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Are federal deficits actually going down?

The president is annoyed. On Saturday, during a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus, he complained that “I’m so sick of Republicans saying we’re the ‘big spenders.’ Give me a break. Give me a break.” He all but said in one portion of the speech that he is spending a lot of money on special interests and yet “doing all of this while reducing the deficit -- last year, $350 billion, and this year by $1 trillion.” It’s magic. It’s amazing to watch a speech in which so few fiscal facts are correct. First, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that ...

Elected officials disrespect constituents

After seven months of trying to get the Old Lycoming Township Board of Supervisors to hold public meetings to have a discussion with the residents and taxpayers about the regionalization of the police department with TVRPD, they finally had the meeting Sept. 28 at the Old Lycoming Township Volunteer Fire Department social hall. The hall was filled with people. People came to ask questions and give their views on regionalization. What the audience did not know was the fix was in, long before the meeting was ever scheduled. The meeting was scheduled for 6 p.m.. Not a very convenient ...

Bravery, patriotism and unity

Authorities had every reason to believe the threat was real - and ominous. A few weeks ago a local man was served a protection order prohibiting him from having contact with his wife and children, according to police. His response was to tell a family member he would “go down in a blaze of glory” if police interfered with him taking his children out of Central Elementary School in South Williamsport, according to an affidavit. We have seen how this story plays out in countless tragedies across the nation where children in our schools have been brutally murdered by wayward ...

We have choices — my choice is to love and protect others

Over many months of the pandemic, the discussion has focused on the rights of an individual’s personal decision to choose not to vaccinate, and take other precautions such as masking or quarantine in contrast to the public health and safety restrictions imposed by government. And you may wonder why I bring that debate up again We appear past that heated discussion as the fuss of the COVID crisis has seemed to wane, much as the immunity of the early wave of vaccinations may also be waning and the importance of staying up to date with the new bivalent boosters seems to be ignored. For ...

New York Times should apologize for ‘reporting’ on Hasidic schools

The New York Times published a sensational “investigation” on Sept. 11 trashing the New York Regional Hasidic Yeshiva Schools. The place to start, in understanding the expose, is to review the background of the reporters. One reporter brags about her background working for Politico and the Daily Beast. Her mother is a high ranking official at the New York Times itself. The other reporter has a similar background, claiming in his Pulitzer Prize acceptance speech that his job as a reporter is to help those, at least in his opinion, who need his assistance. Neither reporter makes any ...

COVID or flu or sinus? Oh my!

Let me set the stage. You go to bed feeling fine and the next morning you awaken to a cough and a bit of headache. The coffee lacks the usual wonderful aroma as it brews and you find you are dragging. So you ask yourself - what is this? Is it COVID? Sinus? Allergies? A cold? The flu? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), some or all of these symptoms apply to each of these health issues. Take Sinusitis. Symptoms can include headache and loss of smell but is generally accompanied by congestion, nasal drip and facial pressure. Both allergies and the ...