What are our elected officials doing in Harrisburg?Our governor, senators and representatives cannot come up with a budget, but they can go after Kathleen Kane, and they can look at pay deductions.Where is the budget? Offices are closing and affecting working people.Agencies that are needed by ...

Recently, on a Sunday, I had lunch at Hoss's Steak and Sea House in Altoona. To my surprise, when I went to pay, someone had already paid my bill, including the tip.I can't begin to say how much I appreciated this act of kindness. I would like to express my thanks to the kind person.Nelda ...

Do you know what treason and eminent domain are?Do you know that in some countries evil and hatred is something to be expected and, most likely, will never change?Millions of legal American citizens vote for a president and, sadly, don't know anything about eminent domain, treason, and global ...

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sen. Tim Scott, who evidently has not received the memo explaining that politics is a grim and bitter business, laughs easily and often, as when, during lunch in this city's humming downtown, he explains that South Carolina's Lowcountry is benefiting from what are called ...

As news of the San Bernardino jihadist shootings blared on airport TVs, I spotted a TSA monitor flashing the now ubiquitous message:"If you SEE something, SAY something."The warning should be followed with a big "LOL" and a winky-blinky, just-kidding emoji. It's one of the emptiest slogans in ...

JERUSALEM - More than a decade after my 19th trip to Israel and the Middle East, this 20th visit shows how some things have changed, but the important ones remain the same.What one notices first is the large amount of new construction, which suggests a certain Israeli permanency against ...

In a recent commentary, Kathleen Parker was questioning the fear Americans are experiencing over the possible arrival of Syrian refugees.In trying to advance the "Obama Nation" line, she quotes Franklin Roosevelt: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."I think what FDR meant was that ...

Tragically, one-fifth of children under age 14 killed in traffic crashes in 2013 were pedestrians.Older adults are also extremely vulnerable. While those 65 or older comprised just over 15 percent of Pennsylvania's population, they accounted for almost 30 percent of the state's pedestrian ...

Thank God that Dennis Minori and John J. Coyle were not members of the founding fathers of this great nation.Both have recently written anti-Second Amendment letters to the Mirror.I, for one, personally believe the founders were much smarter than either one of these guys or, for that matter, ...

Why on earth would the people involved in the voting to reinstate Sandusky's pension ever agree to give it back?He may have put the years in to earn it, but it seems to me he was using most of his years of service to molest boys.Having been convicted of molestation and now serving 30 to 60 ...

I struggle to find the words to explain how the outpouring of support I personally felt this past Veteran's Day touched me.I served in the Marines from 1971 to 1975.I joined because I believed in what this country stands for and not because I had to. Serving in the military was not viewed then ...

Second Amendment understanding lackingI read with dismay the comments of Dennis Minori contained in a Nov. 23 letter.As an American citizen with a deep knowledge of and respect for our founding documents, I feel compelled to reply.Minori suggests, "We are all responsible and have the blood of ...

Our local legislators, John McGinnis and John H. Eichelberger Jr., have joined the rush to exclude certain immigrants from Pennsylvania. They need to be reminded of our heritage.William Penn welcomed people of all nationalities and faith to Pennsylvania, an action unheard of in colonial ...

Thanks to the GOP legislature, our state is looking at fiscal disaster.New York-based Moody's credit rating agency again gave a negative outlook for Pennsylvania's $10.9 billion in general obligation debt.Former Gov. Tom Corbett balanced last year's budget by using $2 billion in a one-time ...

Shouldn't the rhetoric, "Proven conservative leadership," be matched with a record?Instead, our incumbent votes to increase spending and boasts of his compromises with Democrats to boot. The result is a fast- approaching $20 trillion debt.Despite his chairmanship, our representative has no ...

We knew Gov. Tom Wolf was a joke, but now it's gone beyond that.His holdup of the passing of a budget has a lot to do with his love affair with teachers unions and public schools. He's bent on cutting funding for cyber charter and charter schools because, heaven forbid, they outperform public ...

I was extremely saddened and hurt when I found out about the attacks in Paris and Beirut, which resulted in the loss of nearly 170 lives.The perpetrators did this under the guise of Islam and by loudly proclaiming "Allaho Akbar," which literally means "God is the Greatest."But their actions ...

I wonder if anyone in their right mind can explain to me what the price of gasoline has to do with not getting a raise in Social Security.Gasoline is going down by pennies while inflation is raging. Those senators and congressmen must think we are as stupid as they are.Food prices are going ...

As many of my friends know, I am a big fan of Neil Cavuto.Cavuto had a young woman protester he was interviewing about her stated right to a free college education.She also thinks all student debt should be forgiven, past and present. When asked who would pay for the education and the ...

I would like to thank Rep. Judy Ward and the American Legion Post 516 for doing such a magnificent job honoring our veterans this past Veterans Day.It was truly humbling to be in the presence of some of our country's finest men and women who have served so selflessly to protect the freedoms we ...