US birthday grant an expensive mistake<\/p>\n
The national debt is hurtling toward $40 trillion, Pennsylvania roads are getting worn out and school taxes are going up across the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, four elected officials announced May 28 that they have secured $1 million of state money (taxpayers\u2019 money) for events marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The mutual admiration society that gathered in Easton for this spendthrift celebration included state Reps. Robert Freeman, D-Easton, and Ann Flood, R-Northampton; and state Sens. Lisa Boscola, D-Bethlehem, and Nick Miller, D-Allentown.<\/p>\n
So it was a bipartisan pork-barrel party. Meanwhile, two senior centers in Northampton County will close at the end of June because of the loss of $370,000 in state funding.<\/p>\n
The country, the state and the Lehigh Valley have to wake up to the fiscal mess we are in. It\u2019s time to stop spending millions of taxpayers\u2019 dollars on anything that is not essential. The government has the authority to compel us to pay taxes; it should show some respect by not burning public funds on frivolity.<\/p>\n
The sooner the national, state and local governments face fiscal reality, the better. We already face serious problems. No July 4 celebration can cover that up.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jeff Ward, Bethlehem<\/p>\n
Democratic Party should offer positive stance<\/p>\n
Some so-called political experts argue that Democratic Party must present to voters not just what the party is against \u2014 i.e. President Trump \u2014 but, what it is in favor of.<\/p>\n
So, I propose this: Democrats are for a strong military and law enforcement that is paid for by patriotic Americans who honorably pay their Internal Revenue Service taxes yearly; and, for hiring back the IRS agents fired by Trump to investigate and collect the approximately $1 trillion of annual unpaid IRS taxes (the \u201ctax gap\u201d) from American tax cheaters.<\/p>\n
I still wonder, \u201cWhat is Donald Trump hiding from us in his IRS returns that he won\u2019t show them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Reggie Regrut, Phillipsburg<\/p>\n
Pa. needs strict regulations on data centers<\/p>\n
Gov. Shapiro just released the Governor\u2019s Responsible Infrastructure Development Standards, which he said are designed to protect Pennsylvanians and establish strict guardrails to hold data center developers accountable. But \u201caccountable\u201d for what? Artificial intelligence firms can build massive facilities, bulldozing grounds that once housed millions of birds, squirrels and trees on millions of acres. Do Pennsylvania citizens really want AI-generated chipmunks running around on acres of artificial turf? To what end? I for one do not. Pennsylvania already has 52 data centers, with 53 more in the works, according to SpotlightPA. I want legislation with teeth. Pennsylvania legislators from the Lehigh Valley and the rest of the state need to act now to establish enforceable standards. Otherwise, owners of these data centers can do what they wish when and where they wish.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jill Hirt, Upper Saucon Township<\/p>\n
Discussion with members of Trump Cabinet not helpful<\/p>\n
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie brought two Cabinet secretaries, Sean Duffy from Transportation and Agriculture\u2019s Brooke Rollins, to the Lehigh Valley last month. According to reports, they answered questions from \u201cstruggling farmers\u201d about the rising cost of fertilizer and diesel fuel due to the war in Iran. It wasn\u2019t a roundtable discussion as much as it was an exercise in avoidance, deflection and disingenuousness. Mackenzie was the moderator; there was little, if any, advance notice; and there were no explanations as to how or why the local participants and venue were selected. Secretary Duffy wanted to blame President Biden, despite record fossil fuel production and clean energy initiatives during his administration. Donald Trump\u2019s decision to attack Iran is the problem, not anything Joe Biden did. It\u2019s not as simple as taking credit for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as they\u2019ve done by replacing Biden\u2019s name on signs at job sites with the current president\u2019s name. You can\u2019t \u201crebrand\u201d a war. When questioned about multiple cancellations of local emergency food aid, Secretary Rollins responded, \u201cnews to me.\u201d She is administering a 10-year, $187 billion reduction in food assistance Rep. Mackenzie voted for. Why should that be \u201cnews\u201d to her?<\/p>\n
\u2014 Lawrence Gasda, Bethlehem<\/p>\n
Colon cancer screening saves lives<\/p>\n
I am a retired register of wills and recorder of deeds by profession, which means I know what people look like when they\u2019re doing the paperwork to prepare for the best and worst chapters of their lives. Through this work, I\u2019ve learned that life happens. We can\u2019t make the good things come faster, and, as someone who has faced both cancer and cardiac disease, I know we also can\u2019t stop the bad things from happening. What we can do is be prepared. And when it comes to our health, preventive screening is key.<\/p>\n
Colorectal cancer, for example, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, 34% of diagnosed cases are terminal. That doesn\u2019t have to be the case \u2014 when caught early, colorectal cancer has one of the highest five-year survival rates of all cancers. Still, people put off getting screened because traditional methods can seem invasive and uncomfortable. Thankfully, there\u2019s a new way to get screened.<\/p>\n
The Shield test, the first Food and Drug Administration-approved primary, noninvasive blood-based screening option for average-risk adults 45 or older, can test for colorectal cancer with a quick blood draw. Blood tests like this give people an easier screening option and can help save lives.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Josephine Ferro, East Stroudsburg\u00a0<\/p>\n