With every redaction, democracy dies a little; with every concealment, popular sovereignty is compromised. Without attention to the conduct of government, democracy cannot be sustained. The one side of this preservation is through oversight; the other, the need for an informed electorate. In absence of the first, the second becomes... read more →
Apr
20
Feb
19
JEAN BICKMIRE One of the biggest responsibilities of the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners is the budget, planning and oversight of Lancaster County Prison. Care, custody and control are mandated by law for those who are incarcerated at the county jail. The prison and community re-entry programs for those set... read more →
Feb
10
In 1946 during the Union strike against Ford Motor Company, Executives at Ford claimed that the Union demands were communistic. Walter Ruether, President of the Union, responded by saying that if wanting shorter hours, better pay and fringe benefits were communistic, he was a communist. This year in his State... read more →
Oct
11
Donald Trump has gotten away with lies and frauds his whole life. Most recently we learned his claims of being a self-made billionaire is also false. Documents show his father gave him over $400 million (not $1 million) and rescued him numerous times from failed business deals. Trump assumes facts... read more →
Oct
11
Imagine for a moment a Supreme Court nominee of Barack Obama, or any Democratic president, going off on a wild rant accusing Republicans on the Judiciary Committee of being involved in a right-wing conspiracy against him. Imagine that he accused the Bushes of undermining his nomination out of revenge. Fox... read more →
Sep
25
“What a wonderful world.” I see skies of blue, red roses, too. Trouble is, there are dark clouds, red blood, too, from our inability to rid this world of so many guns. It seems as though our state and national elected representatives have decided to completely ignore the issue. Our... read more →
Aug
28
It was dismaying, although not surprising, to read in a recent Sunday LNP article (“How they voted,” July 29) that U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker had voted to block debate on a recent house bill that seeks to ban the sale of so-called “junk insurance” health care plans. While voting against... read more →
Jul
22
The startling news that Lancaster County is projected to have higher extreme temperatures than anywhere in the Northeast (“Dairy in peril from climate shift”) by 2050 moved me to write. I started this letter out on my patio, but when the heat index passed 90 by 9:30 a.m. I fled... read more →
Jul
19
Regardless of your political affiliation, I think it’s hard to argue that President Donald Trump is a normal, admirable human. He consistently clouds constructive discussion with deliberate lies or accusations of fake news. He intentionally insults individuals, organizations, allies and most of the rest of the world (except for Russia).... read more →
Jul
16
Yes, folks, you too can subvert your republic or democratic institution — just follow President Donald Trump’s lead. You should first have a long history of repeatedly claiming the truth of things that are not so, but over countless repetitions, have become accepted “fact.” Regardless of your true social and... read more →