President Donald Trump’s style is, well, different. In many ways he seems determined to redefine the presidency. In doing so he may give his successors new tools to deal with both domestic and foreign policy. Let us hope he recognizes the value of some of the old, well-worn tools, ...
I feel society is in a downward spiral, and if someone does not address this topic, the world will remain oblivious, and it could cause more chaos. I have high hopes to change minds and actions of a few people and, hopefully, create a domino effect. One of the main causes is social media. ...
The Mirror’s March 19 editorial began with the message that “there’s a powerful new villain on the drug scene, and talking about it before it claims people here — warning how deadly it is — is preferable to waiting until coroners and other law enforcement officials are counting its ...
State government faces many tough choices as it works very hard to strike a balance between meeting critical needs and keeping the burden on taxpayers as fair as possible. One such tough balancing act involves addressing law enforcement needs across the state and keeping our highway and ...
No doubt Cuban leaders counted on the United States not to look back after former President Barack Obama reversed longstanding policies toward the communist island in December 2014. But there is a new president in town, and he is right to insist Cuba keep its end of the bargain. For ...
Now that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has deleted the yearly registration sticker on your vehicle license plate, why not use this space for the safety inspection sticker? The inspection station could even put the sticker on your license plate for you. One look at your license plate ...
Robust substantive debates are part of our political history, but the recent level of hyperbole, rhetoric and “otherizing” those with opposing positions is an affront to both civility and our democracy. Those engaging in political debate need to recognize that people with opposing ...
Robert Gordon of Altoona made a good point in the Mirror’s Letters to the Editor column on Saturday. “It has been nearly a month since the primary, and there are still some (candidate campaign) signs up,” he wrote, expressing the correct view that no signs should be littering the ...
Let me begin with our distinguished senators on the panel and what hypocrites they truly are. Every last one of them complimented James Comey on his honesty and integrity. Here’s a man who every Republican wanted fired after listing all of Hillary Clinton’s improprieties and ...
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and our 62,000 member families call on state lawmakers to support the restoration of funding in the state budget to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet). Penn Vet’s work on proper egg handling has nearly eradicated the ...
Before a decision is made to spend $90 million to build a new high school, some things to consider: There’s a good likelihood a school voucher system is going to come that will cause many parents to place their children in private schools, thus less money will be available to public ...
Our government should battle Islamic terrorists wherever they are, of course. But when they assault people with whom we Americans have had a long friendship, our obligation becomes especially binding. Most terrorist attacks involve individuals or small groups of murderers. But a small army of ...
America’s involvement in World War II, Korea and Vietnam produced tens of thousands of POWs. Unless you were a POW, no one can know the pain, suffering, indignation and death they faced. After these wars ended, too many were left to die in Russia, China, North Korea, Cambodia, Laos and ...
In American politics today, there are two sides, and our country can only survive if the right side prevails. No, I do not mean the left and the right. For in fact, all too many cases, those on the right and left are really on the same side, the side of those who believe that our country ...
People of Pennsylvania don’t pay attention to financial challenges affecting the state of Kansas. After all, this commonwealth has more than enough financial headaches of its own. But it’s a good time for Keystone State residents — and their state lawmakers — to look westward, in ...
Late last month, I visited my parents in Altoona. The old folks live in an even older farmhouse, which dates back to the 1840s and some of the earliest days of this all-but-forgotten railroad city in southern Pennsylvania. Between my parents’ home and Brush Mountain, and stretching ...
What kind of math is this? A quote from the front page of today’s Mirror (June 13) really has me scratching my head and wondering what kind of smoke and mirror show is being presented to the Altoona Area School District taxpayers to justify the new high school project. The quote I refer ...
It has been nearly a month since the primary, and there are stills some signs up. Many years ago when I was training in Oklahoma City, a radio station offered 10 cents for each political sign collected. Perhaps one of our TV or radio stations could do this. Robert Gordon Altoona
The recent wave of terrorist attacks in London have been nothing short of barbaric, and these attacks will be visited upon the United States at a greater pace if a travel ban on several countries is not instituted. The myth that radical Islam is just a tiny minority of the entire Muslim ...
Americans will be watching closely as more information emerges about Wednesday’s shooting at an Alexandria, Va., baseball field at which a reported 22 Republican members of Congress were practicing for a charity event. However, citizens of this country will be doing more than waiting for ...