeding Hills as much as possible. We purchased 30 solar panels and paid them off in six years. We switched out our gas clothes dryer and also replaced our gas range with an induction range. My electricity expense is zero because the panels cover it all.

Last June, we traded my gasoline automobile for an electric car and took advantage of the federal and state rebates. We also installed a “level 2” charger in our garage and took advantage of the power company’s subsidy.

To date we have driven just over 3,800 miles, which would have cost us about $475 in gasoline alone. Since we own our panels, we are traveling for free. During summer months, we get about 300 miles per charge and in winter, so far, we average about 260, but who’s counting, it’s free. Further, our maintenance is low because we have no oil changes, no transmission, no radiator or coolant, no muffler, no engine block, no catalytic converter.

Lastly, charging stations are everywhere. There are numerous apps that guide you to them and let you know total charging slots and how many are available.

By going electric we’ve saved thousands over the years. It’s a real win for everyone.

JOSÉ LINARES, Feeding Hills

What I recall about Jan. 6 events

In a letter Sunday, a writer said she remembers rioters on Jan. 6, 2021. There were also people peacefully wandering in the U.S. Capitol. Had a regular citizen shot someone to defend themselves, he would be arrested. But the Capitol police can shoot an unarmed person and they get protected.

There were questions about election fraud and people had the right to petition Congress to investigate it. Despite the whining, I have not heard anyone successfully fault Dinesh D’Sousa’s points in “2000 mules.”

Some members of Congress were going to question the results of the 2020 election in some states. They were interrupted by the rioting.

Also, the cause of recent inflation was not a simple matter of government spending. About 40 Democrat-controlled state governments forbade people from going to work. That means fewer goods and services were produced.

The Democrats then spent COVID-19 relief money, supposedly to help the people they had just put out of work. They did need relief. But anyone taking an introduction to economics class learns that more money available and fewer goods and services will lead to price increases.

Once the prices go up, people demand more money, if they are fortunate enough to have a job. In the meantime, most people lose buying power.

ROBERT JOSEPH UNDERWOOD, Springfield