Breaking News

Other Commentaries

Susceptible to something of a summer surge

I thought it was the same bad cold that others had–nasal congestion, sore throat, fatigue, and mild stomach upset. By the next day, I had tested positive for COVID-19, which roiled into slight fevers and a nagging headache. Catching COVID-19 came about despite my being fully up-to-date with vaccinations and even having gotten a Moderna Spikevax re-immunization as recently as the preceding month. It came despite donning an N95 mask at the time one of the people in my circle had become visibly symptomatic. My case turned out to be mild due to built-up immunity and taking prescription ...

Don’t be fooled by calm fiscal seas

The United States is full steam ahead into uncharted fiscal waters, with rapidly growing federal debt promising a choppy economic future. Candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump have added trillions to the national debt during their recent presidential administrations, leaving America at a critical juncture that demands urgent, bipartisan action. If you read this column, you know the numbers are stark: U.S. government debt is projected to reach a staggering 122% of GDP by 2034, far surpassing levels seen even during World War II. Not only is that a sharp rise from the current 99%, but ...

The paradox of war and peace

To the casual reader, it will sound like an oxymoron to say that one feels safer and more secure in Israel than in most other places in the world, including many locations within the United States. How could that be so? Every day the leaders of Iran and their allies in the terrorist world decry the existence of Israel and threaten total “annihilation” at the push of a button. In the meantime, Israel must fight for its existence in Gaza and in Lebanon, both territories occupied by anti-western operatives. Yet, whether walking the streets of Ramla (a mixed Arab Jewish community), ...

A convicted felon running for dictator

Is Joe Biden’s candidacy salvageable after the June 28 debate? That is the question. During the recent Trump/Biden debate, Joe Biden needed to convince undecideds about whether he was too old to be president. He failed abysmally and probably irrecoverably. He not only lost the undecideds, he also lost the confidence of many Democrats who are saying they now think he cannot win re-election. With so many undecideds now thinking he should not be president and so many Democrats who think he cannot win in November, it is much harder the day after the debate than the day before to see ...

Will anyone save Social Security?

According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), about one in five residents of Iowa collect retirement benefits from Social Security from which the state generates more than $11 billion in revenue. Without question, the program is vital to Iowa as a whole. In a less abstract sense, these residents refer to people who are your neighbors, or maybe even family members or friends. So, the questions about the long-term stability of the program should be a top priority of every member of Congress, and yet few appear to have a substantive interest in this vital ...

Pennsylvania’s state government encounters budgetary deja vu

Pennsylvania’s budget battle feels oddly familiar – like we’ve been here before. Our sense of déjà vu is valid: The 2024–25 fiscal battle looks strikingly like last year’s. Last year, Pennsylvania lawmakers finished the budget nearly six months after the fiscal year began July 1. Once again, they will likely miss this deadline. And at center stage, yet again, is the Lifeline Scholarship initiative, or the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) Scholarship Program. This program would offer scholarship accounts to low-income students attending Pennsylvania’s worst ...