I was happily surprised to see people are as unhappy, all over the world, over the condition our world is in as I am. I am not a strong supporter of Trump but in a choice between him and Hillary, and you care more about your nation surviving than you do "Political Correctness", you will take the time and effort to vote.

How people in American can ignore the reality of Hillary Clinton's gross misbehavior in the Benghazi deaths of our forces, her illegally exposing our Nations' secrets to the whole world through her internet fiasco, her accepting huge amounts of money from enemies of the state on so many occasions is totally beyond my understanding. Electing the first female president is not important if the choice is Hillary Clinton.

It hurt to see the damage Barack Obama has done through his progressive and socialist ways and the contempt and fear he generates throughout the world. Many complained about his lack of leadership and America's refusal to stand strong as we have always done. Like in America, the press openly lies in their praising of Obama and Hillary and ignores the anger of the people. My greatest fear is that people will be so disgusted they will not bother to vote and Clinton will only continue the path we are now on.

My hope is that Trump, as president, will prove to become what America needs by surrounding himself with good, honest people who know the problems and have solutions. This has been how he succeeded in business. And I am old enough to remember the jokes and slander slung when that "Movie Star"- Ronald Reagan had the gall to run for president.

The only thing needed to keep us on this terrible downward trend of morals, hope and security is apathy of the people. Trump was right, we are becoming a third-rate country. The countries we visited were far ahead of us in development. Their highways, the clarity of their directions and the public transportation systems are all modern, smooth running and simple to use. The people are courteous and friendly and rarely hugely overweight. Their first interest is not making money or getting something in life for free – but having a good life.

So please do yourself and your country a favor and pray hard from now until election time that our country wake up to the direction it is going in and votes.

Sincerely,

Annette Corrigan

Jackson Township

Securing the Democratic Party's nomination by a woman was a first for Hillary. But she scored two more firsts: (1) Hillary is the most corrupt female ever to represent a major political party, and (2) Hillary is the only female presidential candidate to be under criminal investigation by the FBI.

Her unflattering persona and political fiascoes have been documented in a number of books: Clinton Cash, Crisis of Conscious, The First Family Detail, Unlikeable, and Unlimited Access. A few quotes from each book gives a measure of her waspish character and habitual dishonesty.

• Clinton Cash: The is a “meticulously researched and documented” account revealing how the Clintons banked their millions. The exposé reveals the two major conduits that funneled cash into the Clintons' coffers.

The law dictates how much politicians can collect in campaign funds, but there's a way around that. There is no limit to how much an individual or a foreign government can contribute to a private charity. How convenient. The Clintons have such a charity.

The Clinton Foundation was founded in 2002. Over the years, it has changed names several times. In 2013, the foundation was renamed, the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. It is one of the world's fastest-growing charities, garnering $2 billion.

However, the total raised for all of their political campaigns and the family’s charitable foundation reach at least $3 billion, according to a Washington Post investigation. But to be fair, the Clintons only siphoned off 90 percent; the remaining 10 percent was given to other charities.

Speeches are another lucrative field. As an example, when Hillary was Secretary of State, Bill gave 11 speeches that netted more than $500,000 each. Three of those addresses fetched a wallet-busting $700,000 each.

Were Bill's presentations so blindingly brilliant to command such fees or were they pay-offs for Madam Secretary's influence?

All told the Clintons collected more than $150 million on the lecture circuit during the past 15 years.

• Crisis of Conscious: Scheduled to be in bookstores later this month, is an eye-opening disclosure written by Gary Byme, a former Secret Service Officer. Byme was posted directly outside President Clinton's Oval Office. His book reveals what he observed of Hillary's behavior and the culture inside the White House.

Its contents are kept secret until it becomes publicly available, but details have leaked out.

Byme portrays Hillary as “erratic, uncontrollable, and occasionally violent. She shifted from friendly to raging on a dime.” Byme cites a loud argument the Clintons had in which he heard Hillary screaming obscenities at Bill. The next morning President Clinton sported “a shiner, a real, put-a-steak-on-it black eye.” A staffer explained it as an allergy to coffee.

“Hillary Clinton is now poised to become the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, but she simply lacks the integrity and temperament to serve in the office,” said Byme.

He continued, “From the bottom of my soul, I know this to be true. I realize that her own leadership style---volcanic, impulsive, enabled by sycophants, and disdainful of the rules set for everyone else---hasn't changed a bit.”

Byme writes that what he saw “sickened me. We were supposed to lay our lives---not our conscious---on the line.”

• The First Family Detail: Penned by Ronald Kessler, journalist and author of 20 non-fiction books. It is a tattle-tale account of several presidents and their first ladies, pertinently, Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Hillary is described as having an “angry personality” and “an explosive temper.” Smiles one minute, snarls the next. Sounds familiar. Hillary is so nasty to agents that being assigned to her protective detail is considered a form of punishment and the worst assignment in the Secret Service.

• Unlikeable: Ed Klein is an author and tabloid writer. His latest book is a behind-the-curtain look at the secret Hillary. The author examines her “accomplishments” in HillaryCare, Monica cover-up, Iraq War vote, Syrian military intervention, Russian reset, Benghazi, deleted e-mails, and selling influence, government secrets, and federal offices.

In a TV interview, he said, “There's something always behind what she's saying, and there's a calculation about her. People thinks she's a liar and untrustworthy.”

• Unlimited Access: Written by FBI special agent Gary Aldrich. He was one of only two officers posted at the White House. Aldrich's book relies on his memories and experiences, other eyewitnesses, and White House insiders.

Aldrich describes a comprehensive security system used by the six previous presidents. It was dismantled by the Clinton crime team so they could bring friends into the White House that other administrations would have barred because of ethical or legal reasons.

“What he [Aldrich] witnessed in the Clinton administration alarmed, then angered, and finally so thoroughly outraged him that he felt compelled to leave the FBI,” wrote a reviewer of Unlikeable.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA

With the General Election underway, it's Phony Season as well. Republicans will pretend to care about a private email server, but they don't really. No one should, because in the final analysis no harm was done.

They're going to pretend to care about Hillary getting paid to make speeches, but their phoniness is obvious. Republicans don't begrudge anyone making money, and unless they've secretly become Commies, they don't oppose high finance. No, they admire it.

They're going to pretend to care about contributions to the Clinton Foundation, but they don't really. Nor should anyone else, since neither Hillary nor her husband run the Foundation! They can't seriously suggest that they're lining their pockets with charity money, since there are charity watchdog organizations, and if this were happening, they wouldn't be giving the Foundation A's.

All this pretense is purely strategic. It's a desperate attempt to use anything they can to knock Hillary down. It's easier than making an affirmative case for their guy, and a lot more gratifying, too.

Meanwhile, there's a lot about Donald Trump they should care about, but don't. They don't care that he's a narcissist and egomaniac. They don't care that he's a bully. They don't care that he's a thrice-married libertine. Nor that he's a phony Christian. They would ordinarily care a lot if a Republican nominee has any of these sever, character flaws (and they'd care even more if they could be pinned on a Democrat.) But all these defects are readily forgiven because of one other characteristic Trump manifests: an appeal to racism. This is so important to the average Trump voter that everything else is unimportant. Working-class whites feel an existential threat to their kind, which justifies and excuses absolutely everything. Including an impending authoritarian dictatorship.

Hey, as long as we know what the Trump movement is all about. Everything else we hear, both anti-Hillary and pro-Trump, is just hypocritical nonsense. So just stick to "White Power!" slogans from now on-- you're not fooling anyone.

Sincerely,

Stephen Van Eck

Rushville, PA

Regarding the political cartoon that was in the June 15 edition, I was surprised The Transcript would publish a blatantly partisan effort. After all, the paper’s masthead states “Expressing any endorsement or counter-endorsement of a political candidate will be considered as political advertising.” As a liberal, I can laugh off the use of the word “libtard” because, frankly, it sounds like a word a dumbbell would use. As a liberal, I do not want “free stuff.” However, free tuition at state colleges is ideal. One does not pay for tuition to attend public high schools, right? Taxes may rise but this is about improving our society. When I am 85 and have a heart attack, I want a well-trained medical team to do their best to save me. I do not want some well-meaning under-trained fool patting my hand as I head for the beyond. I did not understand the whole pizza thing – is it some sort of circa 1940s anti-Italian slur? As for the horrified family freaking out and stating they are not coming back to the “Land of the Libtards,” I say do not let the door hit you on your way out.

Sincerely,

Ron Gasbarro

New Milford, PA

EDITOR'S NOTE: It would appear, Ron you are very content with the direction our county is going. I agree, completely that you have a right to that opinion. It seems the only problem you have is finding fault with the opinion of others. You might want to consider writing us a letter regarding how easy it really is to get by these days.