Letters: Remember voting record in 2024; Alliance with PA Lottery should concern parents

Remember voting record in 2024

While his name is not on the ballot this November, Glenn Thompson will be up for reelection (again) in 2024. That gives him a year to convince voters to vote for him. I use the candidate’s voting record when deciding. A look at GT’s voting record for the 117th Congress shows that he voted in his own self-interests and not those of his constituents. He voted against For the People Act which would “expand voter registration and voting access, limit removing voters from voter rolls, address campaign finance, including expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosure of campaign-related fundraising and spending.” He voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, “which included a $369 billion investment to address energy security and climate change, an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, allowing Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices, a 15% corporate minimum tax, a 1% stock buyback fee, and enhanced Internal Revenue Service enforcement, and an estimated $300 billion deficit reduction from 2022-2031.” He voted against Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which “provided funding for new infrastructure projects and reauthorizations, bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation, clean drinking water, and high-speed internet.” Finally, he voted against the Assault Weapons Ban and in doing so, forfeited his right to offering his thoughts and prayers to families affected by mass shootings like the one in Maine. God forbid there was one in the 15th district and Thompson had the gall to show his face.

Norita Chyle, State College

Alliance with PA Lottery should concern parents

I know that there are far more pressing issues on the docket than the questionable alliance between Penn State and the PA Lottery (not to mention the silence from Old Main regarding the proposed casino to be located at the Nittany Mall), but still ... why subject students to the temptation of easy online gambling? Folks are beginning to realize that the Pennsylvania Lottery has morphed into just another online casino. The “instant” online games the university and the Lottery are promoting to Penn State students, including freshmen, are basically just a variation of online slot machines. Both instant games and online slots are designed to encourage high-frequency betting, which can lead to an eventual gambling addiction. Lottery promotions entice students and others as young as 18 years of age to start gambling. They further exacerbate the addictiveness of the Lottery’s games by requiring players to place a large number of bets in a short time period to become eligible for the promotional bonus. With the payout rates of Lottery games being as low as they are, almost all who try for the bonus will lose more than the amount of the bonus before they can claim it.

What parent of a Penn State student wants the university to direct its students to ways they can pay for smartphone gambling using credit cards, potentially resulting in their student racking up thousands of dollars in debt — a debt the parents will likely have to pay.

Gina Leon, State College

Dysfunction pervasive in GOP

Despite looming emergencies such as two wars and a possible government shutdown, the GOP continues to prove itself incapable of, if not totally disinterested in, governing.

The U.S. House of Representatives was rendered speaker-less and unable to conduct the people’s business for 22 days because a Republican Congressman from Florida instigated the ouster of a Republican Speaker for the “unforgivable sin” of working with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.

Actual governing is hard work. It is not glamorous or sexy. It requires respectful, intelligent dialogue, cooperation, integrity, good will and yes, even compromise. Effective government seeks to meet the needs of all Americans regardless of party affiliation.

Unfortunately, many Republicans have abandoned these democratic values for authoritarianism. They have turned governing into a never ending battle in which compromise is a dirty word and all that matters is getting your way by any means necessary. Instead of legislating, these Republicans prefer to focus on creating inflammatory sound bites to generate campaign donations and prevent MAGA backlash.

The election of Mike Johnson as Speaker exemplifies Republican contempt for democracy. Johnson was a principle architect of Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. He opposes women’s reproductive freedom; believes that easy access to guns does not contribute to mass shootings; vilifies LGBTQ Americans; and rejects America’s Constitutional separation of church and state.

Voters who value our nation’s freedoms and democracy need to remember and address this pervasive Republican dysfunction and authoritarian behavior on Election Day, this Nov. 7.

George Polycranos, Port Matilda

Grateful for game experience

A sincerest thanks to the President of Penn State and Athletic Director Pat Kraft for giving me the honor of attending the 2023 Military Appreciation Game. PSU is the greatest college experience I have ever been to.

Please allow me to attend this game next year.

PSU staff are the best, especially a customer service person, Dylan Jones, who went up and beyond to help me. Please give Joe Paterno the credit in your pregame videos as being an integral part of PSU football history. Thank you.

Joseph Rozman, Bloomingdale, Ohio