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Tried and true ways to dull the pain of reality

Other Commentaries

Are you, like me, kind of freaking out a little bit? Do masked men patrol your city streets, snatching people up and throwing them into vans headed for overcrowded detention centers where they will be held incommunicado and pressured to sign self-deportation orders that abrogate their rights to a fair trial? Have your lawmakers all seemingly gone on an extended vacation? Did your commander-in-chief use your money to tear down a third of the most prominent national symbol of the transience of presidential power so that he can erect a ballroom vulgar enough to make Saddam Hussein ...

Nothing, not even a stable job, is guaranteed

Other Commentaries

This week, as I was going through my online news feeds, which included updates on the government shutdown, I came across several stories about furloughed federal workers and contractors standing in line at food banks in Maryland and the D.C. area. In Landover, Maryland, the lines were long, with cars parked on the street near the Capital Area Food Bank. Just over four miles away in Hyattsville, Maryland, photos captured the expressions of apprehension of those patiently waiting for food. Some in line, probably wanting to conceal their identities, were wearing sunglasses. Some were ...

Health care should be affordable for all

Letters to the Editor

President Donald Trump has always despised health care created by President Barack Obama, and things added by President Joe Biden, to help the American people. Trump is telling Republicans in Congress to destroy American health care. Over 500,000 Pennsylvanians get their health care from the Pennie program. Every state has similar programs. There are tens of millions of Americans in these affordable programs. Many will not be able to afford a good health care program, or not be able to have any at all. Republicans say they will discuss health care if the Democrats vote to reopen ...

Respect Life is a year round endeavor

Letters to the Editor

In the U.S. Catholic Church, October is Respect Life Month. What I would hope to see promoted and organized by the U.S. bishops and each diocese from “cradle to grave” is lobbying for continuation of the Affordable Care Act to provide prenatal and postnatal care for babies, moms and all family members. Respect Life from “the cradle” means advocating for women who have an unplanned pregnancy and publicizing the Rachel Project, which gives support to women and families who have chosen an abortion and need compassionate advocacy. Promoting research and medical ...

Killing without accountability

Letters to the Editor

President Donald Trump has now killed more than two dozen people on boats off the coast of Venezuela, claiming that the occupants are “narco-terrorists.” Never mind the fact that drug smuggling is not a capital offense, the Constitution states that anyone accused of a crime is entitled to due process. The president cannot just order extra-judicial executions by accusing people of a crime. While the president, as commander-in-chief, does have broad powers to authorize deadly force in war zones or when an entity poses an imminent threat, there is no way that the Caribbean ...

While helpful, COLA hike isn’t enough

Editorials

Blair County retirees will join about 53 million other senior citizens across America in welcoming the announced 2.8% average increase in their Social Security benefits, effective in January. The word “average” is important in this editorial because individual increases could be above or below the Social Security Administration’s announcement that the average monthly check next year will be $2,064, up $56 from this year. However, buried or absent among some of the increase announcements has been the fact that the standard Medicare Part B premium will be increasing by $21.50 a ...