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Letters to the Editor

Trump will accomplish many good things

The letter, “Trump 2.0 fails to impress,” in the Feb. 11 Mirror is typical of persons who suffer from severe Trump Derangement Syndrome and would be funny if it were not so very sad. No matter what Trump does or accomplishes he will be vilified by people who literally hate the man. My advice to the writer is take a deep breath and pause, because Trump is going to be around for four years and will do many things that are good for America, which I expect the writer will hate just because Trump accomplished it. The points in the letter are not even worth discussing because it is the ...

USAID funding freeze concerning

Although many of President Donald Trump’s executive orders are extremely troubling, the 90-day freeze on funding for USAID and an immediate halt to all federally financed domestic and overseas humanitarian programs is particularly troubling to me. Oversight and auditing of government funded agencies is necessary, but these tasks can be accomplished while the programs are still operating. USAID’s funds comprise less than one percent of the annual federal budget. The number of people who will die is estimated by some sources at several million people, and the even greater number ...

Craters belong on the moon, not city streets

Natural gas lines throughout Altoona are being replaced. Anyone seeing what the old lines look like knows why they are being replaced. Watching the men doing this work, you realize it’s not an easy job. Yes, they have heavy equipment, but much of it is back-breaking hand digging. The problem occurs after they leave an area. My alley is anything but smooth after the lines are replaced. There are holes and rough spots throughout the alley. There is a hole, actually it’s becoming a crater, that belongs on the moon, behind the old Phoenix restaurant. If you do not know the ...

Housecleaning is long overdue

The financial housecleaning by the Trump administration is long overdue, and realistically may never come again. Here is the fundamental reason why. To the average bureaucrat, they really don’t care. It’s not their money and as a government employee they quickly learn it’s better to keep your mouth shut. You need to “go along to get along.” I saw this often in my state employment years. In one case, the state legislature mandated our agency perform a certain task. The reason we had to do that task was to placate a very vocal and politically active group. The task was ...

Endure a little pain to restore country

I am compelled to respond to Mr. Randall Manning’s letter to the Mirror published Feb. 4. He states that President Trump broke the law with his pardons of those involved in the fiasco at the Capitol on Jan. 6 after the previous election. I can only assume he is really referring to ex-President Joe Biden’s pardon of his family, Democrats in Congress and Dr. Fauci for any crimes they committed or “may have” committed up to several years ago. These pardons have already been declared null and illegal. What a surprise right? A sitting president is within his rights to make ...

Road work very much appreciated

I want to thank Gov. Josh Shapiro and chief engineer in Clearfield County for their quick response on Routes 2002, 2022, 2024. Drainage pipes were replaced, trees and brush trimming and roads repaved. We even got yellow lines painted. Roads were repaved in 2024. Thank you, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Chief Engineer Tom Pretesh, PennDOT Clearfield County. T. Jerry Ricketts Sr. Coalport