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Letters to the editor

There are no real Republicans left in America today

Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross In the past, Republicans took not only a principled stance but a responsible stance on the federal budget. For example, the Constitution says that human services programs must be largely decided and funded on the state level. So, when even the worst of Republican presidents like Richard Nixon decided to end federal efforts in some of these areas, his party shifted certain health, education, and welfare funding back to the states in the form of “block grants.” That way, the states could decide similar local programming there more flexibly on ...

Voter fraud without perpetrators

Tim Mannello Williamsport Republican lawmakers say voters should show photo ID because, they claim, voter impersonation is rampant. But every credible study—including those commissioned by Republicans themselves—shows the opposite: voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent. When confronted with the evidence, they simply repeat the claim anyway. The only thing that’s widespread is the myth. kept alive not by facts, but by constant repetition. That misconception didn’t appear out of nowhere. It persists largely because Republican leaders keep repeating the claim until, to ...

Fundraising on war and national security secrets

Diane Ebken Port Matilda President Trump’s foray into Iran has generated mixed reactions. The majority of Americans oppose the war, but voters are divided along party lines: Republicans are more likely to support the war, whereas Democrats and independents are more likely to oppose it. But even those who accept the President’s actions have to recoil at the way he is trying to profit from the war. He’s now raising money from the casualties of the war he started — and selling our national security. A fundraising email from a Trump-linked political action committee used ...

Duped

Sam Stea Cogan Station Friends: Which is more likely when it comes down to our current administration? Is it that the nation’s plunging GDP, rising unemployment, skyrocketing inflation and soaring gas prices, the exploding national debt, rising unaffordability, widening income gap and erosional of the middle class, declining geopolitical influence, and now war — are all parts of some genius plan to rain down prosperity on our citizenry; or, that we have been duped by a con man who hasn’t a clue how to run anything beyond self-promotion and self-interest? Folks out ...

Selling national security

James Serene State College It’s no longer enough to say this administration blurs ethical lines. It’s erasing them. While ordinary Americans struggle with rising costs, those closest to power continue to profit. Consider Jared Kushner: while serving as a chief Middle East negotiator, he was also seeking to raise $5 billion for his private equity firm from governments in that region. That’s not a gray area. It’s a blatant conflict of interest—once unthinkable. And he’s not alone. From Don Jr. and Eric’s drone venture to Stephen Miller’s private prison ...

The essential mind: Why we must restore the library at KCSD

Fred Bucheit Mill Hall How many people are aware that they took the library out of our school? A school without a library is a body without a mind. To deprive children of books is to fulfill the book-burner’s fondest dream: the beginning of mass mind control. When we remove a child’s access to diverse literature, we allow a “cult leader” mentality to take over, telling them not just what to think, but how to think. Book deprivation is the antithesis of intellectual freedom. An uninformed mind is easily manipulated, becoming a pawn of the state. While some argue that ...