In the midst of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, we find ourselves in a period of challenges unprecedented in our lifetimes. Even in areas comparatively spared from the spread of the virus, the effects of the pandemic are keenly felt in the prolonged closures, restrictions and quarantines, …
Blue state red
To the editor: Sunday the 24th was a great day for our area.
Being informed is our civic duty and vital to protecting our democracy, but often we do not realize the extent to which we are being misinformed by our favorite news source.
Memorial Day was last Monday, May 25. Once upon a time in America, Memorial Day was every May 30, period. That particular date held its own without exception until Congress got involved.
I stopped long ago reading comments under news articles and opinion pieces. Not because I don’t believe readers should have the opportunity to comment, but mostly because nothing about what is posted is helpful or constructive. In fact, much of it is nasty and vile.
Tyrannical
It’s unquestionably good news that Gov. Tom Wolf plans to relax restrictions next week in the counties still classified as red under his process for restoring business activity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Now that the COVID-19 crisis has produced predictions that we soon will reach a debt-to-GDP ratio previously seen only once before — during World War II — it’s time to lay to rest the wacko assertion that there’s no cause of concern since we’ve been there before.
Joe vs. Joe
Twitter has provoked outrage for its refusal to remove disgraceful tweets from President Donald Trump that further a baseless conspiracy theory about the death of a former congressional staffer. Whether anger at the social media site is justified, the debate shouldn’t obscure the obvious: Th…
So many of us are parked in front of our television sets these days, more out of necessity than desire.
Not giving a hoot
Hearts and markets leaped Monday at news that an experimental vaccine against COVID-19 had produced promising results in a test. And in many of the world’s foremost research institutions, intense work continues on more than 100 potential coronavirus vaccines, eight of which are in early tria…
Breitbart has an interesting interview with conservative Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks, who believes China Flu lockdown orders violate the Constitution. “As citizens start to wake up [regarding] the liberty and freedom that they’ve lost, coupled with the recognition that what state has d…
To the editor: May 25 was the traditional Memorial Day to honor our dead, military heroes and veterans. Kulpmont’s men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice include:
Promoting fraud
The famous Canova cafe, in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo, was once Federico Fellini’s preferred spot for a morning coffee. On Monday the Canova was in the spotlight again as it reopened its doors, in glorious sunshine, after two and a half months of lockdown. “It’s a beautiful, exciting day,” sai…
Don’t tell the people in charge, but my friend’s wife is a member of the L.A. resistance.
Are they blind?
Dr. Asif Ilyas just might be right. We’ve been using a machete to attack the coronavirus to try to wipe it from the face of the earth, but now we need a scalpel.
About two months ago, we all woke up to find ourselves in a new reality and a very different lifestyle, one filled with stress, restrictions and uncertainties. At that time, the board of directors for Manna for the Many met to decide how we could continue with our program of serving those in…
Stop raising taxes
Many headlines can tell a story that no novel can and in one concise phrase.
How did we get to a place where people carry semi-automatic weapons in a peaceful protest? Where government officials — people elected to represent us — say that we’ll just have to let some of us die because re-opening businesses is more important? Declare that “lots of grandparents” would g…
It’s high time Americans accept a first-world side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I don’t mean those blasted directional floor stickers I can’t navigate in the aisles at Walmart. No, I’m referring to male-pattern corona hair.
Safety last
A little clarity is all we’d like.
Nick Culver worked for years to get to this point, endlessly practicing his French horn, performing, and studying theory, all to graduate this month with a music degree from Michigan State University.
Up go taxes
A short but action-packed Tuesday night special meeting of the Shamokin City Council left many local residents reevaluating their plans for the summer after the city voted to disallow three staples of summer — the operation of the Rock Street pool, the annual fireworks display and the Music …
Here’s one COVID-19 silver lining: The drive-in theater, a uniquely American creation, is doing booming business again.
Four more years
To the editor: A society is a group of individuals living together as a community. On a larger scale, our American society is a nation that normally furnishes protection, continuity, security and a national identity for its citizens.
The lying king
I remember every graduation as if it happened yesterday, even though the most recent one took place on a very humid May day 33 years ago. The heat was so intense it shimmered visibly in the air, the mosquitos droned around us at DuPont Pavilion and the speaker, a venerable federal judge who …
Not about the vehicles
It’s time for everyone to take a deep breath and halt the raging debate over when and how to reopen Pennsylvania.
The disease experts and the panic-pushing media initially scared the pants off California’s 40 million people with their predictions about the death toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
As the COVID-19 crisis stretches on, we’re seeing more conflict, more protests and particularly more online rancor in the debate over how — and if — public officials should “open up” society or government restraints on gatherings, from bowling leagues and bars to religious services and retai…
In Washington and the media, the pandemic is, alas, being taken over by extremists. They demand that we choose A or B, the virus or the economy, locking down or setting free. But while they rage and clash, the future will probably be won by Pandemic Pragmatists, who blend and balance both pr…
Numbers game
If it was already true that a lie can fly halfway around the world before the truth can put on its shoes, imagine the accelerating effects of a pandemic that sends millions inside and online, hostile foreign powers keen to sow disruption, and tech platforms with a spotty record on moderating…
To the editor: One, small, bright spot that has manifested itself as a result of this pandemic is the willingness of so many individuals, groups and organizations to pitch in and assist those whose lives have been severely impacted by this crisis. Whether it be the free meals, monetary donat…
When the going gets tough
We’re in a serious pandemic, a virus dangerous enough to present a global threat, but not threatening enough to inspire universal caution. Therefore, we face a dual hazard, from the illness itself and from our reaction to it. Some people believe that shutdowns and other mitigation efforts ar…
YouTube is the most visited website in the world. It is a cybernetic Areopagus, where every viewpoint can be found — except for those that don’t jive with their political agenda under the pretext of “community standards and terms of service.” Such criteria compels censorship of any nonconfor…
Social distancing is working. So is only leaving the house for essential trips, working from home and limitations on non-essential businesses. And as we think about gradually reopening components of our society and ramping up some of the clinical services in our hospitals and clinics, it wil…
What percentage PA?
Coal industry observers were experiencing “bad vibes” as this year began.
He’s stuck in the basement of his home in Wilmington, Del., unable to engage in traditional campaigning, soak up the cheers of raucous rally crowds or impress audiences with knowledgeable and insightful policy pronouncements.
Think of the kitties
He’s stuck in the basement of his home in Wilmington, Del., unable to engage in traditional campaigning, soak up the cheers of raucous rally crowds or impress audiences with knowledgeable and insightful policy pronouncements.
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