Letters: Ashamed of Centre County representatives; Spanier sentence a ‘travesty’
Ashamed of Centre County representatives
It’s sad to see how far we’ve fallen since the days when honorable politicians came from Centre County. From 1852 to 1899 seven governors claimed our area as home — five served in Pennsylvania and one each in California and Kansas.
Compare this with today.
The two Congressmen representing Centre County, Thompson and Keller, are actively working to destroy our democracy and demote another Representative simply for telling the truth.
And our state legislators are no better. State Senator Corman asked our disgraced former president how he could help destroy our democracy. State Representative Benninghoff led an effort in the Pennsylvania House to meddle in our elections and is the poster child for gerrymandered districts.
Not one of them has the spine to stand up in an open forum to tell us why they tried to steal our election and our democracy. Not one has the spine to call out Donald Trump’s lies when he says Pennsylvania’s election was stolen.
Who do they represent? Certainly not the “hard-working” Americans they love to talk about. Certainly not the millions of us who voted in good faith by mail and in person. And certainly not the county officials who went above and beyond to pull off a safe, secure, and honest election.
It’s a sorry lot. Our former governors are crying.
Grand jury a positive sign
After the election of Donald Trump, I severed relations with anyone who voted for him — until Nancy Pelosi and Democrats swept into the House of Representatives. Why? Because I expected Trump to do something so illegal or outrageous as to get him impeached. In fact, he was impeached twice.
Unfortunately, impeachment only prompted Republicans to circle the wagons. Thus, they have swallowed more than 30,000 lies and misstatements by Trump — including the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Even today 53% of Republicans believe Trump is the true president. Why such cult-like devotion? Because they need Trump’s lies to reassure them that their resentment — of elites who talk down to them, and “undeserving others” who threaten their benefits, jobs, and status — is justified.
Voltaire observed: “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” And so, on Jan. 6, 2021, in a direct assault on America’s democracy, Trump supporters committed the atrocity of storming our nation’s Capitol Building.
Because Trump supporters give every indication of a willingness to commit other atrocities in his name, Trump needs to be taken out legally. Thus, it is good news that Manhattan’s district attorney has convened a grand jury that probably will decide whether to indict Trump ... “Good news?” Yes, because “prosecutors don’t usually move investigations to the grand jury stage unless they have compelling evidence of a crime” (Washington Post).
Perhaps a jail cell will cool the ardor of Trump die-hards.
Spanier sentence a ‘travesty’
That Graham Spanier — arguably the most talented and accomplished president in Penn State’s history — must spend two months in a county jail for his conviction on a highly controversial misdemeanor charge (with no hard evidence to support it) is a travesty. That Attorney General Josh Shapiro just took a victory lap for insisting Spanier serve “hard time” despite serious health issues is a sad and shameful commentary on how low some elected officials will stoop to shore up their own images. I hope the voters of Pennsylvania will remember this the next time Shapiro runs for public office.