Recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Pennsylvania’s newspapers:
Mob’s acts must be rebuked
Altoona Mirror
Jan. 7
Those who took such actions Wednesday are far different from the thousands of the legitimate protesters in the nation’s capital to show their lawful support for President Donald Trump, who objected to the election results but who didn’t take part in unlawful activities.
There is a large gap between constitutionally protected freedom of speech and petitioning one’s grievances and those who failed to obey lawful long-established security measures.
Storming through barriers and breaking into the Capitol cross a red line that all Americans should respect despite one’s political beliefs.
Trump’s late and timid tweets during the siege on the Capitol were also disappointing. Americans should expect any president to put his or her personal interests aside to deescalate inflamed emotions for the good of the nation.
We understand some Americans question the legitimacy of the results of the Nov. 3 election - just as others tried for years to de-legitimize and undermine Trump’s 2016 election victory.
But our disputes should not devolve into criminal activity. Mob mentality should never prevail.
The United States and Americans are better than that. We have to be.
Regrettably, we fear that emotions will continue to overwhelm a sense of right and wrong. The nation has become increasingly divided, fueled in part by the excessive rhetoric from both sides of the political aisle.
This shameful display should encourage both sides to avoid comments that could inspire hatred and unlawful activity. Both sides should remember their words and actions don’t exist in a vacuum; they have a cumulative effect on the thinking and actions of others.
As Americans, we can have disagreements - even heated ones - about policy, legislation and ideas. But it’s imperative these disagreements remain lawful and reasonably respectful. That’s who Americans have been for centuries, and it’s who we should strive to be going forward.
Let us take a deep breath and recognize Wednesday’s actions by some malcontents are not who we are and something we, as Americans, should never let happen again.
Online: http://bit.ly/3orV7zQ
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Mourning the loss of Rep. Mike Reese, a dedicated public servant
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Jan. 4
If you drive around Westmoreland County, you might think that Mike Reese was running for the state House of Representatives again.
The green-and-white signs promoting support for him have popped up again like mushrooms. This time they aren’t about swaying a vote in the November election, which he won for the seventh time.
They are candles lit in his memory.
Reese died unexpectedly Saturday at the age of 42, the victim of a brain aneurysm. He was recovering from a covid infection, but a direct link to the virus has not been established.
His death is, first, a wrenching loss for his wife, Angela, and their three young children, plus his extended family. We extend our sympathies as they grieve.
But moreover, Reese’s death has robbed the people of the 59th Legislative District of a man roundly heralded as the best kind of public servant - a leader, an advocate, a personable represenative of his district who played straight and fair.
State Rep. George Dunbar, R-Penn Township, called him “probably the most respected member of the House.” Majority Leader Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre, called him a model legislator. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, ordering flags to fly at half-staff, called him “a good man and a strong leader.” His Democratic colleague Rep. Dan Miller from Mt. Lebanon said “Mike was always approachable and I looked forward to what we could’ve done together this coming session in our respective roles.” Across the state, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democrat from Philadelphia, said he was “truly heartsick” over Reese’s death.
Reese was deeply involved in education issues, and this tribute from the Pennsylvania State Education Association is telling: He was “a thoughtful, fair legislator who could hold a differing opinion while being respectful, kind and open minded. He was truly one of the good ones, and he will be missed by us.”
Reese was recently elected to a leadership position for the coming term. And that means the loss extends to every Pennsylvanian - even those in corners of the state where they never saw those green signs.
Let us hope that some people decide to honor him by doing what he did.
Those who are already in government should do what they say Reese did - put constituents first and foster an atmosphere of cooperation.
And those who aren’t in government should learn to participate. Stand up. Step forward. Serve your neighbors.
Public service is the best memorial for a public servant.
Online: http://bit.ly/39fi1UC
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Scott Perry must resign
The York Dispatch
Jan. 7
A day that should have seen the nation take the final steps toward its ritual peaceful transfer of power instead saw that process brought to a violent standstill as thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of a rigged election stormed the Capitol.
That shocking, frightening display of lawlessness was followed shortly after midnight by the sight of Rep. Scott Perry leading a gang of Republican congressmen in an ill-advised, ultimately fruitless attempt to disenfranchise his own constituents by objecting to the counting of the electoral votes from “my beloved commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
If Perry truly believes that the election that returned him to the Capitol for a fifth term was illegal and the results should be overturned, he does have a personal recourse. He can and should resign. Immediately.
“When votes are accepted under unconstitutional means, without fair and equal protection for all, the only result can only be an illegitimate outcome,” Perry said on the House floor during debate over his objection to Pennsylvania’s votes.
How can anyone who says that the votes that put him into his office, the votes that allowed him voice on the House floor during one of the most important functions Congress has, overseeing the orderly transfer of power to a new presidential administration, were accepted under unconstitutional means and produced an illegitimate outcome, and then keep that office?
How can a man who only Sunday swore once again to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic turn around early Thursday morning and try to steal away the votes of the people he was elected to represent, using grounds that have been rejected time and time again by a variety of judges?
How can such a man then expect to hold the respect of those constituents and expect them to trust him to hold their best interests at heart while representing them?
It can’t be done. Perry has taken a step too far. He cannot be trusted to represent the people of the 10th District, the people whose votes he was so willing to cast aside in the service of a demagogue of a president who just hours earlier had incited a mob to force their way into the U.S. Capitol building.
Wednesday afternoon saw rioters swarm overmatched security forces to occupy the halls of Congress, causing a halt to formal certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Vice President Mike Pence, who was to oversee the certification, was evacuated. House and Senate members were protected at an undisclosed location while the rioters broke into their offices and took selfies on the floor of the House and Senate chambers.
One person was reportedly shot and killed on the Capitol grounds, three others reportedly died as a result of medical conditions, and several police officers were injured.
It had all the trappings of an attempted coup. And it was entirely predictable.
The president has thrived on chaos and anarchy for most of his four years in office. His repeated efforts to undermine the legitimacy of an election he overwhelmingly lost - abetted by reliably conspiratorial voices among right-wing media and lawmakers like Perry - has created an army of like-minded partisans who feel justified in their beliefs, their belligerence and their violence.
Unable to accept defeat, Trump has continued to embrace the fantasy that he was robbed of the election and has encouraged this angry conspiracy theory in his followers, nodding and winking and instigating all the way.
Perry has gone along with this fantasy, culminating in his speech on the House floor early Thursday morning - followed by a shouting match with fellow Pennsylvania Rep. Connor Lamb - and his vote, along with 137 other Republicans, to not count Pennsylvania’s electors.
He is a disgrace to Pennsylvania and our democracy, and he has to go.
Online: http://bit.ly/35iU0uz
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Sen. Brewster should have been seated
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jan. 7
While the eyes of the nation narrowed on Georgia, Republican senators in Pennsylvania snatched the session from the state’s lieutenant governor and blocked the swearing-in Tuesday of a duly-elected Democratic senator in what amounts to an insurrection that threatens American democracy and rule of law.
Despite state certification of the re-election of Sen. Jim Brewster of McKeesport, the Pennsylvania Senate refused Tuesday to swear him in with the other contestants who had won election.
All because of a federal court challenge by his electoral opponent in the razor-thin race.
Well, the race was razor thin, indeed. A mere 69 votes secured the election for Mr. Brewster. But, he won.
He won.
And he should have been sworn in with the two dozen other victors.
Failing to do so amounts to a slap in the face to the voters of the 45th District, who have been represented by Mr. Brewster the last decade. And it is a slap in the face to democracy.
His Republican opponent, Nicole Ziccarelli, is challenging the election in federal court. That is her right. Because, in the United States of America, anyone can sue anyone for anything. And she will have her day in court, barring a dismissal of her anemic legal action. She wants the federal court to cancel votes in the race, thereby swinging the win to her. In the meantime, the duly elected Mr. Brewster - and he was duly elected, according to state election officials, whether the Republican senators like it or not - should have been allowed to take his seat.
Tuesday’s antics didn’t end with the GOP majority refusing to seat Mr. Brewster. Interim Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman added insult to injury by wresting control of the proceedings from Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the official presiding officer. Yes, Mr. Fetterman violated Senate protocol. But the Senate violated the rule of law.
Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa called it a “hostile takeover” of the Senate. And he was right. Gov. Tom Wolf called the proceedings “a shameful power grab that disgraces the institution.” And he was right.
Hostile. Shameful. They are good words to describe Tuesday’s unprecedented unfoldings. But the more crucial assessment came from the governor, who pointed out that “it is simply unethical and undemocratic to leave the district without a voice simply because the Republicans don’t like the outcome of the election.”
It is a sad state of affairs but, soberingly, not surprising. It is in keeping with the equally disgraceful behavior of some Republican lawmakers in Washington who, Wednesday, thumped their chests and put on a meaningless and cynical show objecting to certifying the election of President-elect Joe Biden as violence erupted outside the U.S. Capitol between supporters of President Donald Trump and police.
Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate has abused its power. Party-line votes nullified Mr. Brewster’s election and Mr. Fetterman’s rightful position as presiding officer. This is the tyranny of the majority our Founders warned against.
Online: http://bit.ly/39csBfh
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What we thought we knew about 2020 was wrong
Harrisburg Patriot News/Pennlive.com
Jan. 2
Many of us began 2020 taking for granted the relative comfort and freedom we enjoyed-to get whatever we wanted, when we wanted it; and to do what we wanted to do, when and with whom we chose.
While not everyone experienced the same level of wealth, health, luck and happiness, most of us expected or hoped to do as well or better in the coming year as we had done in the last. But in a dramatic fashion, we learned that we didn’t know what we thought we knew.
So many truisms about daily life went out the window in 2020 - and larger lessons about ourselves and our fellow man and woman were forced upon us, like it or not. Musing about the lessons learned in a pandemic may seem like the province of the privileged - especially while others around us are too exhausted or stricken to think at all. Yet, those of us privileged to emerge from 2020 having escaped great loss surely have a duty to do so as better people.
So, here’s a reflection on what we thought we knew about both the mundane and the important, which often seemed to merge.
We thought we preferred sleeping in on Sundays. We learned how much attending church in person meant.
We thought we’d always dread switching from weekend to work mode on Sunday nights. We learned that it was better than having no work at all or too much “essential” work.
We thought we had to “do something” on weekends that was worth telling coworkers about or posting pictures of on social media. We learned to appreciate things we once deemed boring, such as jigsaw puzzles and board games with family.
We thought the elections and the superiority of our side were the most important topics of 2020. We learned that personal relationships and communities are more important than political opinions.
We thought we’d always buy our bread at the grocery store. We learned how to bake sourdough bread - and to cook more of our meals rather than relying on convenience food.
We thought we were immune to panic buying. When supplies seemed to be dwindling, we found ourselves grabbing extra items - or things we didn’t even normally buy - with no thought for our neighbors.
We thought we’d never tire of binge-watching Netflix until we did - and we learned that a book can still be absorbing and mind-expanding.
We took for granted the people who: teach public school (glorified babysitters), work in checkout lines (too slow), run small businesses (charge too much), drive trucks (too fast), provide health care (don’t listen), respond to emergencies (always asking for donations), volunteer (it would be nice to have the time), deliver mail (too slow). We had a complaint about nearly everyone - until we learned how wrong we were.
To the above list, we could add hairstylists, tech support, veterinarians, plumbers and all types of repair people; pastors who’ve kept congregations connected; and local farmers who’ve given away truckloads of eggs and milk, no questions asked.
We thought we needed so many things: the latest fashions, kitchen gadgets and digital devices; our favorite food and beverages always at hand; our preferred product brands. We learned to use what we already have.
Most important, we thought we were in control. Now we know that whatever is the “new normal” will continue to change regardless of our wishes.
Who knows how long the lessons of 2020 will stick. But our best possible resolution for 2021 might be to welcome the new year with a lot more humility, patience, empathy and gratitude.
Online: http://bit.ly/35mWB6X
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