Editor’s note: The story of Kelly Clemente, who chose to give up her unexpected baby for adoption, rang bells with The Daily Signal’s audience. Some of the responses lead off this week’s collection of emails and other comments. Drop us a line at letters@dailysignal.com.—Ken McIntyre

Dear Daily Signal: Thank you for Kelsey Harkness’ video report on Kelly Clemente (“She Got Pregnant at 18 and Did Something That Today Few Teens Do”). Kelly’s courage is touching and inspiring. What a difficult choice, as there’s far less support for it than for killing the baby.

My heart goes out to her, and I hope she’ll have her own family with children one day. Brava.—Alice Zents, Edinburg, Texas

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It is a wonderful story. What a courageous decision Kelly Clemente made. The open adoption is right because she can see that her son is happy and healthy.—Rich and Ronnie Reimann, Cottonwood Heights, Utah

This is a woman who made a bad choice, became pregnant, and then made the right choice by not denying life to her child. Choices in life are not always easy, and this one must be one of the hardest.

To make the choice to allow a child to be born is a lot more difficult than to make the choice to end this child’s life before it can begin. That choice shows responsibility and respect for life.—Robin Boyd

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I am an adoptive mother of two and also the aunt of two adopted children, plus a retired registered nurse who is pro-choice and anti-abortion. Obviously, I have a lot to be thankful for.

My sons are the light of my life. And I have always been thankful and blessed by the courage and strength of their birth moms and by the families that gave them the support they had to have to make that decision.

Unfortunately, we are not a society that encourages adoption by providing the absolutely necessary support needed. We refuse to even address those issues.

Thank you for sharing your story, Kelly. I hope it will make many people think.Sara Huff, Atlanta

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Wow. So powerful. Choose life. “Children are not a burden, children are a blessing.”—Randy and Peggy Malcom, Yoder, Colo.

 

So proud of this young woman. Kelly’s story should be an inspiration to all girls who find themselves in similar circumstances.—Raeman Haines, Bayfield, Colo.

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Thank you for this message. How heartwarming to know there are those courageous young women out there who will do their best for their baby.—Wilma Darlington

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Amen! Saving a life is always the best choice. In this instance, she saved both hers and her baby’s.—Ed Finley

Jimmy Kimmel Disparages the First Lady

Dear Daily Signal: About Ginny Montalbano’s story, just who is it giving people such as Jimmy Kimmel any attention (“Jimmy Kimmel’s Tasteless Attack on Melania Trump”)? And why? Do we have so much leisure time that watching someone as vacant and lacking in substance is a necessity?

During the 1980s, I made it a policy to turn off any program, usually a “sitcom,” when they bashed Republicans or my values. The third time I did that, it was over and I never watched the show again. CBS was particularly bad. The last show I watched was ABC’s very good “China Beach.” Soon, I was not watching anything on network TV.

I had not watched their “news” for a decade prior. The Food network and HGTV also got bad. On Feb. 1, 2013, I removed TV from my home and do not miss it. I was not going to pay those who bashed my political and moral views. Even though you do not watch, you still pay for it.

By the way, Melania Trump is a very artistic and focused person. It is my understanding that she designed the White House Christmas display herself. Why is it that louts such as Mr. Kimmel think women are incapable of tying their shoes unless they direct us?—Joan Gibson, Morgantown, W.Va.

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Our first lady is truly a lovely person. Yes, she’s beautiful, but even more intelligent and talented. For example, I don’t know anyone who can speak five languages fluently; that is pretty amazing. The left should be embarrassed by the way people like Kimmel treat her compared to Michelle Obama, who is a lawyer. I know plenty of of lawyers.Tom Antoine

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I don’t think that late-night hosts and “grace” are compatible. As for mocking anyone for their accent or any other reason, that is just unacceptable. There is a reason why I don’t watch these folks.Cynthea Anderson

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Mocking people is bad now? But it was OK when Trump mocked Chinese people’s accents? Or a disabled reporter? Can we decide whether it’s bad or not, and stick with it?Edward Buatois, Cleveland

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Who is Jimmy Kimmel?Henri Farmer

The Link Between School Discipline and Safety 

Dear Daily Signal: Jarrett Stepman’s commentary spotlights another liberal feel-good program that ends badly (“Student Journalist Says Discipline Policies Weakened School Safety Before Parkland Shooting”). And then they all run around casting blame everywhere but in the direction of actions that made this possible.Tim Dayton

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School safety is a local issue. Parents and voters need to question local school administrators and representatives if policies and procedures are indifferent to commonsense concerns over student safety.Jaime Manzano

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The state of education in our country, the vast amounts of money through programs and grants pouring into our schools with very little of value emerging, the counseling programs carried out by inept professionals, the high-sounding ideas that carry almost no educational or “restorative” substance other than to provide social workers with jobs all add up to the sorry level of education our schools have become.Dean Miller, York, Pa.

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The problem is the schools think they are the parents and the parents have no say in how disciplinary actions are handled. Children are bullied and harassed. Teachers look the other way because they lack education on how to deal with conflict resolution.Dana Cayton

Facebook, Zuckerberg, and the Obama Campaign

Dear Daily Signal: Regarding Hans von Spakovsky’s commentary (“Facebook’s ‘Favor’ for Obama Campaign May Have Violated Federal Law”): If corporations can’t offer cash or a service to a campaign, then how do you explain the mainstream media, which provides billions in propaganda, as a wing of the Democratic Party?Anthony Alfero

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If, as von Spakovsky’s commentary says, the statute of limitations has run out, why waste my tax money with useless investigations that, even if found true, nothing can be done about?Walker Becker, Guelph, Ontario

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Why don’t we hear about how the Obama administration used Facebook through Cambridge Analytica long before Donald Trump even decided to run for president? Another bold case of media hypocrisy?Martha Kurowski

Dear Daily Signal: In regard to Jarrett Stepman’s commentary on Sinclair Broadcast Group, “Sinclair Controversy Is About the Legacy Media’s Fear of Losing Control,” nobody cares what the “mainstream” reporters’ opinions are. The endless pounding of their anti-conservative, anti-Trump agenda has grown tiresome. They are losing audiences by the thousands daily, but you won’t hear that fact mentioned on NBC or CNN.Charlie Funk

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Individuals get to choose what they consider the most objective news and information source. It is called freedom.Peter Joseph

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All true! It’s frightening that many news media outlets are attacking any other voices in media, such as Sinclair Broadcast Group, that dare to disagree with their own bias.Dahn Carey

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What we have is a failure to communicate. We have persons who want you to agree with their perception of the world.Tim Dayton

About That Caravan Headed Our Way 

Dear Daily Signal: About Genevieve Wood’s commentary (“The Caravan of Migrants Is Not America’s Problem”): We need to block illegal aliens on the Mexican side of the border, refusing to stand down, even if it takes weeks or months before they get smart and go back home.

They’re not our responsibility. Mexico has certainly never considered illegals to be their problem. It’s way past time that we demonstrate to the world that the U.S. is serious about our border control. Mexico is serious about theirs—unless, of course, it’s Latinos on their way to crash through our border.

Americans are tired of Mexico’s attitude. I’m absolutely livid that Ohio native and past president of Mexico,Vicente Fox, used an F-bomb against our president last year regarding the wall.

Mexicans and Central and South Americans need to learn that if the Mexican government is going to facilitate and enable large groups of people to walk through on their way to crash our borders, that problem is going to end up on their side of the fence—for once. That’s exactly what it is going to take before Mexico finally gets it.—Robyn Schmalz, Santa Fe, N.M.

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It’s a sad state of affairs when a country won’t take care of its own elderly and will give the assets set aside for that purpose to people who are going to destroy the country that is their host.—Mark Riddle, Des Moines, Iowa

This ridiculous caravan is a bald and bold test of our will to enforce our immigration laws. We must stop this nonsense. If Mexico allows this caravan to reach the U.S. through their land, they are in collusion with these illegals. This can become a terrible tragedy, indeed.Andrew Ling

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Who is encouraging this illegal nightmare? If they live in the U.S., tell us where they live so we can  go live in their house, take their food, cars, and clothes, giving them a taste of what illegals do to our nation.Paul Delfornia, Boston

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If Mexico had not allowed that “caravan” of migrants across their borders there would not have been a crisis. The real crisis is that Mexico should want to protect their own borders without President Trump having to threaten to cut $400 million in taxpayer funds we provide to the Mexican oligarchs for “security assistance.” Which goes God only knows where, but I’d bet they have deep pockets.

At present the drug and trafficking cartels control Mexico’s northern border, and apparently Central America controls the southern border. We need a wall to protect our shared border from drugs, thugs, and other ingrates that may be packing biological weapons or other dangerous substances that the Mexican government would rather keep on moving north.

I hope the Mexican people will make drastic political reform to improve their own country rather than allowing their version of our “swamp” to dominate their lives. Mexico is a beautiful country with vast resources that equal anything we have in the U.S. The only thing restraining their prosperity is themselves. I wish them well.—Brannen Edwards, Savannah, Ga.

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The Democrats are winning the war on voting in America. They are getting driver’s licenses or other “documents” for illegal immigrants that give them the ability to vote in our elections.

The Democrats are blocking all reasonable efforts to demand citizen ID at the polls. Now illegal immigrants are encouraged to vote with or without ID in all our elections.

They will soon take over. Next they will run their own candidates. We must stop voter fraud and demand proof of citizenship at all of our polling places.—Pat Ellis

Goodbye, Tax Dollars

Dear Daily Signal: Adam Michel and Justin Bogie list federal outlays, but you do not account for income in their commentary (“Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?”). Social Security, for instance, consumes 24 percent of federal spending. But how much does it take in?

Same question regarding health care and many other programs. We cannot get a fair assessment of federal spending without accounting for revenue sources.  Your data is misleading.—John S. Thomas, Bradenton, Fla.

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Ladies and gentlemen, we are completely and truly screwed. All government bureaucrats’ worth and why they get up every day is to spend other people’s money. They have no self-interest in stopping. That’s why the Founding Fathers wanted strict limits on the size of the federal government.—Steve Maio, Westminster, Colo.

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I don’t understand why we keep voting these guys back in? If you want your elected senators and representatives to stop spending, start kicking them out every election cycle.—Benjamin Styles

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Why is Social Security continuously called an entitlement? I paid for that.—Walt Hankinson