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Letters to the editor

Loss of freedoms in our country

Robert H. Workman Lock Haven I am writing this while I’m still allowed to freely speak out against Trump and what he is doing with this country. He’s militarizing Democratic cities, trying to stop free speech on those who speak against him, allowing yes men and women to do his dirty work in every branch of government to shut down democracy and put his political enemies in prison. He has filled every branch of government with people who have no clue about the true meaning of what that position entails. They just do what Trump tells them to do. And if they don’t, he fires them ...

Illegal immigrant impact

Arthur Keller Beavertown Let’s be clear regarding the Democrat position on illegal immigrants. Illegals are counted in the US census which determines the congressional districts and electoral college votes a state gets. States with high numbers of illegal immigrants are typically Democratic (i.e. California, New York, Minnesota…) giving them more electoral votes and more seats in Congress meaning they greatly benefit from illegal immigration. So why open borders — to control Congress and the presidency. The Democrats basically voted to shut down the government by blocking ...

To anyone who burns the American flag

John Thomas Cranberry Township I’m writing this not to condemn you, but to share a perspective forged by generations of service to this country. My family has a deep history of military service: my grandfather and son are combat Veterans, my father is a Veteran and I had the privilege of serving over 26 years in the Army, and the flag has always meant something deeply personal to us. When you burn a piece of cloth, you may think you are destroying a symbol, and in a physical sense, you are. But the flag is more than just fabric and colors. It’s a symbol of the principles that ...

WPSU

Brady W. Wassom State College Among most U.S. historians, many agree that Pennsylvania’s own James Buchanan is at the top of the “Worst President of the United States” list. Notwithstanding some of the less than ideal Presidents of this century, it’s really hard to argue with this widely held opinion. Buchanan, among other things, was at best a lackadaisical puppet whose indecisiveness led to our worst public tragedy, the Civil War. Two percent of the U.S. population died as a result of that debacle. Think about that — if 2% of the present U.S. population died from a ...

Courts

Douglas Mason Port Matilda Our state constitution guarantees Pennsylvanians the right to clean air and pure water. That promise only matters if our courts enforce it. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court set that standard in Robinson Township, and Justices Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht have continued that vital work. In the PEDF case, they reaffirmed that Pennsylvania’s natural resources are held in trust for the people and future generations. And now, as the Court prepares to decide whether the state can join RGGI, their independence and integrity will matter more than ...

Governing

Jim Newton Itasca Are we voters missing the boat when choosing lawmakers? It’s almost impossible for us to absorb everything we need to know about potential leaders, but we remain fixated on charisma, ambition and campaign skills. The first two may be good for giving TED Talks, but aren’t they better suited to campaigning than actual governing? Adlai Stevenson II suffered two presidential landslide election defeats to popular Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956. I wonder, though, if Stevenson deserved better. Stevenson was a strong advocate for tackling world poverty and ...