Praise for hockey coach was well-deserved
Thanks to Keith Groller for the excellent article about the Northampton High School hockey team win but more importantly, the well deserved and long overdue article about Raeann and Brian Ruff.
How many thousands of kids and parents’ lives have the Ruffs positively touched and influenced over the past 50 years of their involvement in the community?
I was fortunate to have been introduced to Brian and the Northampton hockey team in the early ‘90s as our son joined their youth team. With patience, he learned so much about the game and teamwork, which carried his playing well into his adult years.
Brian was instrumental in helping with the Nazareth High School hockey team, and I truly appreciated his words of wisdom and guidance as we tried to grow the Nazareth teams.
I cannot express enough my gratitude and our family’s gratitude to the Ruffs’ for their unselfish and unending service to the many communities, youth and families of the entire Lehigh Valley.
Well done, Raeann and Brian. God bless you and thank you for all you do and have done over these many, many successful years. Wishing you and your family much continued success in the future.
— Jeff Dietrich, Nazareth
Don’t blame President Biden for economic problems
On March 17, The Morning Call ran an opinion piece titled “With manufacturing poised for recovery, new hires are coming,” by E.J. Antoni of the Heritage Foundation. For those of you who have been complaining The Morning Call is biased toward the left, you can’t get any further to the right than the Heritage Foundation. The commentary says a decline in manufacturing jobs started long before the tariffs imposed by President Trump’s administration and blames President Biden’s administration for the drop. This ignores the manufacturing sector’s decline since 1979 involving a number of factors including companies relocating overseas. The COVID-19 pandemic, which started during Trump’s first term as president, also played a role. Do you want to blame Trump for that?
In 2024, Biden’s last year in office, the U.S. economy added 1.46 million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate was 4.1%. In 2025, Trump’s first year of his second term, 181,000 jobs were added and the unemployment rate was 4.4%. Look at these numbers and you decide which economy looks better. And for the record, there were roughly 100,000 manufacturing jobs lost in both 2024 and 2025.
— Michael Mowad, Weisenberg Township
Fuel price hikes show need for alternatives
With the price of fuel increasing by the day, it doesn’t seem like we are as energy independent as we would like to think. Paying more for gas may seem like a reasonable tradeoff for temporary security, but as increased gas prices filter their way through the economy, inflation will accelerate and affect even more in our daily lives. Perhaps the current administration shouldn’t be so quick to put the brakes on alternative and renewable fuel sources? Our dependence on oil has led us down the road to war too many times to justify continuing. In the meantime, while our pockets empty out, those of big oil keep getting fatter.
— Martin F Stockman III
Trump’s comments on Mueller shameful
President Trump’s response to Robert Mueller’s death (“Good, I’m glad he’s dead”) is appalling and shameful, and it should tell you everything you need to know about Trump’s total lack of character. Mueller was an exemplary, competent public servant who served his country honorably. Congress should introduce a resolution thanking Mueller for his years of service to our country. Trump is an embarrassment to our country.
— Donald DeCray Sr., Bethlehem
Will Trump interfere with elections?
Some of President Trump’s policies are highly unpopular with the majority of the people of the U.S. and his poll numbers are underwater. This means he faces the real possibility of a House or Senate controlled by the Democrats after the elections in November. There seems to be five possible ways he might be able to meet his objective of having Republicans stay in the majority in both bodies.
Have states with Republican-majority legislatures redraw their congressional districts; have groups such as True the Vote challenge the voter registration validity of minorities from inner-city districts before Election Day; station Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the polls in Democratic districts in order to intimidate voters; federalize the election in Democratic-leaning states in spite of the Constitution, taking away the states’ rights to hold free and fair elections; become a wartime president and suspend the election.
Unfortunately, he already seems to be halfway there with eight months to go.
— Robert K. McFadden, Upper Macungie Township
Trump contradicts himself by lifting oil sanctions
Let me get this straight. President Trump authorized military strikes in Iran, destroying much of their oil supply. Iran then struck gas and oil sites in nearby countries, driving up costs for all of us. Then on March 13, he temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil that was already at sea. Those sanctions were in place to punish Russia for its war with Ukraine. On March 19, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. might do the same for Iranian oil also already at sea. The administration is making these moves because our economy is reeling from this illegal and unconstitutional war on Iran. Russia is reaping the benefits of suspended sanctions on Russian oil so they can sell it to fund their war and kill Ukrainians. And to top that, the U.S. is asking Ukraine for help with drones, but we won’t give Ukraine the tools that they need to defeat Russia.
— Rosalyn Metzger, Hanover Township, Northampton County
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