GOP state legislators show hypocrisy on minimum wage<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently did something positive for the lower and middle class by voting to increase the minimum wage from the current rate of $7.25 per hour. When you consider that Pennsylvania House members are the third highest paid legislators in the country, earning over $113,000 annually, you can readily see why they wanted to correct this massive injustice of forcing minimum wage earners to try to live on only $15,000. Isn\u2019t it interesting, then, that our Lehigh Valley Republican Reps. Zach Mako, Ann Flood, Milou Mackenzie, Doyle Heffley and Gary Day, all voted against this bill? When you consider that the minimum wage in neighboring states of New Jersey and Maryland are each $15 or more per hour, and their respective House members earn less than half of what Pennsylvania legislators make, you would expect that they would be embarrassed by their position on this issue. But, they aren\u2019t concerned. They are very comfortable hiding behind their bloated salaries because they know their Republicans in the state Senate will once again stop a vote on this bill, as they have done three times since 2023. The hypocrisy is deafening.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Rod Miller, Walnutport<\/p>\n
Hegseth\u2019s call for violence inappropriate for a Christian<\/p>\n
On Good Friday, I was reading Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s book, \u201cThe War on Warriors,\u201d which laments the cultural dilution by wokeness of our military ethos. It also invokes the Book of Joel to champion beating our ploughshares into swords and concludes with \u201call glory to Jesus Christ \u2014 our Lord and Savior\u201d without drawing a moral line between the two. Hegseth recently prayed to God before a military audience for \u201coverwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.\u201d He seems to have never heard of the \u201cjust war\u201d theory and practice.<\/p>\n
While reading the book on Good Friday, I heard in my mind, like a steady background beat of a band\u2019s rhythm section, our president hypnotically repeating the threat of bombing Iran back to the Stone Age and, even further, to oblivion.<\/p>\n
Good Friday. The day on which Christians like Hegseth and Trump, who call America a Christian nation, mark the crucifixion of Jesus. Peaceful Jesus, who once said, \u201cFather, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.\u201d So much for Good Friday.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Edward J. Gallagher, Bethlehem<\/p>\n
Iran war should renew disarmament talks<\/p>\n
Most of us are familiar with the saying \u201cwhen life gives you lemons, make lemonade.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Trump\u2019s bloody, senseless war against Iran offers just such an opportunity by getting responsible politicians and all Americans to discuss the imminent threat from every one of the world\u2019s estimated 12,300 nuclear weapons, which are possessed for usage by nine countries, including Israel, according to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.<\/p>\n
While Iran has been making the material that could be used to make atomic bombs, there is no evidence the country ever had a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s start the responsible conversation now for an entire world without nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Reggie Regrut, Phillipsburg<\/p>\n
President Trump ruining the dignity of his office<\/p>\n
President Trump has ruined the magic, the awe we have always had for the president of the United States. No matter their party affiliation or political beliefs, Americans have always believed in the grandeur of the highest political position in our country. The moral responsibility which comes with such a position has been shattered by this president who daily intensifies a new set of moral attitudes. His foul offensive speech on, of all days, Easter Sunday, is certainly proof of that.<\/p>\n
The outright corruption in all levels of this administration is a punch in the gut for those of us who love and believe in the democratic system. I have never been more ashamed of our country\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n
How do we get the magic back, the awe? Vote.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Judy Lentz, North Whitehall Township<\/p>\n
Hungarian people set good example for US<\/p>\n
Why did Vice President Vance travel to Hungary on Air Force Two, paid for by U.S. taxpayers, for the sole purpose of lobbying for the reelection of Viktor Orban, an autocratic pal of Russian President Vladimir Putin? And where is the outrage? Thankfully on April 12, the sensible people of Hungary voted Orban out of office, marking a decisive repudiation of autocratic rule. Orban\u2019s government has been widely criticized for democratic backsliding, including restricting the judiciary, press freedom and LGBTQ+ rights. It should not go unnoticed that this is also a repudiation of Vance in particular, and the autocratic-leaning Trump administration as a whole. Let\u2019s follow the lead of the Hungarian people, and in November 2026, then again in November 2028, vote out of office every politician who supports the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Tony O\u2019Malley, Emmaus<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s rhetoric alarming and reckless<\/p>\n
The rhetoric coming from President Trump toward Iran should alarm every American, regardless of party.<\/p>\n
Threatening the destruction of a country or suggesting that an entire civilization could be wiped out is not strength. It is reckless. It risks escalation, endangers American service members and pushes us closer to conflict without any clear strategy or diplomatic groundwork.<\/p>\n
We should be exhausting diplomacy, working with allies and lowering tensions in an already volatile region. Instead, we are hearing language that treats mass destruction like a negotiating tactic. That is dangerous. It normalizes the idea that war is just another political tool, and history has shown us how quickly that kind of thinking spirals.<\/p>\n
I cannot stand this approach to leadership. The United States should never posture toward annihilation. We should lead with steadiness, respect for human life and a commitment to preventing war, not flirting with it.<\/p>\n
This is bigger than politics. Words like these carry consequences. They raise the temperature globally and put real lives at risk.<\/p>\n
America is strongest when it shows discipline, not when it threatens devastation.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Patti Bruno, Easton<\/p>\n