Letters: A mess to clean up; ‘The normal vs. the crazy’
A mess to clean up
With major layoffs underway in the tech industry, President Biden must be reassured by the relative resiliency of blue collar jobs, even in the face of higher interest rates and their impact on housing and construction. Although the Supreme Court is likely to turn thumbs down on his most recent move to forgive college student debt, the taxes paid by carpenters, painters, electricians, plumbers, roofers, bricklayers and others in the skilled trades will be available to apply to student debt cancellation if he again pursues that vote-buying objective. The explosion of college costs to levels beyond the means of an increasing percentage of American families began with LBJ’s Great Society Higher Education Act of 1965 which ushered in the era of taxpayer involvement in the student loan business. Another example of good intentions, a lack of common sense management by our elected leaders, and a mess for others to clean up.
‘The normal vs. the crazy’
In her rebuttal
she said
our country is no longer left vs. right.
She emphasized:
America is now “the normal vs. the crazy”
A true-fact,
wrapped in Orwellian doublespeak
By a former White House spokeswoman
now a governor,
who still can’t manage
to speak a word of truth.
In concert with
the lunatics,
now in charge of the asylum
that has become the House.
The pretend patriots,
wrapped in various shades of red, white and blue.
So many.
The low-hanging fruit,
screeding during the State of the Union.
The cast of familiars:
A cowardly and solicitous “Speaker.”
The pre-January 6 “tour guides,”
photographing and filming stairs and exits.
The Nordic goddess, wearing white fur,
A person made infamous
for stalking high-school victims of gun violence.
Her pals?
An alleged child sex trafficker.
A gun-toting bartender,
accused of tax evasion,
A former high-school wrestling coach,
with a blind eye to the sexual
exploitation of his young charges.
A violent dentist.
A splash of “fake election” liars,
And, a plethora of pardon seekers.
What crimes did they commit that require a pardon?
The truth is crazy. The lie is normal.
“Strange days indeed.”
All middle schoolers should read ‘Two Degrees’
The news that the Kutztown School District halted a middle school reading program after receiving complaints over a book’s focus on climate change should concern us all.
The book, “Two Degrees” by Alan Gratz, a popular author for young readers, was to be read by every Kutztown student in grades six through eight followed by discussions and then a meeting with the author. The book combines facts about climate change with the fictional stories of young people facing the impacts of what two degrees of warming will do to our planet.
It may be that the fiction side of the book is too strong for some middle schoolers. But the climate side is something they need to know as they inherit the ever-increasing impacts of global warming and climate change.
The Reading Eagle quoted a board member “who raised concerns about pushing a politically charged book about climate change, questioned if the other side would be presented, and called the book fear driven.”
One wonders what the other side of climate change facts might be. Further, if today’s students aren’t frightened about the climate changes they will face in their lifetimes, then both their parents and the school districts are guilty of not telling them the real facts about their future.
We can only hope that every middle schooler in Kutztown and elsewhere will run out and find a copy of “Two Degrees.” And read it. And discuss it with everyone they know. Because this is their future.
Questions about Stingrays’ discontinuation
As a member of the Centre County YMCA and as a young swimmer’s grandmother, I support the 45 member “Stingrays” swim team of the Bellefonte YMCA branch. This weekend, both the Bellefonte girls’ and boys’ teams placed in the top five of ten teams in their league championship meet. Thirty Stingray swimmers have qualified for the upcoming YMCA District Swim championships in York.
This perennially strong team of the Bellefonte YMCA branch owes boundless gratitude to Coach Mark Grello. He has encouraged and shaped dozens of young people as competitive swimmers and, more, as responsible and disciplined youth. Sadly, but deservedly, Coach Grello will retire at the end of this season after six years with the Stingrays.
As the YMCA began a search for a new coach, parents and swimmers prepared to continue. The team held a fundraising “swim-a-thon,” in which participants swam non-stop for 90 minutes. Parents constantly contribute by staffing concession stands at meets, serving as timers, organizing swimmers for their respective heats, and by transporting their swimmers to competitions. Their “home” pool for meets is at the Tyrone High School since the Bellefonte Y pool is too small for competitions.
Last week, without warning, parents were informed that the Stingrays would be discontinued by the Y. Questions remain: With a dearth of swim opportunities and pools in Centre County, why this derailment of a viable program? Will the Centre County YMCA revisit this decision and engage in solution-seeking with those most involved?