The only way to end the culture of political violence: vote

We are a nation steeped in violence but Donald Trump has introduced a new form of political violence. In the wake of the assassination attempt on him, we can’t react by denying reality or letting wishful thinking get in the way of dealing with that reality. By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The Times VIOLENCE HAS NO place in the United States? Seriously? What world do all the political and public figures...

Why do some people want you to hate people who are just like your ancestors? 

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa For nearly 200 years, Americans — okay, some Americans — have ranted, attacked and complained about immigrants. As immigration literally helped turn this country from an agrarian backwater to a superpower, it was always foolish. But the recent verbal assaults by the likes of Donald Trump (ironically, the son of an immigrant), aside from being reprehensible...

Are you still a Republican? Find out whether these quotes agree with your worldview

By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The Times Still a Republican? Still thinking about what a vote for Trump or any MAGA candidate gets you? Take a little test. See how many of these quotes really represent you. The Supreme Court has made it more and more likely Trump will go in November without an election, so it’s more important than ever to see just what the Republican Party has become. Is it for you? THE...

If SCOTUS follows the Constitution, Trump must be booted from the ballot

By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The TimesIf our current U.S. Supreme Court is a functioning court and not a corrupt political arm of whatever the Republican Party is today, there is only one possible ruling on the Colorado decision to keep Trump of 2024 ballots The language of both the Founders in granting states the authority over the managing of elections, and Congress and the states in 1868 when...

Are we letting a few jerks spoil everything?

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa Unless you’ve drunk so much Kool-Aid that you’ve wet your pants, you know Donald J. Trump is a jerk. Based on polling, a few of you might even see that a plus, but most of us do not. He’s mean-spirited, cruel, self-obsessed and not particularly bright. And aside from the fact that this person was President and leads one of our two political parties,...

Can an imprisoned Trump still be president?

By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The Times CAN DONALD TRUMP be convicted, sentence to prison, actually go to jail and still serve as president of the United States. Well, yes, he can. The U.S. Constitution, the ultimate arbiter, is silent on the criminality of a president. A lot of people are assuming that if Trump is tried and convicted prior to the November 2024 general elections on all the charges he...

Op/Ed: We are one

By Viraj Joshi, Special to The Times Viraj Joshi Four years ago, I felt great pride and joy when I saw Donald Trump taking the oath of office on the United States Capitol steps. However, as the Trump presidency went on, my support and the joy I felt when he took the oath of office slowly dwindled as the days of his presidency went on. I soon realized that Donald Trump was not just destroying Republican...

Despite good motivations, county’s antibody test plan was an expensive screw up

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa There are times you hate to be right, and this is one of them. Way back in May, I questioned the decision by Chester County Health to use untested and likely inaccurate antibody testing (https://chescotimes.com/?p=31851) — and to use it only on a limited population, those with symptoms. I argued that broad diagnostic testing and contact tracing was...

Let’s not blame local officials for playing it safe in the Age of COVID

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa By rights, we should be enjoying the start of a new school year — bragging on our kids, showing off their new clothes and school gear. In a normal year, we should talking about which high school football teams in the Ches-Mont are early break outs and which programs look to be struggling. We should, as usual, bemoan the length and stupidity of the election...

When it comes to opening schools, Trump has to either put up or shut up

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Open the schools! Or else. Says President Donald Trump. Okay, there’s almost no one (besides a few kids, maybe) who do not want to see our public schools reopen this fall. My college-age kids are counting the minutes they can return to their campus. As great as our teachers have done over video, there’s no question that kids learn better in the classroom and benefit...