Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Lehigh Valley Sen. Pat Toomey (R) proposes letting the White House make targeted spending cuts to avoid across-the-board reductions if the sequester kicks in Friday.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey wants to let the White House make federal budget cuts required by the impending sequester to "cut in the least disruptive way possible." Read more: Saucon Valley residents react to sequestration's potential affects. Toomey, a Republican from Zionsville, Lehigh County, said the move would help keep air traffic controllers on the job while cutting spending in redundant areas such as the federal government's 15 different financial literacy programs. "I'm not sure the federal government has demonstarted it's qualified to teach financial literacy," Toomey joked in a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon. He noted that the sequester will require only about 2 percent of spending to be cut from a government budget…
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
In the following letter, Mike McNeish of Lower Saucon Township questions the motives of Congressional Republicans with regard to the current sequestration budget crisis.
- OPINION
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Tuesday, February 26
To the editor: In recent press accounts, Congressman Charlie Dent echoed the standard Republican litany that the President has not presented any plans to solve the sequestration crisis. He said, "I want to see something." I think perhaps Congressman Dent has donned the standard Republican eyeware: namely, blinders to anything that fairly distributes the financial burdens of this country, blinders that only allow deficit reduction on the backs of the poor and the middle class. Plans abound, Congressman Dent, you just don’t seem to want to see them. Last week, Senate Democrats produced a much better plan, one that would raise $55 billion by imposing a minimum tax on incomes of $1 million or more and ending some business deductions; an equal …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Unless Congress takes action by March 1, a number of budget cuts called the sequestration will take effect. Things such as recently-approved Superstorm Sandy aid are at risk.
Are you concerned about a looming series of automatic budget cuts called the sequestration? According to reader responses to a question posted via social media, some of you are, at least to a degree. "It feels like I'm watching a reality show and the season/series finale will be like the season finale to 'Lost,'" wrote Saucon Valley resident Tina Olson-Wilkins on Hellertown Patch's Facebook wall. And Hellertown resident Allan Bach said the current debate is symptomatic of a larger unresolved issue, which he identified as "a government run by greed and popularity." The budget cuts that have legislators--and some constituents--worked up would come as a result of "sequestration"--a mechanism to reduce federal spending across the board. …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Hellertown and Lower Saucon volunteers recently donated their time to perform a thorough cleaning of the Saucon Valley Community Center, which provides daycare for children, hot lunches for the elderly and after-school teen activities.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
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Sunday, January 27
Volunteers from Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township recently participated in a National Day of Service that was held in conjunction with Barack Obama's second inauguration as president of the United States. Organizer Gloria McVeigh said the volunteers performed a thorough cleaning of Hellertown's Saucon Valley Community Center, which provides daycare for children, after-school activities for teens and hot lunches for local elderly residents. The National Day of Service activity was hosted by the Hellertown/Lower Saucon Obama Volunteers, McVeigh said. "(Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township) came together during the campaign and we'll continue to support the President's 2nd term agenda," she added. Participating in the clean-up were:
40.57634
-75.33899
Saucon Valley Community Center
323 Northampton St, Hellertown, PA
/articles/local-volunteers-take-part-in-national-day-of-service
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/locations/8675965
Friday, January 18, 2013
Although vestiges of our racist past still linger, Americans are moving forward with Barack Obama's second inauguration.
On Monday, Jan. 21, Barack Obama will be inaugurated for the second time as President of the United States. The same day the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It does not celebrate my birthday, which happens to be January 21, 1928, the year before Dr. King was born. The two events celebrated Monday are not unconnected. Dr. King was an extraordinary civil rights leader who was gifted with intelligence, energy, passion, vision and superb oratory. Before he spoke to a huge crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 23, 1963, the election of a black man to be president of the United States was simply not possible. Excerpted below, this is what he said that changed that:* "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise …
Friday, January 11, 2013
Almost 800,000 federal workers will join the ranks of the unemployed in the event of a shutdown. Members of Congress, however, will continue to be paid.
As a Democrat, I confess that I am not overjoyed with Obama. Sure, I would have been appalled if Romney had won. However, I did not vote for Obama to have him fail to defend the principles on which he ran: social justice such as health care, unemployment relief, food stamps, the redistribution of the tax burden, education and immigration reform, etc. He also ran on the proposition that the national debt should be reduced. To let the Tea Party succeed in holding hostage the country with threats of fiscal cliffs or other self-inflicted financial calamities because Republicans are in fear of being attacked from the right is simply to surrender his agenda to nincompoops. In short, Obama has allowed the idiots to run the asylum. We are now …
Friday, November 30, 2012
If we only knew what the meaning of “is” is.
For reasons probably peculiar to me, I though that President Clinton’s comment on the Lewinsky affair was profound. In any event, there is little doubt that he had a sexual relationship with Monica, even though he may never have had intercourse with her. Clinton was impeached for lying about this relationship, but acquitted in a trial before the Senate. He, of course, finished his term and today is widely admired, whatever his peccadilloes. General Petraeus, having served in the military for many years and with increasing responsibilities, resigned from the Army and accepted an appointment by President Obama to become the chief of the CIA. Subsequently, it came to public attention through a somewhat bizarre exchange of emails that Petraeus…
Friday, November 16, 2012
President Obama has every right to stick to his guns.
If Romney had won and Obama had lost, I would be seriously depressed and consider that the Republicans would, and have the right to, impose their agenda. The one whine from me might have been that Romney’s victory had been brought about by the seemingly endless media ads paid for by super-pac donors with limitless pocket books. Happily from my standpoint, Romney lost and Obama won with a sizeable margin of votes in the electoral college and in the popular vote. This victory was somewhat of a surprise to the country, and especially to the Romney camp, which after the election freely conceded that they thought Romney was a shoe-in. There is no need for me to crow over the victory, and I don’t. Indeed, H.L. Mencken’s famous remark “No one …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
A petition on the official White House website, We The People, has more than 1,000 signatures so far.
The President won a decisive victory but there are still many disgruntled Americans who are not happy with the path Barack Obama has chosen and they want their home states to secede. Petitions from more than 30 states have been posted on the White House's 'We The People' website--where individuals can post petitions and voice concerns. If a petition gets more than 25,000 electronic signatures then the White House will respond. A petition for Pennsylvania reads: "Peacefully grant the State of Pennsylvania to withdraw from the United States of America and create a NEW government." On Tuesday morning, Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. there were 1,528 signatures. Texas leads the effort with 63,910 signatures. Lousiana also has more than 25,000. Of course …
Friday, November 9, 2012
A substantial number of Americans disagree with raising taxes on rich people. Why?
It may seem to many of my readers that I am some kind of know-it-all. It is true that 84 years give one a lot of time to read, learn, experience and get in trouble, but I confess that lots of things still puzzle me. One of them is this: Why is it that there is so much resistance to increasing taxes on the very wealthy, especially at a time when the wealthiest Americans, the top 1 percent, own approximately 50 percent of the total wealth in America? I am not here to persuade you one way or the other. As has often been said, a person is entitled to his or her own opinion but not his or her own facts. The facts are that prior to the recent election, the pollsters reported that well over a majority of Americans were in favor of increasing the…
Tony
3:03 pm on Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Time will tell. Working Americans will see and vote for their best interests. If American voters enjoy losing their overtime pay and agree with the republicans and Cantor, then vote next time around Republican. We can see that the republican party still does not get it. Look at their actions toward Chris Christie, who is the best hope for them to win a 2016 election. Not invited to CPAC. You know… more ›