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Other Voices: We have a democracy, if we can keep it

Our Opinion

"A republic, if you can keep it,” Benjamin Franklin famously responded when asked by a Philadelphia socialite what it was that he and the other Founders had wrought. Her question, and his answer, in the 1787 conversation framed the choice for the emerging new country as being between republic and monarchy. Today, in some quarters, the choice is presented differently: We’re a republic, not a democracy, goes a politically fashionable trope that happens to be both factually inaccurate and philosophically ominous. America’s 250th birthday is as good a time as any to remind ourselves ...

Flying with the fearless fussbudget

Local Commentaries

My Aunt Jo was an interesting old fuddy-duddy. But she was never one of my favorite relatives. She was my Great Uncle Garnett’s second wife – a piano and organ teacher in Tustin California. She was very persnickety. My mother was Garnett Keith’s favorite niece, and every time she ...

Our opinion: What to do with city building?

Our Opinion

When it comes to the future of the historic building at 231-237 Pennsylvania Ave. West, there is not much of a debate online. According to our weekly poll at timesobserver.com, the sentiment is overwhelming. Our question, “Do you think the building at 231-237 Pennsylvania Ave. West should be demolished?” found that 82% of the respondents said “yes” while only 18% believe otherwise. That is very different from public comment at recent meetings. Last month, Sandra Blum and Ron Peterson, both of the Warren County Heritage Alliance, pitched a plan to the Redevelopment Authority ...

Our opinion: Spending more isn’t improving education

Our Opinion

Enrollment in the state’s public schools is dropping, as are test scores for state public school students, while spending on public schools increases. There are 1.5 million students in Pennsylvania’s public schools, 7% fewer than there were in 2019, according to a recent Commonwealth Foundation report. Since 2019, proficiency on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments has dropped 18.8%, while proficiency on the Keystone Exams, given in high school, has declined 21.6%. The policy group, focused on fiscal conservancy in state government, concludes that increasing support for ...

Our opinion: Clock ticking on Shapiro’s plan for SNAP errors

Our Opinion

The clock is ticking for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to decrease SNAP payment errors in Pennsylvania to start working. The commonwealth’s 2025 SNAP error rate was 9.21% in 2025, with 8.03% of errors coming as overpayments and 1.18% being underpayment errors, according to recently released federal data. The error rate refers to the percentage of SNAP benefits paid either above or below what people should have received, primarily because of mistakes. While low-error states are guaranteed to owe nothing when the annual cost-sharing requirement begins in October 2027, others will have ...

Consistent inconsistencies with high court

Local Commentaries

The Second Amendment to the Constitution is a relic of a bygone era of revolution. The Founders could not have contemplated that it would apply to semiautomatic handguns. The Founders absolutely could not have contemplated that it would apply to machine guns. The Founders could not have foreseen mass shootings. It is silly, therefore, to think the Second Amendment applies to present weaponry and situations. Therefore, there must be some other, more specific meaning to the Amendment related to the "well-regulated militia." That is the progressive argument, in a nutshell. The ...