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Are these promised handouts gifts or pre-election bribes?

Letters to the editor

Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross Our 47th president can’t convince Americans who have rational minds and good educations to accept his anti-republican policies, so he must resort to money hand-outs that look and smell a lot like bribery. Alexander of Pherae in ancient democratic Greece paid mercenary soldiers and handed out bribes to sustain his tyrannical rule. Our 47th President is doing something similar in once democratic America. For example, he made appreciation payments to active military personnel so they might think about turning their attention to domestic enemies of ...

Get real

Letters to the editor

Tim Mannello Williamsport A hoax is “a deliberate deception — a false claim or fabricated story created on purpose to mislead people.” Dismissing every problem America faces as a “hoax,” “fake news,” “a scam,” a ‘con job,” or a sign of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” and calling people who point out real problems “traitors,” and “stupid” denies obvious realities and attacks those who notice. It is like a doctor denying a patient’s symptoms. When people refuse to accept proven facts, it’s usually because they care more about staying loyal to their ...

The Buffoonery Premium

Letters to the editor

Sam Stea Cogan Station Consider the US Dollar, which was tied to gold before Nixon took us off the gold standard. Then the Dollar was tied to oil with the petrodollar system. And, of course, there is always the faith and credit of The United States and steadfastness and legacy of our political system. What now? Why are prices of everyday goods and services rising with each passing day? Blame energy, the war, tariffs, deficit spending with the Big Beautiful Bill. But it all comes down to the Buffoonery of the Trump Administration. Why, at this time, would any foreign ...

Dear Annie: Parents’ generosity has its price

Columns

Dear Annie: My fiance and I are getting married next spring, and my parents generously offered to help pay for the cost of the wedding. We were thrilled. Weddings are expensive, and money is tight. But I quickly realized that this might actually be a mistake. Their contributions come with strings attached, and my mother seems to think this is her wedding, too. She already vetoed my venue and hired a florist I never approved. Every time I talk to her, she has a new idea. I’ve gently reminded her that this is not her wedding, but she always hits me with the credit card guilt. I love ...

Dear Annie: My children’s stepmom may be overstepping

Columns

Dear Annie: I have been divorced for three years and share custody of my two children, ages 10 and 13. My ex-husband remarried about a year ago, and his wife is kind, involved and genuinely seems to care about my children. I know that is something to be grateful for. The problem is that lately I feel as though she is trying to become their mother rather than simply being a loving stepmother. She buys them clothes without mentioning it to me, attends school events, sets rules and consequences and has started referring to them as “our kids.” Recently, she posted a family photo on ...

Mother’s milk gone sour

Columns

“Money is the mother’s milk of politics,” said Jesse M. Unruh, who in the ‘60s was a powerful Democratic politician and speaker of the California State Assembly. It is a disgrace, if much is disgraceful these days, that we spend so much on getting people elected to Congress, who do little or nothing to solve real problems once they get there. AdImpact, the leading advertising intelligence and market analytics company, estimates more than $3.4 billion will be spent on this year’s midterms across all races. In Texas, alone, an estimated $446 million will be spent by ...