Editorials / Opinions

Disinformation is false information shared with the deliberate intent to mislead. It's all around us.

A prime example is the "Big Lie" that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Despite all evidence to the contrary, logical thinking goes out the window among its adherents. How could 60 court cases deny the true results? One maybe, but 60, no way!

While disinformation on social networks is often spread by individuals who simply don't know better, its substance is typically generated by bad actors, individuals and special interest groups that benefit from people not knowing the truth. These bad actors create and spread untruths for their own personal, financial or political gain. Often it's all three.

Disinformation is all around us. It affects attitudes about COVID and vaccines, climate change, healthcare, elections, politicians and other topics. This inaccurate information keeps circulating because those who gain the most from it refuse to acknowledge the truth.

While no program or person is perfect, most programs that President Joe Biden pushes are for the good of the general population, not specifically for Republicans or Democrats.

Most of the US population likes social security and Medicare and their benefits.

Biden would like to see more social programs enacted including mental health treatment for everyone who needs it.

Personally, as a school psychologist, I like Biden's early childhood education plan, which has been extensively tested for many years as the most proven way to get fourth grade students to excel.

There is a lot of good information out there from people who are experts in their fields. Look for the best positive proven knowledge and energy out there.

Sincerely,

Nancy Ross, Herrick Twp., PA

1. The Democrats want to control our minds. Don't let them do that. If we do, our country will be more divided than what it already is.

2. To all of the residents in all of the counties of our area of PA that vote for Matt Cartwright, don't vote for him Nov. 8th. It's time to retire him, forever. The same thing applies to Bob Casey in 2024. Vote wisely for the race between Dr. Oz and radical Fetterman for the US Senate in 2022.

3. The Democrats are to blame for the nation wide crime wave we have as well as the open borders we have now and the massive amount of unvetted illegal immigrants and drugs that are coming in our country now.

4. The Democrats want to be the only political party to govern our country forever. Don't let that ever happen. Look at how badly they have governed our country for many years and see how bad it is now.

5. The Democrats are to blame for the majority of our national debt with all their tax and spend policys they legislated in Washington, DC. It's time to put a stop to that Nov. 8th.

6. It's Time for our country's government to finally enforce the laws that have been legislated and put an end to the double standard of justice we do have now. It's time to finally indict, prosecute and convict the entire Biden family for what they have done to our country. Send them to prison for the rest of their lives to clean toilets.

7. It's time to break up all of the social media companies we have in America like Ma Bell was many years ago, and it's time to get rid of all the main stream newspapers that favor the Democrat's agendas too. Maybe everything would be fairer for everybody in our country then!

8. The Democrats want to take away our freedoms and rights, and they want complete Socialism for our country as well.

Don't ever let that happen. Really, think about that and then vote your conscience.

Sincerely,

John Hollenback, Greenfield Twp., PA

At a recent milk hearing conducted by the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board, a few people were asking for the Board to extend the Class I Premium to cover all Pennsylvania dairy farmers.

To me this is a great idea! Most of us have thought the same thing.

However, no one has come up with a plan that would generate that kind of money. Do you want to take the present $1 premium and divide it among all of our dairy farmers in Pennsylvania? Or do you want to double the premium up to $2.50 per cwt?

What will that do to Class I sales? Do you expect our Class I handlers to continue to collect more and more money from the stores? Can our stores collect this kind of money from their customers?

I don't think it is fair for the stores to extract more money from their customers! What about the sacred cow? I call all of the milk handlers that handle 70% of the milk across the country the "sacred cows". They seem to always find a way not to pay additional money to their producers or buying handlers. It has been this way since the 1960s.

Don't you dairy farmers realize that, in most of our federal orders, the Class I handlers pay money into the federal orders so the "sacred cows" – the manufactures of dairy products – can take money from the order and pay the same starting price as the fluid handlers do.

No, please don't expect the Class I handlers to bail out the other handlers. In my opinion, the only way to correct the problem is to establish a new pricing formula based on the national average cost of producing milk.

A new pricing formula must consist of a base excess plan, based on the production of all producers. If any producer produces an amount of milk that is over their base and the milk is not needed, they will receive a much smaller price on their base milk. Hopefully they will wake up.

If we don't do something like a base plan, then I'll see you at the next milk hearing, without a fair price.

Sincerely,

Arden Tewksbury, Pro-Ag Manager, Meshoppen, PA