The Democrats are warning that the Romney-Ryan ticket is out to destroy Medicare and Social Security, yet it is now fact that Obamacare has taken nearly $700 billion from Medicare and that the program will be broke in 11 years.

The Romney-Ryan plan will not affect anyone over the age of 55, but it will raise the age of eligibility for those under 55, a move necessary to preserve these programs for future generations.

The Romney-Ryan tax plan will eliminate tax loopholes for the wealthy, resulting in their paying more with no tax raise for the middle class.

The Romney-Ryan economic plan will eliminate many regulations on small businesses, allowing them to grow and create jobs.

The Romney-Ryan energy plan will attempt to make us energy independent, utilizing the coal, oil and natural gas with which we have been blessed. It’s time we stop depending on Middle East oil.

I’d like to list the Obama-Biden view on how they plan to solve these and other problems that face the nation, but I haven’t heard any. I’ve only heard their lies and negative TV ads on which they’ve already spent over $400 million and donors aren’t coming forward to replace these funds.

Finally, Obama has unilaterally eliminated the Clinton-era requirement that those on welfare look for jobs. There are now 100 million Americans receiving government handouts, an increase of 70 percent since 2008. Just great!

John Skubak

Johnstown



We are straying from God’s word

A long time ago, there was a king who had a perfect world. He had a beautiful garden with lots of trees and animals. In his garden, he put two perfect people, a man and a woman, to enjoy it.

Everything was theirs to enjoy except the fruit of one tree, which they were not allowed to eat. The king said it would kill them. Things were going fine until an evil snake convinced the woman that the king lied and just didn’t want the people to be as smart as him.

She ate, and the man ate. Whoa! Immediately, things changed. They knew they betrayed the king, saw their nakedness and they hid from him.

He found them, killed some animals to make clothes for them and drove them from his garden.

Things got worse. The man and  woman had two sons. One murdered the other. Their descendants became so evil and violent that the king flooded his world, killing all but eight people. Death and destruction exist because the man and woman did not believe the king’s words. Do we believe the king’s words (Bible) today?

Look around. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be effeminate, not abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexual perversions), nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

(I Corinthians 6:9-10)

But who is God to tell us what to do?

Barry W. Billings

Portage



Tea party or organized crime?

Hatred spoken against President Obama, such as communist, Muslim, non-Christian, Adolf Hitler, un-American and hatred spoken by misguided John Wayne wannabes, such as “... forced to take to our guns,” promotes violence.

This tea party insane rhetoric may have resulted in Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords being seriously wounded and others killed in Arizona. Economically, the tea party wants to destroy the middle class while it is bank-rolled by conservative billionaires.

The tea party’s agenda is to turn the U.S. into a Third-World country with two classes of people – the haves and the have-nots. Look at what tea party governors are doing to their public employees – waging war on unions representing police officers and firefighters who put their lives on the line every day to protect the very people who want to limit their unions to negotiate  decent contracts.

And because public school teachers are represented by a union, the tea party wants to defund public education and create a voucher program.

Tom Corbett, like other tea-party governors, passed a photo ID law in an effort to repress the Democratic vote. Pennsylvania Republican House Speaker Mike Turzai said voter ID laws will guarantee a Mitt Romney win.

When you go to the polls in November, remember the secret meeting Republicans had when Obama was taking the oath of office. They took a blood oath that they would be obstacles to Obama and his administration at the expense of the American people and make him a one-term president. The tea party and Republican Party – political parties or organized crime rings?

Ralph A. Swank

Johnstown



Setting priorities

It is generally true that creative folks are rarely neat and neat folks are rarely creative. Priorities, I guess.

Don Stutzman

Johnstown



Getting chuckles from local, world news

For many years, the first thing I would look at in the newspaper was the comics. Frequently, that was the only thing I would look at.

In recent years, the reverse is true. I rarely look at the comics. The local and world news provides as much comedy as I can handle. Let’s start with the front page.

-- The Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team(?) lost its fifth straight game. That is no small achievement. It is now only 90 percentage points below the leader with no chance to become a contender. Let’s look foreward to next year. They might do better, but probably won’t.

-- Penn State coach stands by kicker. After all, he only missed three out of four tries. Of course, nothing the kicker could do would change the outcome of future games. I can see no wins this year.

-- The editorial cartoonist didn’t miss an opportunity to remind readers of the state of our economy. He shows President Obama sitting in his chair above the White House, on top of a $16 trillion pile of paper.

The U.S. taxpayers have been subsidizing the Egyptian government for many years. If we are true to history, we will continue to do so, no matter what the Egyptian government and people do.

But I admit that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was heard saying, “don’t do that,” as a mob climbed the walls of our embassy, tore down our flag and replaced it with an Islamist flag.

Here is the best story of the day. Two young men are sentenced to prison for two to five years. They pleaded guilty to multiple criminal offenses. One of the men did apologize, and said it was all caused by his drug problem.

John J. Abele

Portage

 

Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat print edition.

Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat e-edition.