Letters: The Corman conflict on civil liberties; Pay attention to PA’s ‘shameless eight’

The Corman conflict on civil liberties

In a recent newsletter state Sen. Jake Corman promised “to protect public health and civil liberties, and to restore a stable economy and a semblance of normalcy.” Did you even know that our civil liberties were endangered?

I can think of one time when they were: On Jan. 6 when the Republican representatives from Pennsylvania voted to have the U.S. House decertify the 2020 election results. And guess who wrote a letter to those representatives urging them to do that?

Jake Corman.

Either he doesn’t know what a civil liberty is or he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth. Talk about cognitive dissonance. This is a guy who wants to take away our rights while at the same time protecting them? And he wants to be governor no less.

Oh, Voters, protect us from this madness.

Pay attention to PA’s ‘shameless eight’

In the next few weeks incumbent U.S. Representatives will declare if they are running for reelection to Congress. All 435 seats will be decided by the voters on Nov. 8.

Voters in Pennsylvania should pay attention to the reelection announcements of the eight Congressmen who tried to destroy our democracy by swallowing the lies of Donald Trump that there was election fraud.

Seven Pennsylvania Representatives signed onto a Texas lawsuit to challenge the Electoral College. Then, on January 6, eight Representatives voted against approving the certified Electoral College votes, all while the violent riot of insurrectionists stormed the capitol and threatened each one of them.

We came close to losing the country that day, and eight Pennsylvania Congressmen are responsible. They do not belong in Congress, and certainly don’t deserve another term.

Here they are, the eight Pennsylvania Congressmen who tried to overthrow our legitimately elected government: Mike Kelly, John Joyce, Scott Perry, Dan Meuser, Glenn Thompson, Fred Keller, Lloyd Smucker and Guy Reschenthaler.

So far 719 of the January 6 rioters have been charged, with many sent to prison. Surely, Pennsylvania’s “shameless eight” deserve the punishment of the voters.

Not one of them had the courage to stand up to Trump’s lies. And not one of them has had the courage to own up to and even try to explain their January 6 actions.

We can do better. We must do better. Do not return any of them to serve again in the government they tried to destroy.

All public schools need adequate support

If you think the Pennsylvania legislature has an enviable record of support for public education, think again: We rank 45th in state support for our public schools. You might be surprised to know that Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi are among states that provide more support.

Moreover, there are significant discrepancies across the commonwealth in the operating funds available for each school district.

Such imbalances are being tested in a landmark trial currently underway before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.

In shocking statements heard before the court recently, the attorney representing Senate President Jake Corman, who wants to be our next governor, argued against certain academic standards. “What use would a carpenter have for biology?” asked Corman’s lawyer, John Krill. “What use would someone on the McDonald’s career track have for Algebra 1?” he continued. He then went on to say that the commonwealth needs people who know how to flip a pizza crust.

What?! Is this the kind of educational system our Republican leaders stand for — watered down, inadequately funded and with allocations that fall short for rural and urban schools in poorer districts?

Education to promote workforce development is important, but a broadly-educated population is equally important, and we must not pigeonhole children into career paths by underfunding our public school systems. We must adequately support all of our public schools, especially those that are underfunded.

An education is as much a public good as it is a private good. Pennsylvania cannot afford to elect a governor who doesn’t understand that.