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Letters to the editor

Thompson’s misplaced focus

Jane Rinard State College Representative “GT” Thompson attacks his constituents while ignoring significant problems facing our country. In his recent newsletter, Thompson’s only “bad” news was that his office was “defaced” by “an obscene sign” posted on the door. He included a photo of the offending senior citizen. Rather than address the message in the sign, Thompson whined about the protester. Without evidence, he blamed the Centre County Democratic Committee, whose members participate in protests at his office, along with other groups. In reality, there was a ...

Republicans subsidize private jets, Not health care

Ed Satalia State College Americans will pay a lot more for health insurance next year according to analysis from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group. Those who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act will see premiums rise an average of 75%. This includes millions of Americans who don’t have employer-sponsored insurance and don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. Insurance companies attribute the price hikes to the end of government subsidies, which helped drive the uninsured rate to a historical low. Higher costs will lead many healthy people to take their ...

Liars

Sam Stea Cogan Station If two blatant and bald-faced liars strike a deal, shake on it and sign it, does that agreement hold water? And if those liars are two of the most powerful people on the planet, should the rest of the world comply? Character does matter. Unfortunately, the brave people of Ukraine may pay the price of our forgetting it.

Natural gas powering our data center future

Jeff Varner Bressler Natural gas isn’t just providing cleaner, more affordable and reliable energy to Pennsylvania residents — it’s also helping to power and support new industries. One of the most recent examples is the influx of data centers — which require a substantial amount of energy to operate. This past spring, it was announced that the site of a shuttered coal-fired power plant located in western Pennsylvania will be transformed into a natural gas-powered data center. And while this development project represents the largest capital investment in the state’s ...

Are you an illegal immigrant?

Timothy Mannello Williamsport According to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) before 1920 the United States had relatively open immigration policies. Nevertheless, some of these immigrants broke existing immigration laws when they entered the United States. These immigrants included people from countries like Germany, Italy, Ireland and Great Britain. A significant number of today’s American citizens are descended from these “lawbreakers” and have legal status thanks to the first person in their lineage who was actually born in the United States. In ...

The long-running presidential “emergency powers” scam

Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross President Trump recently declared a “crime emergency” in D.C. and suggested it could be extended to large cities across the country whose efforts to stop crime do not meet with his personal approval. In doing so, he is making use of America’s long and sordid history of abuse of the Constitution’s requirements for implementing such powers. The Constitution says, “He [the President] may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses.” This is taken to mean situations requiring immediate government action, such as emergencies or crises. ...