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Qatar air base on US soil is a bad idea

Letters to the Editor

I am writing to express my profound alarm over the proposal to let Qatar build and operate an air force base on American soil. This isn’t a simple diplomatic arrangement; it’s an unprecedented erosion of our national sovereignty and security. Permitting a foreign nation to establish its own military installation on our soil is a radical departure from policy. An independent foreign base is a sovereign foothold, not a joint training facility under U.S. command. It raises critical questions of legal authority and creates an unacceptable risk to American military technology and ...

A surefire way to stop shutdowns

Letters to the Editor

There is a way to stop all these shutdowns by these kindergarten antics by our elected officials. What needs to be done is for “We the people” to demand a new article added to the Constitution stating that at any time the elected officials fail to keep the federal government fully funded or cause a shutdown as is happening at present shall lose the right to run for office in the next election at any federal level. There would be no exceptions for any party or person. I believe that the very thought of losing their position of both power and all the benefits that go along with ...

Pa. stepping up animal protections

Editorials

Over the years, television has provided an accurate perspective of the problem — “affliction” sometimes might be the better descriptive word — of hoarding. We’re referring to people who have, in essence, ruined their lives, homes and also, perhaps, relationships because of having collected and having remained hellbent on continuing to collect virtual “mountains” of household and other items “too good” to throw away, sell or give away. In many of the sad and otherwise troubling situations upon which television has focused, homes had become such a repository for the ...

Gopher tortoises, ecosystem intertwined

Other Commentaries

A rescued gopher tortoise arrived at the Nokuse Nature Preserve in Florida’s Panhandle while my sister Erica and I were there. It didn’t know how lucky it was. Across Florida, builders are required to obtain permits from the state to capture and relocate gopher tortoises found on development sites. It’s a system meant to save them — but does it? Without federal protection for the species across its range, conservationists might be only moving the problem, not solving it. Gopher tortoises’ only federal protections exist in small parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and western ...

Is a police state coming?

Letters to the Editor

I was recently in Egypt to see the antiquities. I was shocked at the obvious police presence. There were military men in white, police in fatigues and uniforms and armed men in suits always present and accompanying us when we ventured off the bus or ship. Very unsettling. Here you see the state trooper or the local cop infrequently and feel no threat. They are generally known, local people. I am horrified to see that changing. Not yet here in rural, central Pennsylvania, but troops are being sent to cities and armed military and ICE and masked unknowns are roaming the streets with ...

Death penalty must be based on evidence

Editorials

The death penalty is divisive. Support for and opposition to it is not as easy as political party or position. It is all over the map. There are people with firmly held convictions about crime and law enforcement who draw a line when it comes to capital punishment. There are very mild-­mannered, gentle people who believe vehemently in the biblical justice of an eye for an eye. Regardless of support or opposition, most people would probably agree that it is a complicated question. It is not as easy as checking a box. Capital punishment may be the most nuanced issue in criminal law. ...