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Financial struggles

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 ...

The next pandemic

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 ...

Cancel culture

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 ...

Misguided and unnecessary

Regarding the article on Page A3 of the Sun-Gazette on Tuesday, May 12th. Rep. Clint Owlett is introducing a bill to eliminate the NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System)regulations for any construction that impacts more than one acre of land. He noted that the process can take several months, and most of the time it takes $35,000 to obtain. He says that this will help cut housing construction costs. A few clarifications are in order. The NPDES program is a federal regulation. I’m not sure that any State legislation can remove that requirement. Under the ...

False promises

Many Americans supported Donald Trump because they believed his promise to avoid foreign entanglements and improve everyday life at home. Instead, many families are facing rising costs, growing economic uncertainty, and fears that aggressive tariffs could push inflation even higher. Global instability—including threats to critical oil routes like the Strait of Hormuz—only adds to those pressures. Even more troubling is the growing possibility that young Americans could once again be drawn into war—despite Trump’s repeated promises to keep the United States out of foreign ...

Rural mental health care

Patients in rural Pennsylvania who need mental health care are not struggling because the system is slightly imperfect. Too often, there is no system at all. When someone is finally ready to ask for help, they should not have to wait months for treatment. Sen. Gene Yaw deserves credit for trying to address that reality through Senate Bill 1243, which would allow psychologists to prescribe certain psychiatric medications after additional training. The goal is understandable: improve access and help patients receive care sooner. But rural mental health shortages are not simply a ...