Letters: Divisive newsletter misleads again; Questions abound with casino

Divisive newsletter misleads again

The recent Glenn Thompson screed, which he and his staff refer to as a “newsletter,” contained the usual unresearched, divisive propaganda. This time it’s based on the Republican “baby formula conspiracy.”

Biting on the social media bait juxtaposing a stockpile of baby formula at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing site next to empty store shelves, Mr. Thompson jumped on that bandwagon, implying that President Biden is prioritizing the distribution of formula to migrant babies over U.S.-born babies.

As usual, in his effort to sow discord, Thompson either neglected to verify the information or chose to ignore the facts. By law, according to the Flores agreement and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2008, CBP must provide clean and safe detention facilities and follow clearly defined standards of care to detainees. Among other standards, “Food must be appropriate for at-risk detainees’ age and capabilities (such as formula and baby food).”

Mr. Thompson’s boss, Donald Trump, attempted to strip away these fundamental humanitarian protections and lost his bid in court!

To suggest that honoring our humanitarian and legal obligation to babies in migrant holding facilities is exacerbating the nationwide baby formula supply is both false and repugnant.

Just a math and logic footnote: Does Thompson expect constituents to believe the formula at migrant holding facilities could actually fill empty store shelves across the entire country?

Too bad we have a representative who trumpets manufactured discord rather than fosters solutions and goodwill.

Come on, GT. Where’s the rest of the story?

Questions abound with casino

Regarding the proposed “mini” casino, I wrote to ask the PGCB to either vote “no” or delay any vote for another six months and hold an informational meeting here in the intervening time. There are many unanswered questions, such as: Will weapons be allowed? Will alcohol be served? Will minors be allowed? Will there be a security person at every doorway? Will security be the responsibility of the mall, or Bally’s or College Township? Will all employees be part-time? Will there be a living wage for this region? What is the length of the current agreement? Has a Bally’s casino ever gone bankrupt? Have they ever been sued? Will officials from the Pa. Gaming Control Board be present at all times? What types of businesses do they expect to be attracted (pawn shops, XXX store)? What are the expected hours, as opposed to mall stores?? What is Bally’s record in other communities? Have they ever sued a community? (Yes.)

I think that for us to make informed comments, questions like these need to be answered and there should be another hearing, an informational meeting where local people can ask questions, here.

If the state will not provide it, we have our own local leaders at the Centre Region or county level who know how to organize a public hearing. This will affect all of us. Any vote should be postponed 6 months.

There is more to having a good community than tourism. Gambling is a money drain, not “development.”

Wrong climate for would-be teachers

You’re a college-bound junior in high school with grades and talent galore but you’re not sure what you want to major in. You’d like to be a teacher because teachers encouraged and inspired you. You want to give back.

But then there’s the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, with all of its antecedent shootings and a listless security system. Instead of risking life and limb and economic security teaching, you could get a job on Wall Street.

To add to the burden of teaching, you have to deal with overbearing school boards that create problems the teachers need to respond to, wasting time that could be better used for teaching. In most cases, the teachers must prove a negative (impossible) and then walk on eggshells in the classroom for fear they may say something “offensive” and be disciplined for it. Forbid proposing to teach a banned book.

And speaking of low pay, what about the charter schools sucking public dollars from your school district because politicians support them in the name of “freedom?” Forget the public and the education, be free. Whatever that means.

What major do you think that high school junior is going to sign up for?