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Financial struggles

Letters

When asked if Americans’ financial problems would motivate him to make a deal with Iran, Trump responded, “Not even a little bit. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.” Yet, the US had the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015 under Obama which declared Iran couldn’t develop a nuclear weapon in exchange for lifting sanctions. Trump withdrew from that agreement in 2018, partially motivated by a desire to reverse a signature policy of Obama. After ...

Crime: The new government subsidy

Letters

“There was a time—not long ago—when we could say with certainty: ‘Crime does not pay.’ That time is over. Under a new Trump Administration “incentive plan,” convicted Jan. 6 defendants could receive payments from a $1.776 billion Justice Department Anti‑Weaponization Fund. The proposal rests on the baseless claim that these individuals were “victimized” by politically motivated federal investigations or prosecutions—despite no evidence supporting such an allegation.. So today, crime doesn’t just pay—our own government is cutting checks to the people who ...

Juvenile crime more opaque by design

Editorials

As Williamsport and Lycoming County debate juvenile crime and misbehavior, we must remind the public how difficult it is to understand how extensive or not these problems can be. Juvenile court records are sealed — unlike our reporting on felonies and misdemeanors for which adults are prosecuted, officials are prohibited from releasing the affidavits, sentencing reports and other documentation that sheds light on crimes in our region committed by adults. Thus, details about crimes committed by juveniles — regardless of whether neighbors are concerned about the teenagers circling ...

What other newspapers are saying: Schemes to gerrymander get worse

Editorials

The redistricting arms race now roiling American politics was not merely predictable, but inevitable. It began the moment President Donald Trump picked up the phone last year to demand that Missouri, Texas and other red states gerrymander their congressional districts mid-decade to give Republicans an advantage in the upcoming midterms. Some Democratic-held states have responded in kind. The result is that in much of America this November, voters won’t be allowed to choose their politicians; the politicians are instead choosing their voters. It’s an untenable situation that will ...

Cancel culture

Letters

The only cancel culture I believe in is when Jesus was nailed to the cross and He cancelled our sins, past, present and future. The other cancel cultures are pure evil. It destroys families, friends, neighbors and countries. There is nothing good about it. Do you remember Joe Biden, the president that wasn’t but in title only, when he stated that we would be better off in a one world order? During the pandemic a spokesperson for the Australian government was asked why they were treating their citizens they way they were and her response was “we’re only following the rules of the ...

The next pandemic

Letters

To all the anti-vaxers out there. You don’t have to worry about the next pandemic, whether it is Hanta virus or a new version of Bird Flu. With all the Trump-era cuts to the NIH, it is unlikely a timely vaccine would be made immediately available— I.E. No more ‘Operation Warp Speeds.’ And forget about research dedicated to infectious diseases in general. By the way, The war with Iran costs anywhere from 500 million to a billion dollars a day. And the cuts to the NIH last year amounted to about two billion dollars. So, you see, waging unnecessary and dubious warfare is so ...