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Stay safe on the zombie internet

Editorials

Earlier this year, digital news organization The Wrap published a story reporting that cybersecurity firm CHEQ had declared up to 76 percent of Twitter’s traffic during the Super Bowl was bots. We won’t get into the details here — that’s by far the most important bit and you can find the rest easily enough — but it’s a critical detail that flew somewhat under the radar. In the last 30-odd years, the internet has cemented itself: in our workplace, in our culture and in our downtime. If you’re above a certain age, you likely remember the early internet as a wide-open ...

Inaccurate depictions of past policy remain

Editorials

When debating current issues, it’s helpful to avoid inaccurate depictions of past policy, especially on immigration, in which both opponents and advocates of President Donald Trump’s policies have views based on not altogether accurate renditions of the past. .Many opponents of Trump’s policies seem to believe the president wants to cut off legal immigration altogether, to shut America’s gates. But in recent times, around 800,000 individuals have taken the oath to become American citizens. In addition, about 1 million people have been granted green cards each year, making them ...

Would budget pass if leaders didn’t get paid?

Editorials

When will Pennsylvanians get fed up? The Pennsylvania General Assembly is among the highest-paid legislatures in the country. The lowest is New Hampshire, where a lawmaker pulls in just $100. The highest paid? Neighboring New York at $142,000. But the Keystone State is close to the top, with a salary over $106,000. That’s more than double the average resident’s salary and 50% more than the median household income. Likewise, Pennsylvania’s governor takes home more than most other top state executives. Once again, New York is the highest at $250,000 a year. It’s the ...

My favorite unsung holiday: National Thrift Shop Day

Local Columns

Can I get a hip, hip, hooray from all my fellow thrift shoppers? This Sunday, Aug. 17, is National Thrift Shop Day! While thrifting has recently become the “in” thing to do, I’ve been at it for as long as I can remember, not because it was cool or trendy, but out of pure necessity. Growing up, my father worked hard but never made a lot of money. My ever-resourceful mother found countless ways to stretch our dollars, and secondhand shopping was one of her favorite secret weapons. Back then, we didn’t call them “thrift stores.” They were “rummage sales,” and to my ...

Disparities in justice another reason to defend Second Amendment

Editorials

With former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden resurfacing in the news in recent weeks, it’s worth a few moments to consider a far less known name: Alexander Ledvina. Ledvina, as Reason magazine recently detailed, was convicted in 2023 of failing to disclose his past drug use when purchasing a firearm. For this, he was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison. If the nature of his crime sounds familiar, it likely is because Hunter Biden violated the same law — but didn’t serve any sentence after his father granted him a presidential pardon. Our point ...

Congressional districts under SCOTUS review

Editorials

Get ready for what could be another landmark Supreme Court case. Last Friday the Justices agreed to consider whether majority-minority Congressional districts drawn to comply with the Voting Rights Act are compatible with the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. In June the Court announced it would rehear a redistricting challenge (Louisiana v. Callais) in the term that begins in October. On Friday they broadened the case by asking parties to address the question of whether the state’s creation of a second majority-minority Congressional district violates the Fourteenth or ...