15-03-2025
Letters: Republicans must exhibit principles; Don't be fooled
It will come as a surprise to my writerly lunch buddies that I read some of the classics. Granted, they were comic books (Classics Illustrated) but they made an impression on me and they kept me away from less desirable reading, which was my mother's goal.
One that made an impression was 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens. And what made the impression was how one of the characters took the place of another on death row and what he said as he was marched off to the guillotine: 'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.'
As I watch the sycophants in the Republican party say nothing about Trump's reckless approach to governance, the quote comes to mind. Will no elected Republican stand on principle and speak up? Forget the possibility of losing the next election; rage against the chaos.
It will be a far better thing that you do.
R Thomas Berner, Benner Township
President Trump's second term began with a whirlwind of activity, claiming increased efficiency and transparency. But that's not what's happening.
Merriam-Webster defines transparency as 'free from pretense or deceit, readily understood, and characterized by visibility or accessibility of information, especially concerning business practices,' and defines efficiency as 'capable of producing desired results with little or no waste.'
How's it efficient or transparent when:
Civil servants are fired, rehired, and fired again;
Justifications for firing are false, i.e., employees are claimed to lack skills after receiving outstanding performance reviews;
Fired employees don't receive mandated information about filing for unemployment and maintaining health insurance;
Employees are fired in agencies actively recruiting because they are short-staffed, including the Federal Aviation Administration and Centers for Disease Control;
Costs of firings haven't considered costs to public safety and the federal budget, such as the increase in unemployment benefits;
Claims about money saved from firings are sparse and inaccurate;
Sources require anonymity to protect them from retaliation;
White House, cabinet offices, and DOGE refuse to answer media requests for comments.
Last month one-third of United States Digital Service technicians resigned rather than work for DOGE, refusing to compromise and dismantle core government systems and jeopardize Americans' personal data.
Don't be fooled. We're getting unchecked power and cruelty, not efficiency and transparency. We're also being set up: the claimed 'spending cuts' are used to justify planned tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations.
This doesn't Make America Great Again.
Linda Barton, State College
Words Matter. Centre Region Down Syndrome Society would like to encourage you to delete the R-word from your vocabulary. I know, I grew up in the '80s. It may be a habit, but it's a painful, slur that marginalizes people with disabilities, like hate language against any minority group. Instead, choose inclusion and respect.
When my son entered kindergarten, the school psychologist sat with me and shared his testing results. She said, the state of Pennsylvania still required this language, 'your son is mentally retarded.' What if this happened to you? Now how would it make you feel to hear that word used in derogatory language, and by someone in the daily spotlight?
The R-word continues to carry a significant stigma and is often used in a way that perpetuates negative stereotypes and discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities.
Centre Region Down Syndrome Society's mission is to provide individuals with Down syndrome and their families with the tools, resources and support necessary to participate in, contribute to and achieve personal fulfillment.
Don't know how to promote inclusion? Start with hello. Give a high-five or a fist bump. Smile. Acknowledge a person with a disability. Sit next to someone alone at lunch. Start a ripple effect that shows kindness, acceptance and empathy. People with disabilities want to belong, just like you. Remember, we're more alike than different. Make your pledge to end the word at
Come meet us at the World Down Syndrome Day Dance on March 21.
Jennifer Jewell, State College
For the first time in my long life, America is no longer the leader of the free world, by the actions of our Great Mistake. Donald Trump and JD Vance have deliberately, with cold calculation, humiliated the victim of Russian aggression, President Zelenskyy, who quite properly rejected our rapacious demand for Ukraine's mineral rights. Yes, we have sided with Vlad the Poisoner Putin who without provocation invaded the eastern provinces of sovereign Ukraine in 2014 and then invaded the rest in 2022, only to be driven back by Ukrainian courage, with the help of our weapons. Now that help has been summarily withdrawn because Zelenskyy did not kowtow to Trump without a security guarantee that was denied. If in the near future a renewed Russian blitzkrieg succeeds, followed by horrors such as they left behind at Bucha the first time, we will know whom to blame: sadly, not just Donald J. Trump but the American voters who elected him knowing that he is a Putin puppet; a vicious, abusive narcissist who thinks everything in the world is about him; a radical fascist in conservative clothing; a destroyer of good government; a criminal out for revenge on the people who prosecuted him for his crimes; a bully to our friends and allies, and a coward before our enemies. We will endure, but we have lost our moral compass.
Steven H. Smith, Houserville
