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What immigration really means

American citizens are right to be concerned about immigration. I have met hundreds of immigrants over the past decades, in my work as an ER doctor and as a volunteer since I retired. Here is a typical story. This was a man from a Central American country that suffers from a lot of of gang violence. He owned a small store in his village, selling groceries and convenience items, and made enough to support himself and his family. One day, three gang members came into his store. They demanded he make weekly payments that amounted to about half his income. To make their point, they beat him ...

The Democratic Party today and devastation

I just finished reading the opinion of Verna Caruso on the Republican and Democratic national conventions. One of these things is definitely not like the other. The Democratic Party has not been the Democratic Party for well over a decade. It’s no longer the party of the working class but more the party of Who’s who and the very extreme far left. In my opinion the only thing she got right was that there was definitely a contrast between the two. To have an “overall feeling of Joy” while innocent life is being murdered/aborted in the parking lot as a “feature” of the ...

Don’t blame Jewish voters for lousy choice

Blaming it on the Jews is not a new strategy for politicians. In Pirkei Avot, an important component of the Mishna, itself part of the interpretive work known as the Talmud, the Sages advise not to trust a ruling power, “They will befriend you when they need you, but they will turn their back on you when they don’t.” Recently, Presidential Candidate Donald Trump stated that if he lost the election, it would be the fault of the Jews who tend to vote more for the Democrats than the Republicans. Trump predicted that 60% of Jews would vote for Democrats. Let’s just get some ...

Warmongering and foreign interference in Pennsylvania?

Never one to miss a staged photo opportunity with the media, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Sen. Bob Casey in Scranton. While there, in an unprecedented and disturbing manner, Shapiro was pictured with a sinister grin signing an artillery round that will be used to kill people with whom the United States is not at war. For me, as a combat veteran and chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, Shapiro’s photo opportunity is disturbing. It brings thoughts of yet another elite politician ...

Small businesses languish as IRS botches tax credit

When the Pennsylvania state and local governments forced businesses to shut their doors and turn away customers during the pandemic, businesses did it. When the federal government asked businesses to keep employees on payroll to avoid waves of mass layoffs, businesses did that too. But that doesn’t mean it was easy—businesses lost money and some never reopened. Those who weathered the storm were forced to take loans from local banks, borrow money from family, or dip into their personal savings to keep members of their communities employed. Despite everyone’s best efforts, over ...

Rate cut should boost confidence

Last week, the Federal Reserve delivered its first rate cut since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, reductions in the fed funds rate have occurred in response to slowing economic activity, falling inflation, or external shocks like the dot-com bubble burst, the global financial crisis, or the pandemic. This time is different. After succeeding at bringing inflation down and restoring balance in the labor market, the Fed is acting to preserve a ‘soft landing’. While headline inflation has eased, partly due to improvements in supply chain issues, core inflation has ...