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Ag challenges are problems for all of us

Editorials

There seldom is much in-depth publicity about the state of farming across Pennsylvania, including the six-county Southern Alleghenies region, but perhaps now is the right time to delve into that important topic, considering what is happening across this country on the agricultural front. It is a “something” that merits much more than cursory notice and concern. At some point not many decades from now, there might be a need for generous special incentives beyond the current farm subsidies, just to keep large segments of farming alive, staffed and vibrant. The nine words of a Feb. ...

A deeper look at a father’s role

Letters to the Editor

A national opinion piece recently published in the Mirror opines that birth rates collapse without dads. The piece describes a crisis of fathers not providing moral or financial guidance for their progeny, and takes cultural conservatives to task for giving philandering politicians a pass on their bad example. The writer points out that both parents are important and the burden is borne most heavily on single mothers. Decades of government initiatives have created a social safety net that has emasculated men, creating a circumstance where often the nascent family is punished for a ...

Remember our servicemen, women

Letters to the Editor

As we begin this season of Lent, let us remember the words Jesus spoke to his disciples on Holy Thursday, after washing their feet. These words apply to all men and women of all faiths. “Greater love has no one as this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” We must also remember our courageous servicemen and women who did, and are still doing this on foreign soil. They sacrificed their lives for us so that we can live in a free world. Let us pray for them. F. Eileen “Cricket” Alianiello Altoona

City could be proud trendsetter

Editorials

A Feb. 21-22 Mirror article reminded readers that the Altoona Redevelopment Authority’s current mission is to provide enough subsidy assistance in the form of free ground, clear titles and site-preparation help to make housing projects worthwhile. Additionally, the authority is on the lookout for partners in that effort. According to Eric Luchansky, Altoona’s community development director, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new Housing Action Plan calls for increasing the number of housing units in the six-county Southern Alleghenies region (Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Somerset, Huntingdon and ...

The SAVE Act is dangerous to women

Letters to the Editor

Women in this country did not get the right to vote until 1920, some 131 years after landed white men. The tug and pull on the right to vote has been ongoing. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed to curtail disenfranchisement by states that attempted to restrict the widespread exercise of the right to vote. Since 1965, new movements have been subtly chipping away at broad voter enfranchisement. Proof of citizenship is the newest attack method. Currently pending Federal legislation referred to as the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act) has passed the House and been ...

All share in protecting the most vulnerable

Letters to the Editor

In every healthy society, there is a shared understanding that children deserve protection, guidance, and care. They are not political pawns, nor are they equipped to make irreversible decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Yet increasingly, our culture places the burden of adult choices on minors — particularly in matters involving life, identity, and medical intervention. As a pro-life advocate and concerned community member, I believe we must return to a foundational moral truth: Our responsibility is to protect the most vulnerable among us, not rush them into ...