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Letters to the editor

1976 and 2026

Jim Newton Itasca In 1976, the TV cop series Barney Miller featured a bicentennial episode. The 12th precinct worked crowd control at a celebration-turned-protest. One officer announces, “We got some trouble on the harbor.” A frustrated Captain Miller replies, “This is beautiful. Rioting, fistfights, vandalism. It’s a lovely way to celebrate the bicentennial.” In 2026, is it safe to assume that we can relate? My personal recollection of 1976 is mostly positive: A Major League Baseball game in Chicago, fireworks and more festivity than protests. Watergate ended in 1974, ...

America’s momentous birthday

I consider it an incredible blessing to have witnessed two of America’s great milestone birthdays: the 200th celebration in 1976, when I was a rising second grader, and now the 250th anniversary as an older, seasoned adult. Looking back to 1976, as a kid, I enjoyed the fireworks and the parades I watched on television, and for me, this was a time of innocence when I began to learn about our country’s principal ideals of freedom, individual liberty, opportunity and democracy. Although the suffering of Native Americans was glossed over in school, and the contributions and achievements ...

Iran’s nuclear ambition

Arthur Keller Beavertown I keep reading the Democrats say the Obama plan regarding Iran’s uranium enrichment was working, tightly monitored and Iran had no plans for a nuclear weapon. Once again, they mislead the American public! Do they ever tell the truth? Let’s review the facts. For years Israel had been warning us about Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions, but no one listened. So, Israel decided they needed hard proof. After two years of intensive preparation, “Operation Stealing the Reality,” the intelligence heist, was executed in January 2018. Israel’s ...

The greatest president

Sam Stea Williamsport President Trump is the greatest president, and he’ll go down in history. Not along the same lines as Lincoln or Washington. Think more Charles Ponzi or Bernie Madoff. Greater in fact, because of the scale of the scam. He made 2.2 billion dollars in his first year as president, and get this, two thirds coming from his cryptocurrency pump and dump scam with $TRUMP and $MELANIA Digital coins, which came out January 2025 and are now virtually worthless. (US Office of Government Ethics and Internal Revenue Service) Brilliant. Mr. Trump, you are the greatest. ...

Capt. Kelly should not be punished

Donald Moskowitz Londonderry, N.H. As a former Navy enlisted and officer, I am concerned with Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Hegseth’s pursuit of punishment for Capt. Mark Kelly saying our military personnel could disobey illegal orders. Capt. Kelly had a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy. He served as a Navy pilot flying combat missions during the Gulf War. Subsequently, he was an astronaut, piloting two space missions and commanding two more missions. Capt. Kelly should be able to comment on any matters in accordance with his First Amendment right of freedom of ...

Ten signs Americans are failing their duty to the nation

Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross Americans don’t wake up in the morning and say, “What can I do for my country and my community today.” Our patriotic activity is limited to one or two days a year. Here are some of the ways the average American is failing the country: Non-participation in public affairs is something almost everybody is guilty of today. Voting counts, but not for much. We usually don’t know what or who we are voting for. We are just letting money and power run society today without standing up our voices and our bodies to say “no” and to show how it must ...