Opinion category, Page 427
Beverly Moran: The IRS already has all your income tax data — so why do Americans still have to file their taxes?
Doing taxes in the U.S. is notoriously complicated and costly. And it gets even worse when there are delays and backlogs, making it especially hard to reach the Internal Revenue Service for assistance. But to me this raises an important question: Why should taxpayers have to navigate the tedious, costly...
Paul Petrick: The Russia-China alliance
What a difference a half century makes. In February 1972, the People’s Republic of China hosted a history-making American delegation headed by President Richard M. Nixon, the Middle Kingdom’s most important Western visitor since Marco Polo. In February 2022, no Western heads of state were in Beijing as the city...
Letter to the editor: Where’s coverage of Clinton investigation?
Where is the coverage of the disclosure of the Durham investigation that the Clinton campaign was involved in the Trump-Russia collusion that dominated news for over three years, tearing this country apart? Is the media complicit in this serious crime? Richard Hohmann Mechanicsburg...
Letter to the editor: False narrative on voting
No legal registered citizen who votes is being denied their right to vote. No one. Each of the 50 states makes up election procedures, constitutionally. Every two years there are major elections, for president and Congress. That’s plenty of time for anyone who wants to vote to do so. Find...
Letter to the editor: Gun owners targeted by Democrats?
Last year in a truly unremarkable way, I became a target of the Democratic Party. How did this happen? I bought my first firearm. I’m a middle-aged white guy who never grew up around guns and before last year, I knew nothing about them. My initial interest came about after...
Letter to the editor: Biden hypocritical
It seems we have a hypocrite at the helm of our nation, saying one thing while hiding what’s really going on. He tells the American people there is no border problem, and focuses on people coming from just three countries; meanwhile, there are thousands coming from more than 100 countries,...
Letter to the editor: Casey, Toomey must protect our right to vote
In January, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to the urgent need to safeguard Americans’ right to vote. In Pennsylvania, and the rest of the country, voter suppression efforts include gerrymandering and voter ID requirements. Pennsylvanians are at risk of losing their right to vote. This disproportionately impacts...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 21
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 21....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 21
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 21....
Mona Charen: Verdict is in — Trump wasn’t right about China
Was President Trump right about China? No. Let’s count the ways. One: Trump’s entire conception of the China challenge was fallacious. Trump thought the problem China posed was that it sold us too many things, resulting in a bilateral “trade deficit,” which meant that China was “winning” and we were...
Letter to the editor: More to pro-life than just abortion
The pro-life movement focuses on the unborn, which is a good cause. However, there seems to be an anti-life movement when it comes to gun control laws, vaccines and mask mandates and climate change. All of these issues also affect human life. Marilyn Dvorsky Elizabethtown...
Letter to the editor: Don’t want covid tests made in China
Our family received our free covid tests in the mail. We considered it quite ironic (and disgusting) to see that they were made in China. I was tempted to “return to sender.” Instead I’m throwing them in the trash. Regis Brentin Scott...
Letter to the editor: Politicians not worth the money or vote
Why is it that when you have selected an individual from one of the two major voting parties, they feel you are obligated to continue donating to them when they haven’t accomplished anything they originally promised to do when first running for office? If at any time a politician would...
Letter to the editor: Celebrating Black History Month
The educators and support professionals of the Pennsylvania State Education Association are proud to celebrate Black History Month. Black history is American history, and we believe that it must be part of the curriculum all year long. That includes telling the stories of Black Americans that are too often left...
Editorial: Poor school covid testing participation subverts parent choice
Pennsylvania has more than 5,000 schools. They come in all stripes. Public and private. Charter and Catholic and cyber. They nurture and educate and safeguard millions of children across the state. So why did only 750 of those schools take advantage of the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s offer of free,...
Letter to the editor: Impeachment reserved for crimes
I am amazed at how many right-wing politicians and voters completely misunderstand, and how casually they bring up, the somber issue of presidential impeachment. The United States impeaches our presidents for committing crimes. There is no other reason that justifies impeachment. We can vote a president out in national elections...
Letter to the editor: Founding Fathers may have anticipated turmoil of political parties
There must be a reason the Founding Fathers did not place any mention of political parties in the Constitution. Perhaps it was just something that never came up in their discussions. Perhaps in their wisdom, they anticipated that something like a political party might grow too powerful and become a...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Downtowns must fight covid, too
In the wake of the latest and perhaps the last coronavirus surge, big-city mayors are grappling with changes to every aspect of urban life. And nothing has changed more than most cities’ downtown districts. What are threatened here are those revenue streams that pay for essential municipal and social services...
Sounding off: Biden, Casey, protect our borders first
I cannot attend one of President Biden’s press conferences or Pennsylvania’s Sen. Bob Casey’s. But, if anyone knows someone who can, could you have them ask one or more of my questions for me? President Biden and/or Senator Casey, you have to know that there is a tremendous amount of...
David Shmoys: Utilizing the power of algorithm modeling for fairer elections
In every representative democracy, free and fair elections in which voters choose their representatives is the foundation of democratic health. This ensures every citizen has equal representation and access to the political process, while each individual’s vote is weighed the same. Unfortunately, there are mechanisms like gerrymandering that hijack this...
Keith Tidman and Richard Sherins: Uprooting racism in America
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin,” declared the legendary civil-rights leader Nelson Mandela in his tireless battle against racism. “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can learn to love,” he averred. Yet racism in America...
Letter to the editor: Biden demonstrating his racism again
President Biden is at it again. He announced that his selection for the Supreme Court will be a Black woman. This statement excludes all white women and all men, both Black and white. Racist? During the campaign Biden stated his selection for VP would be a woman of color. This...
Letter to the editor: Thank a female veteran today
Feb. 19 is National Vet Girls RISE Day, when we recognize women veterans for their service and sacrifice. At Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard, an important part of our mission is to empower veterans’ transition from homeless to home and end the cycle of homelessness. Our Female Veteran Program offers...
Editorial: Westmoreland commissioners can set example with human services department
Westmoreland County commissioners are moving forward with plans to take all of the county’s various human service offices and fuse them into one department. On Thursday, they hired a consultant — Don Goughler, 76, of Harrison — to assemble the pieces and hire a director to take the reins. This...
Letter to the editor: Money is today’s magic medicine
In the last century, deadly diseases included tuberculosis, flu, smallpox, measles, yellow fever, polio, pneumonia, syphilis. Cures or vaccinations were found (in order listed) in 1921, 1940, 1796, 1963, 1938, 1950, 1977 and 1928. Note that at these times higher education was either rare or not common. Today college graduates...
