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Even in dispute, Canada is our neighbor

I grew up in Port Huron, Mich., along the St. Clair River. Some of my earliest memories are of looking across that river at Canada. It never felt like a foreign country to me. It was simply our neighbor. As children we would stand along the river and wave to people on the other side, and sometimes they would wave back. My family even had Canadians in it. That was just part of life. I learned at a very young age that a border could separate two countries without separating people. Those memories have come back to me in recent months, and honestly, they make my heart ache. I am ...

Self-inflicted wound state can still avoid

How do you intentionally cut the income of tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians? By undermining an industry that’s become essential to local businesses, veterans’ organizations, fraternal clubs and small businesses across the commonwealth. For nearly two decades, skill games have been part of Pennsylvania’s local fabric. They help keep neighborhood establishments open, support VFWs and American Legions, fund volunteer fire companies and provide a financial lifeline for organizations and social clubs. In all, thousands of Pennsylvanians rely on the supplemental income from these ...

Your politics won’t protect you from the surveillance state

The newly appointed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Erica Schwartz, made federal priorities clear during her recent confirmation hearing: “Abortion surveillance is absolutely a critical component of what the CDC is currently doing.” She assured members of Congress she would ensure that states weren’t “hiding abortions” under the auspices of “emergency care.” Abortion defenders were quick to condemn Schwartz’s comments, while others pointed out that the post-Roe v. Wade landscape affects not only elective abortions but also women facing ...

After 25 years, we still remember

President George Bush was seated in a second-grade classroom in Sarasota, Florida when it happened. His chief of staff, Andrew Card, suddenly approached, bent down, and said, “A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack.” I looked up that statement after seeing a ...

Remember who builds U.S., what fuels their work

Labor Day is a celebration of the people who build America. They are the workers who wake before dawn, put on a hard hat and steel-toed boots, and head to a job site. They build the roads we drive on, the buildings where we work, the power plants that keep the lights on and the pipelines that deliver the energy that makes modern life possible. But workers need something to build. Right now, America has a tremendous opportunity to put both its resources and its workers to work. After years of delays and uncertainty surrounding critical infrastructure, the country is confronting ...

Rounding Third

I need a tissue just thinking about it. Sniff, sniff. It wasn’t until I realized that Labor Day is THIS WEEKEND that it hit me. Summer is almost over. How did that happen? Wasn’t it the first of August just last week? With the sun setting earlier, suddenly the evenings have became ...