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Ryan decision satisfies his supporters

Finally, House Speaker Paul Ryan edged President Donald Trump out of the nation’s attention. The Wisconsin Republican’s astonishing announcement that he would not seek another term rocked Washington in a way that almost nothing Trump has done, said, threatened or tweeted. That is a high achievement in an age where — coast to coast, continent to continent — the president has been part of almost every conversation, the source of hope and despair, the object of wonder and horror. Of course Ryan’s decision was prompted in large measure by Trump, the planet in the political ...

Erie bishop sees light on church’s shame

The list of names is lengthy, and the damage done by the people on it is incalculable. It’s an especially egregious and enduring form of damage, done to children by betraying their innocence and trust. Erie Catholic Bishop Lawrence Persico last Friday released the names of 51 people connected to the Catholic Diocese of Erie who had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct involving minors from 1944 to the present. The list includes 34 priests or former priests, 21 of whom are dead. It also includes 17 laypeople, two of whom are dead. Some of the names on the list had previously ...

Wear blue; children need champions

T.S. Elliott famously described April as the cruelest month. For child victims of abuse and neglect, that description is only partially apt. This month, Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance marks the national observance of Child Abuse Prevention by planting 4,416 blue ribbon flags near our state Capitol in Harrisburg. Each one represents a child in Pennsylvania harmed by abuse. We add 46 black flags to this year’s display, the equivalent of two classrooms of children lost forever to the cruel senselessness and violence of abuse. But we cannot allow our anger or grief over ...

No, Hillary: Red states dynamic

Hillary Clinton is being universally panned by Republicans and Democrats for her recent rant against people who voted for Donald Trump. While giving a speech in Mumbai, India, Clinton boasted that she “won the places that represent two-thirds of Amer­ica’s gross domestic product.” She said: “So I won the places that are optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward.” As evidence, she pointed to places such as Illinois, where she won by sizable margins. Then she added that those who voted against her “didn’t like black people getting rights, and don’t like women ...

A plan is needed for safer prisons

The Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA) has always made the safety and security of Corrections Officers our top priority. That’s why it was so heart wrenching to lose one of our own when a hero, Sgt. Mark Baserman, was murdered at SCI-Somerset by an inmate with a history of violence inside and outside of the institution. The killing of a hero made local, state and national headlines. It was a dark day. The pain and anger felt by so many of Sgt. Baserman’s brothers and sisters at SCI-Somerset is still very raw. But the violence didn’t end there, ...

Students show their resolve by walking out

They sure aren’t settling for thoughts and prayers. High schoolers who walked out of class around the country last Wednesday to protest gun violence were demanding action. Thousands of young people — because while it is tempting to see them as children, these were not the actions of children — organized and inspired each other to make a powerful statement to the older generations: You have failed us. You have not protected us. Many observers have noted in the month since a gunman killed 17 people at a Florida high school that this time things seem different. Unlike the ...