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Letters to the editor

Protect our elections

James Hynes State College During the 2020 election, Donald Trump promoted a fake-elector scheme rooted in the claim that a vice president could discard lawful electoral votes in favor of fraudulent ones. When that effort failed — along with more than 60 lawsuits seeking to overturn certified results — he encouraged supporters to descend on the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to complete the constitutional transfer of power. Those events were not an endpoint. Today, Trump is engaged in a broad campaign to undermine confidence in — and control over — the 2026 midterm ...

Republicans today are a party without political ancestors

Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross, Utah It seems deeply hypocritical that in a country where both political parties have long bragged regularly about “our democracy,” Republican Party chiefs and legislators spend a great deal of time drafting voter “integrity” and “security” laws designed to restrict voter access to the polls. In the Federalist Papers, James Madison, asked, “Who are to be the electors [i.e., voters] of the federal representatives? Not the rich, more than the poor; not the learned, more than the ignorant; not the haughty heirs of distinguished names, ...

Questionable voting record

Margie Swoboda Julian Glenn “GT” Thompson represents our district in Congress, but his voting record shows he doesn’t represent the needs of central Pennsylvanians. Thompson voted for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans—along with cuts to SNAP food assistance and Medicaid. As a result, about 6,800 people in our district stand to lose SNAP benefits, and 15,200 could lose Medicaid coverage due to reduced funding and stricter eligibility rules. Statewide, nearly 144,000 Pennsylvanians risk losing SNAP, and 310,000 could lose Medicaid coverage. Thompson also opposed ...

Alternative reality

David Russell Lock Haven This past Tuesday, Governor Josh Shapiro gave his annual budget address and, shockingly, he proposed no increase in funding for the PASSHE system, which Lock Haven is a member of. The governor’s thinking is totally befuddling, especially given that the system did not receive a budget increase in the most recently passed budget. Going two years without any increase, especially considering the current state of inflation, is simply unsustainable. If our region had legitimate representation in Harrisburg, we might have an avenue of appeal. However, on ...

What bad news?

Linda Barton State College Representative Glenn “GT” Thompson says his weekly newsletter highlights “The Good, The Bad, and The Local.” In fact, what he actually provides is a highly selective version of reality. This week, his only “bad” news was reporting nearly two million Ukraine war casualties, noting Russia is “hardly winning” and declining. That is tragic—but why frame it this way? Is he suggesting reduced U.S. support for Ukraine? What is far more troubling is what he omitted. — Serious domestic crises, such as aggressive ICE actions in Minneapolis, ...

ICE and Immigration

Arthur Keller Beavertown Let’s look at the two Republican strongholds, Florida and Texas, then some of the Democrat sanctuary states, and Democrat immigration thrusts. Florida is a major hub for federal immigration enforcement with high ICE activity. A major “joint operation” across the state called “Operation Tidal Wave” was the largest joint operation in ICE history. It resulted in 10,000 arrests and removals and involved state law enforcement. Pew Research Center in 2023 stated 1.2M illegal aliens reside in Florida. ICE is also actively operating throughout Texas. ...