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Letters

Bogus child deportation claims

Recently activists supporting illegal immigrants have tried to make an issue of children born here to illegal alien parents are being “deported” with their parents. As Secretary Rubio clearly explained, these children, having been born on US soil are US citizens and can stay here if the parents so choose and make proper arrangements. Their departure is solely the choice of the parents. Most foreign nations, as well as the U.S., consider children born to citizens while in another nation as citizens. If say a Mexican national, here legally or otherwise, gives birth to a child the ...

Endangered Species Act

Two weeks ago, while many people celebrated planet Earth’s natural beauty and resources on Earth Day, the Trump Administration proposed a rule change that would profoundly weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the most important law in our country protecting threatened plants and animals. The proposal by the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce would limit the regulatory definition of “harm,” radically altering what it means to harm imperiled plants and animals. One example of the law’s value: In 1940 only 21 Whooping Cranes remained in the wild. Today, thanks ...

Pay disparity

As a member of the public who regularly monitors county job postings, I’d like to raise a concern that’s increasingly being voiced by residents: the growing pay disparity between county positions — especially regarding 9-1-1 dispatchers. According to the current listings on the county website and recent newspaper articles covering commissioners’ meeting, roles at the Central Processing Center start at $25 per hour. In contrast, 9-1-1 dispatcher positions begin at $18.72 per hour. Even the listing for a Resident Supervisor at the Pre-Release Center starts $0.48 higher than ...

Trump’s real agenda

Donald Trump promised Americans a booming economy: “…the best jobs, the biggest paychecks, the brightest economic future the world has ever seen.” As egg prices reach a new high (just in time for Easter), he’s now bracing Americans for economic turmoil. His chaotic and destabilizing trade war will dramatically increase costs on a broad swath of products, including toys, clothes, and electronics. Trump’s overhaul of the federal workforce has targeted scientific research and international aid. Cuts also hit central Pennsylvanians – farmers who supply food banks, and ...

Keep investing in rural Pennsylvania

Our small towns and rural communities are the backbone of Pennsylvania in many ways, but politicians in Washington are putting them at risk. Right now, Congress is considering deep cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP, vital lifelines that keep hospitals open and food on the table for thousands of families right here in Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District. It’s essential for us in District 15 to understand how these programs enrich North-Central Pennsylvania and reclaim the wealth Washington has been extracting for years. We know firsthand the challenges rural communities ...

The shores of Tripoli 2.0

Everyone knows the phrase “to the shores of Tripoli” from the Marine Corps Hymn. What might not be known is that in the 18th century North African pirates had preyed on European ships for decades, either capturing them, or extorting fees for their safe passage which the pusillanimous Europeans quietly paid. In contrast, the new United States in its first international action sent in the Marines, and the Marines quickly quelled the pirates. Of course the solution to piracy is always the same: neutralize the pirates or, in more forthright language, take them out. And so now, after ...