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Cry the beloved European elite?

Nothing bothers the European elite as much as American conservatives praising the European foundations of their shared, but threatened, Western civilization. Europeans especially resent having their social-welfare state system critiqued by upstart, crass Americans. Their pique only increases as they push back against the condescending American idea that the U.S. could possibly offer any constructive advice, much less help a more civilized Europe follow the “American model.” Americans, in turn, are worried that Europe is not just stagnating but is on a trajectory of permanent ...

Praise given to handwritten Christmas cards

We’ve all come to dread checking the mail. And not just when property taxes are due. Most of the year, the only post we get is bills, which are depressing, or advertisements, headed straight for the trash. Our mailboxes, once filled with interest and promise, have become a breeding ground for junk. Once a year, that changes. Yes, each day’s haul overflows with glossy printouts and holiday gift guides, but they’re also stuffed with photos and letters from friends and loved ones, a return to the joyful nostalgia of those days when the mail was our primary means of ...

This holiday season, support your hometown businesses

Tens of millions of Americans will do most, if not all, their holiday season shopping with giant online retail operations this year. They will argue that it is more convenient or safer for them to do so rather than patronize local brick-and-mortar stores. Now, Fort Dodge will soon become home to one of Amazon’s last-mile delivery stations. The massive building is being constructed now. This is great news for the future of the community, but it is no reason to give up on the existing local retailers. Local retailers, from mom-and-pop specialty shops to the big-box stores, rely on ...

Canada measles outbreak shows that vigilance must not slip

The next outbreak of serious disease is merely “a plane ride away,” public health officials have long warned. The current crop of measles cases in Canada proves that point. A traveler infected with measles visited a community in New Brunswick with a low vaccination rate, sparking a national outbreak of the disease in 2024. About 50 people were sickened in that incident, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Meanwhile, others who were unvaccinated visited the community, traveled home and thus the disease spread across a country where conditions were ripe for an ...

State’s fiscal challenges are alarming

Since all seats of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and about half of those of the state Senate will be on the state’s 2026 election ballots, it’s safe to surmise that commonwealth residents need not fear a state income tax increase, no matter when the Legislature completes its work on a budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The purported deadline for completion of that budget is June 30, but it took the General Assembly more than four extra months beyond June 30 of this year for work on 2025-26’s $50 billion spending package to be finished. It was a mess for which the ...

Road salt issue should be simple

Pennsylvania residents who watched as the just-concluded 2025-26 state budget-preparation debacle played out might be thinking that the Legislature surely might now be able to find an issue that it can handle more quickly and more efficiently. But, in fact, will it? There’s an issue “out there” involving road salt, but state lawmakers have found a way to make it more difficult than it ought to be. Some state lawmakers — and presumably some non-elected officials — believe that road salt’s use ought to be curbed in order to reduce environmental damage stemming from ...