A recent op-ed article written by Paul Krugman of The New York Times and published in the Scranton, Pa. Times-Tribune mentioned the fact that President Obama's tax increases for the richest people in the Country have effectively rolled back the tax cuts that the Reagan and Bush Administrations combined.

If that is true, then how come the National Debt has gone from $10.6 Trillion Dollars to more than $18 Trillion Dollars under President Obama's 8 years of leadership? Is it because of the Progressive Democratic Agenda? It's funny that President Obama didn't mention any of that stuff in his final State of the Union speech January 12.

We are a nation of 330 million-plus people in the U.S., and if we don't start getting our Country in fiscal order pretty soon under accountable, competent, and responsible leadership, then our alternative will eventually be economic ruin. Take that for what it's worth.

Sincerely,

John Hollenback

Greenfield Twp., Pa.

I've been watching the steady decline of the gas industry development in my county of Susquehanna, Pa. It started about a year ago.  The gas industry development has produced a glut of gas; lack of sufficient storage and lack of pipelines has brought the price down to the cellar.

Also, OPEC has lowered oil barrel prices, crashed them and it's affected gas prices. Gas stocks are crashing also, with little profit for the gas industry in my county this past year. Royalty payments are crashing for landowners. Now it's 2016.  The low prices continue and the gas industry is in deep trouble.  This may be a telling year.  How will Cabot, Southwestern, Chief and others survive as viable companies.

Cabot is developing less than 50% of what they did in 2014.  Workers are laid off and bankruptcies may be just around the corner.  Talisman and WPX sold their leases to other companies and bailed out.

More opposition than ever is happening in New York and New England to stop the pipelines and compressor stations.  People are getting arrested by the hundreds to stop fossil fuel storage and development.  It's been an interesting and exciting year. 

The time is ripe for our governments to fully embrace green and renewable energy and subsidize it, as they have been subsidizing the oil and gas industry for many years.  Global warming needs this transition to green energies like the sun, wind, geo-thermal, ocean waves, etc.

I am happy to see the demise of this fossil fuel industry. I've seen enough water and air contamination, pollution and health impacts.  We are up to about 1400 gas wells, 45 gas compressor stations and hundreds of miles of new, high-pressure gas pipelines and counting in Susquehanna County alone.  This is a very invasive and toxic form of energy and extraction and we're fast becoming an extraction colony and sacrifice zone for this energy. 

Thankfully, the world is awakening to the damage and toxicity of this industry and willing to resist and oppose it to usher in the golden age of renewables.

Sincerely,

Vera Scroggins

Brackney, Pa.

It all started with American interventionism.

Secular strongman Bashar al-Assad was Syria's president for 40 years. But in 2010, he ran afoul of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She demanded that Assad stop supporting the Lebanese resistance and break relations with Iran. He refused. Big mistake but for whom, Syria or the United States?

To force Assad's departure, the US started covertly supporting rebel forces. This misguided attempt to oust Assad escalated into a full-scale civil war that has been raging for five years.

Assad versus the rebel jihadists (warriors against unbelievers) have been taking turns hurling high explosives at each other. At the same time, the US has busied itself bombing the loyalists while the Russians bombarded the rebels. Pity Syria. There's not much left of her.

More than 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives, 750,000 wounded, and 11 million---that's half of Syria's population---are homeless, destitute, and living a hand-to-mouth existence. And the end is nowhere in sight.

But every conflict has winners; in this one, it's ISIS. ISIS is an acronym that stands for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. It has benefited enormously from the fertile ground of turmoil. The Muslim organization is the government in loco in these war-ravaged states. It offers stability and civil order, albeit at an exorbitant price. And they're big winners financially.

The Islamic State steals oil from Syria and Iraq. A thousand tanker trucks wait for their turn to fill up, cross the Syrian border into Turkey, and sell “their” oil to the Turkish government at 50 percent below market price. The annual income from oil sales and extortion from non-Muslims is $3 billion a year, or $8 million a day with negligible overhead and no taxes.

Eight mill/day provides ample cash to finance their global jihadist war against infidels. Here's what it bought:

• In Russia, a bomb downed an airliner killing 224.

• Paris was brought to its knees after 130 Parisians were massacred.

• In Californian,14 were gunned down in a shooting spree.

• Since the jihadists murdered 2,996 Americans on 9/11, there have been 48 acts of Islamic terrorism in the US and many mass murder plots that were thwarted.

• An average of 63 percent of Muslims in three major Islamic nations and 25 percent of US Muslims supported the terror tactics in America.

What can the US do to protect air travelers and the civilian population? Let's look at aviation safety.

All ticket buyers are checked against a no-fly list. Then it's a shoe-less walk to be patted down and in some cases subjected to a full-body X-ray scan. All carry-ons and luggage are X-rayed. On board, there are armed air marshals traveling incognito. But it's pure theater.

The Department of Homeland Security ran a series of tests. Agents attempted to pass fake explosives, weapons, and other contraband through the screeners. They succeeded 67 out of 70 times. Score the Transportation Security Administration with a failure rate of 96 percent.

What about national safety?

The US Department of Homeland Security is an aggregate of 22 federal departments plus the FBI. Pretty impressive, right? Yes, but here and abroad as well, it's all just a feel-good show.

The DHS failed to provide any forewarning of the attacks on the Twin Towers in 1993 or 2011. No warning was given to alert the police in San Bernardino of Syed Farook and his online, bomb-making bride from Saudi Arabia, Tashfeen Malid.

The Russians fared no better in protecting their air travelers. And the French had no clue as to what was to befall them.

In fact, it is as painfully easy for terrorists to gain entry into the US and other nations as it is for them to smuggle in explosives, fully automatic weapons, or anything else.

Think not?

The US Border Protection and Immigration Customs seize an average of 5 tons of illegal drugs every day. Ergo, the amount of contraband that was undetected must have been appreciatively greater. The jihadists would have no trouble sneaking in ample amounts of explosives and guns.

Forget about belittling the terrorists as wild-eyed fanatics. They are not. They are dedicated Koranic Muslims ready to sacrifice their lives for what they believe is holy and just. Moreover, ISIS is highly organized, well funded, and smart, very smart.

Add to that an unwitting ally, President Barack Hussein Obama.

The president wants to admit 200,000 Syrian refugees. He assured the public that they would be adequately vetted. However, Obama's émigré bonanza is doubly impossible. First, the resources of the US would be overwhelmed by the numbers.

Second, Syria is no longer able to provide information about the health, political background, religion, or criminal history of its citizens. Syria is a state only in a historical sense; that is what it used to be.

Unfortunately, we're yoked with Obama for another year. The Commander in Disbelief is convinced that climate causes terrorism and hindering the influx of Syrian refugees is an ISIS recruitment tool. Carly Fiorina described him as “delusional.” She was being kind.

It's a bleak picture. Five years ago the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton sowed the wind in Syria, today that nation and this reap the whirlwind.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA