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The gaslighting of American voters

In 1944 the film Gaslight came out. In it Charles Boyer chides Ingrid Bergman with lies to drive her mad. The term “gaslighting” has recently become popular and it is very appropriate for what is happening in our country right now. Just like in the movie, we are being told that what we have seen with our own eyes and know in our minds isn’t true. On January 6, 2021 we watched in real time as a mob stormed the Capitol Building in Washington, DC while Congress was counting the electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election which would make Joe Biden the 46th President. ...

Small businesses vs. ‘golden goose’

In a June 13 opinion piece published on PennLive, former Gov. Ed Rendell suggests “skill games” should be taxed at the same rate as slot machines. His diatribe echoes the false, misleading rhetoric on skill games being pushed by the Pennsylvania casino industry. These arguments ignore both the facts and the law, displaying either ignorance or lack of effort in understanding what skill games are, as defined by Pennsylvania Courts. As the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 706, legislation to tax and regulate skill games, I will give the governor the benefit of the doubt and premise my ...

Surprises lurk beneath humble exteriors

BEDFORD -- On most days after work, Brandon Borischak can be found doing one of two things: tinkering with car engines or just cars in general, admitting he is that guy whose house you will breeze by on a country road and wonder why he “has a few of them” on his property. He also spends a great deal of time caring for stray, abandoned or abused dogs at the local Humane Society shelter, where he serves on the board. If you ran into Borischak at that shelter or drove past his property as he toiled over rebuilding an engine, you would see a man in his 30s with a long but neatly ...

Calling out those who repeat propaganda

The pro-Hamas spokespersons around the world, and now in the United States, continue to spew their vitriol with well-worn accusations totally lacking in truth. It is not uncommon to hear the term “Israeli occupation” and “violence against Palestinians” without any information being given as to what that means. Israeli does not occupy any land which does not belong to the Israeli nation, or which has been allocated to any other people. A short history of the Middle East teaches that Israel has always been occupied by the Jews, even when they were murdered and chased out of ...

Americans must criticize corrupt courts

In the wake of his conviction in a New York court, President Trump has complained that the process was rigged against him, that the whole proceeding was a corrupt effort to persecute him with a view to influencing the 2024 presidential election. In response, many of his opponents have criticized him for undermining public confidence in our system of criminal justice and thus harming our democracy—a criticism that has been magnified by many in the media. These critics, however, are missing the point and undermining a principle that is in fact essential to preserving our republic: ...

A nationwide model for higher-education reform

Too often, lawmakers want to fix higher education by blindly throwing money at the problem. From President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel large amounts of student-loan debt to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s “Blueprint for Higher Education” (which caps in-state tuition at $1,000 per semester), spendthrift politicians have long played fast and loose with taxpayer dollars. However, a unique education-reform plan in Pennsylvania, called “Grow PA,” stands out from the traditional tax-and-spend approach, helping the state’s taxpayer dollars work twice as hard to fund students, ...