Finally. A breakthrough. We've been waiting a long time to hear a statement that would save us from falling off the fiscal cliff. The president said, “We are reducing taxes on production.” He continued, “We are investing money in the economy. We are optimizing state expenses.”

Grand news: lower taxes, revving up the economy, a smaller government. But it wasn't our president who said this. It was Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation.

That's right. The breakthrough is with the former Soviet Union becoming an increasingly free market economy. Unfortunately, while the Russian Federation is experiencing a breakthrough we are experiencing a breakdown. How so?

Obama has 21 new taxes that will kick in progressively from 2013 to 2018. Plus an estimated $500 billion picked out of the public's wallet over the next ten years for Obamacare. Obama isn't “investing in the economy” but in a bigger government to administer more social programs.

Obama's tax binge closely approximates the results of the fiscal cliff. Either we immediately fall headlong off the fiscal cliff or we avoid the fiscal cliff only to parachute slowly down a four-year descent into Obama-land, the same black hole that Russia is climbing out of. Either way, our chance of avoiding a recession is the same as buying a losing lottery ticket.

To fund his tax-thirsty social programs Obama wants the authority to raise the debt limit by as much as he wants when he wants without congressional approval.

In short, while Russia is turning right, we're turning hard left.

The Russian newspaper, Pravda, featured an op-ed titled, “Obama's Soviet Mistake.” According to the article's author, Xavier Lerma, “He [Barack Obama] is a Communist without question promoting the Communist Manifesto without calling it so.”

Lerma continued, “His cult of personality mesmerizes those who cannot go beyond their ignorance. They will continue to follow him like those fools who still praise Lenin and Stalin. Obama's fools and Stalin's fools share the same drink of illusion.”

Obama a Communist? No one cheered louder at the news of Obama's reelection than the official organ for the U.S. Communist Party, the Daily Worker, now called the People's World. Their newspaper celebrated Obama's victory with a headline that blared, “We Won.” Note: it was not “He” Won, but “We” Won.

The U.S. Communist Party has a history of supporting Obama. It backed him in his successful bid in the 2004 Illinois Senate race. And again the party endorsed him in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns for the presidency.

Even Obama's official campaign slogan for his 2012 presidential run, Forward, should have been “red” flagged by voters. Vladimir Lenin titled his fledgling communist newspaper, Forward, in 1905. Since that time according to Wikipedia the word “carries a special meaning in socialist political terminology. It has been frequently used as a name for socialist, communist and other left-wing newspapers and publications.”

So, then, exactly what is Obama, a liberal, a socialist, a progressive, a fellow traveler, or a communist? Here we're arguing about shades of red, a continuum starting with faint pink to ruby red. Pick your shade of red.

As People's World wrote, “If Romney won, it would have accelerated to warp drive a capitalist class counterrevolution---a reversal of seventy years of social progress.”

Obama convincing win of the popular vote by 2 million and a winning margin of 97 electoral votes assures that this nation will continue making “social progress.”

Is the new USA the United Soviets of America? Maybe not---at least not yet.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Members of the Friends of Susquehanna County, Inc., I wish to thank the Susquehanna County Transcript, for assisting our organization during this last year. Through the coverage of our events, and the news articles that were printed, our non-profit 501c3 organization was able to fulfill its mission to assist the residents of Susquehanna County.

In 2012 contributions from generous supporters of the Friends enabled us to assist: Susquehanna Community Development Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters, C.A.F.E (Creative Adventures for Education), Care Net Pregnancy Center, Women's Resource Center, Caring Café, NEPA Community Health Care, Nurse/Family Partnership, Susquehanna County Interfaith, Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library Association (Hallstead and Susquehanna Branches), Susquehanna County Area Agency on Aging (Meals on Wheels), True Friends Animal Welfare Center, Susquehanna County 4H, Caring Community Food Pantry (United Methodist Community Church, Great Bend), Trehab Food Bank Susquehanna.

Sincerely,

Alice Deutsch-Chairman

Federal funds are best served in research into the best renewables for our county, instead of just subsidies.

Meanwhile, back on the gasland ranch here in Susquehanna County, Pa. and other counties, the gas drilling bust has started.

Businesses are closing, selling, houses remain on the market for longer periods and now even have “for rent” signs above the “for sale” signs and still sitting, rentals are a plenty, not being rented, gas development down about 50%, Summerhouse Grill Restaurant closing for the winter months due to slow-down, Robinson’s and PJ’s closed in South Montrose. Seven businesses in and around Montrose for sale and still sitting.

I spoke this week to one of our largest landowners and he told me that his royalties are now 1/8 of what they were about four years ago ! The bust has started after only four years plus.

The leasing prices paid by the gas companies has dropped by more than 50% from it's highest point and they're even laying off the landmen! Norse Energy has filed for bankruptcy. Most of the rigs in our county have moved to western Pa. or Ohio for wetter gas to harvest off more products from the wet gas like ethane, butane, propane and make a few extra needed bucks.

So, you can hang on to your wealth fantasies, but come here and talk to the residents and see whether it’s worth having gas wells every 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart in our heaviest sdeveloped areas, and all the compressors stations spewing out their poisons.

I can show you around and tell you who’s talking and who isn’t. Our roads are still full of patches and our countryside is a patchwork of open swatches for endless pipelines filled with high pressure gas of 200 to 1500 lbs. pressure per inch, which is different than the street pipelines of suburbia! Farmers are complaining that they’re only getting $30 an acre in monthly royalties.

We need good, cheap, clean fuel for now and future generations. It’s not worth polluting our air, water and land for this dirty gas where a few of the CEO’s, stakeholders ran off with the bulk of the profits and left most with little or nothing and a dirty environment to deal with.

Sincerely,

Vera Scroggins

Brackney, Pa.