Letters: Local lawmakers should defend public education; Oz’s commitment to PA

Local lawmakers should defend public education

School teachers and school board members have held rallies to call attention to Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s proposal to cut the state’s contribution to public schools by $10,000 per student. “Drastic” does not come close to describing what that would mean to our public schools, which the General Assembly is constitutionally mandated to maintain and support.

What surprises me is that more people have not protested. I’m especially disappointed that our local lawmakers — U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff and State Senator Jake Corman — haven’t spoken out publicly against Mastriano’s proposal. You may quarrel with the outcome, but all three graduated from public schools in Centre County so you’d think they’d immediately understand the problem with Mastriano’s draconian proposal.

Corman has stood up to Mastriano in the past. Perhaps he will do so again and defend public schools.

Oz’s commitment to PA

Here’s a question. Do you think Dr. Oz will remain in Pennsylvania if he loses the election? If you are inclined to support him and can honestly answer that you believe he will, then go ahead and vote for him. If you don’t believe he will, that should tell you all you need to know about his commitment to Pennsylvania.

Clear choice in parties

We now have a clear choice. We have the Democratic Party that favors free and fair elections, and we have the Republicans who don’t. They subvert the vote by reducing ballot access to areas that do not favor them. They practice extreme gerrymandering in order to stay in office. They basically lie and cheat or do anything it takes to take and keep office.

Now we hear they will not even debate with the League of Women Voters running the debate as they have for decades, because their leader is now so extreme they can’t please the cult base and moderates. They are a party that now wishes women to relinquish their freedoms to the state because they do not want to limit population growth, as that is cheap labor and a bigger potential market for goods. But that is not what they tell the evangelicals.

Republicans are now dominated by very big money interests, so you will see plenty of misleading adds. Those big money interests want to eliminating anything that costs them money or limits their activities. That includes all government expenses. So they want no taxes levied save for the military, no social security, no medicare, no union rights, no dealing with the climate crisis, and nothing that allows citizens to protest ill treatment by business interests.

Eliminating a woman’s right to choose, and all that entails is the tip of the iceberg. They will want to strip away personal rights and privileges. Please don’t let them.

American rights are on the ballot

The Centre County incumbent Republicans on the ballot this Nov. 8 are Glenn Thompson and Kerry Benninghoff. When you wonder how important your next vote is, consider these bills elected Republicans voted against:

• Fighting climate change
• Voting rights
• Stimulus checks
• Cheaper gas

Against:

• Child tax credits
• More baby formula
• Cheaper insulin
• Codifying Roe v Wade
• Prosecuting rich tax cheats

Against:

• Veteran cancer care
• Ending gerrymandering
• Fighting domestic terrorism
• Keeping birth control legal
• Background checks
• Upholding elections

The U.S. Constitution says we have the right to life (health care; safety everywhere); liberty (freedom to vote); and the pursuit of happiness (loving whomever we choose, living and worshiping where we want.) In the oldest democracy in the world, these freedoms were guaranteed never to be taken away.

This election — Nov. 8, 2022 — will determine if we keep any or all of these rights. Vote for your life, because it’s that important.