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Letters

Power — dangerous and vile

From 1981 to 1989 the Republican Party had one of the most prominent conservative figures in American history – Ronald Reagan, president of these United States of America. He made many famous quotes but one that has stuck with me for years “We are only one generation away from Socialism,” ...

Compromised by debt

Donald Trump’s legal debts are a danger to national security. He has demonstrated clearly that he will not use his own checkbook to pay for them. Instead, he solicits money from his supporters and others. This leaves him open to leverage from any billionaire, government, oligarch or ...

A morsel to avoid measles

Thank you for encouraging parents to make certain that their children are immunized against measles, thereby eliminating the risk of illness and in rare cases, permanent brain damage or death from that disease. It might be useful for readers to know that of the vaccine-preventable illnesses, ...

The lasting futility of the war on drugs

Having spent over four years as a police officer in West Baltimore, I have come to recognize the utter futility of our nation’s War on Drugs. During my time on the force, I arrested hundreds of individuals for heroin or cocaine possession. However, these arrests merely congested the criminal ...

Does America need a ‘strong man?’

America has reached a crisis point where the flaws in our democracy have been made abundantly clear. Some have given up on democracy and are ready to put a ‘strong man’ in charge. But would any of us really prefer to live under authoritarianism, where power is concentrated in leadership ...

Not protecting rural communities

There’s a crisis in maternity health care in rural Pennsylvania. The imminent closure of the obstetrics unit at Penn Highlands Healthcare Elk Hospital leaves six counties – Cameron, Clarion, Clinton, Elk, Forest and McKean – with NO birthing services. What else do those counties have in ...