Letters: Trump can’t be counted on; Centre County now has Nurse Honor Guard
Trump can’t be counted on
Article II, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution mandates the following oath or affirmation before a U. S. President takes office: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Can we count on Donald Trump to support that oath if he wins this year’s election?
According to the rules included in that same section and article, President Joe Biden fairly won the 2020 election. Trump did not accept the results and by various means attempted to thwart the peaceful transfer of power. This clearly was a failure to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
In December 2022, in furtherance of his Big Lie, he tweeted, “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” That certainly doesn’t suggest a penchant for preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution.
Trump has already declared that he intends to be a dictator “on day one.” Being a dictator for even one day is not permitted by the checks and balances of our Constitution. And what might a dictator “for one day” do to ensure his status as dictator going forward?
Donald Trump has demonstrated through past actions and words, that he cannot be counted on to uphold the President’s Oath of Office. Please vote — and with that knowledge in mind.
Centre County now has Nurse Honor Guard
A Centre County Nurse Honor Guard was formed. The nurse honor guard is a volunteer organization, not for profit, comprised of both registered and licensed practical nurses, actively working and retired. The nurse honor guard performs tributes for their fallen comrades at either the funeral home or church, providing a 5-7 minute tribute to the nurse. The tributes consist of an arrangement of tributes to what the nurse has done throughout their life, a nightingale tribute, the nurse’s prayer, and a last call. The last call is like a military tribute, but done with a chime and nurse lamp presentation.
Any active and retired nurses wanting to volunteer, please contact me at 814-931-6966 or search “The Centre County Nurse Honor Guard” on Facebook.
Both sides oppose Thompson’s farm bill
Representative Glenn Thompson has accomplished something few politicians have — his recent farm bill drew stinging criticism from both conservatives and liberals.
The major sticking point is that tens of billions of dollars in subsidies would primarily flow to a few thousand of America’s wealthiest cotton, rice and peanut farmers — i.e. big agribusiness — and the money would most likely be siphoned from climate funds or food aid.
Conservatives say the bill is a guarantee, not a safety net, that will distort the markets. Instead of aiding farmers on the margins, it would expand support for successful operations, advantage farmers of specific crops, and dole out automatic payments no matter what the market does.
Progressives also say these taxpayer-funded subsidies protect unsustainable forms of farming that have made our food system more vulnerable, less diversified — and our food more expensive and less nutritious!
Both left and right oppose the bill’s funding plan, which would increase the deficit. Thompson proposes offsetting costs by cutting funds to help farmers deal with the impacts of climate change, and to feed low-income Americans, including families here in rural Pennsylvania.
Thompson masquerades as an advocate for rural Pennsylvanians. Don’t be fooled. He prioritizes corporate profits over hungry children, champions large corporations over family farms, refuses to address the dangers of climate change, which is altering growing seasons, increasing flooding and intensifying heat-stress for livestock and farmhands.
It’s long past time we have a Representative who actually supports our district.
What would Gibbs do?
We who love the show “NCIS” love the characters. We laugh and cry with them. They tug our heartstrings as we feel deep kinship with them.
As the 2024 election fast approaches, I ask myself, “What would Gibbs do?”
I don’t ask about his political leanings; he’s never said a word about them. But he cares about his job, justice and integrity.
I think of what he might say if he discovered the boxes of classified material in the bathroom at Mar-a-Lago: “Who’s the idiot who put them there!?”
The guilty party would get a hard slap to the back of the head, and another one, and another one. “This is not a secure area!” “Who cleans the toilet?” “Does the janitor have a security clearance?” “Who’s watching to ensure that no one opens a box and stuffs some of the papers into his pants — to sell to the Russians or to the Chinese?” And, finally, “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
Then Gibbs would go to the people who hired this fool and slap them, too, repeating, “Stupid is not an option.”
The person who stored classified documents in the bathroom wants a job as president. If we are foolish enough to give it to him, Gibbs will come slap us. Hard. And those who nominated him, and campaign for him, should get slapped to the tune of, “Stupid is not an option.”
Let’s be the ones delivering the slap, not the ones receiving it this November.