Doyle Heffley's campaign mailer on data centers

We received a campaign mailer today from Doyle Heffley, incumbent candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.  Like many of his campaign mailers, it was misleading.  

His very first statement is entitled “Data Center Oversight.” and says “Heffley voted for legislation pausing all zoning considerations on Data Centers.  This gives control back to local municipalities to review the impact of communities and infrastructure.”

What the mailer does not say is that under Pennsylvania law every municipality–both borough and township–must zone for every legal use.  In some cases the use may be physically impossible (Weissport does not have room for an airport, for example).  BUT, every township in the county must make provisions for a data center in that township.  

A township cannot say:  no data centers.  The township might try to impose noise abatement standards or impervious surface requirements, but it must make provision for a data center.  It also may not impose requirements that would make a building a data center impossible.

So when Rep. Heffley says “data center oversight,” he probably means he is off the to side watching the data centers being built.

Pervert glasses

At our last big “No Kings” Rally in Lehighton there was an “agent provocateur” who was walking along wearing a MAGA hat and trying to start a fight.  Somebody told me his glasses contained a camera, and if someone actually did throw a punch, he would then have the film he needed to go to court.  He was unsuccessful, although I think he did claim someone shoved him.

In any case, I read those glasses, Meta’s Ray-Bans, were often used by guys as they pestered women in gyms and changing rooms, secretly recording them.  I also learned those glasses were called “pervert glasses.”  Perfect name.

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay has been the end point for various pollutants, most of which wash down on the Susquehanna River from the watershed in Pennsylvania.  A program to curtail these pollutants has been in effect for years and has had a positive effect, although more needs to be done.

The Trump administration did away with the program, according to an article in the latest issue of Lancaster Farming.  I am always amazed that there is no environmental regulation or rule, no matter how small, that the Trump administration can’t mess with or screw up.

They improve nothing but somehow manage to be incredibly thorough at destruction.  Truly amazing.

The Times: Too Pro-Hamas?

Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, said that the New York Times coverage of the Israel-Hamas War had an anti-Israel bias.  He claims that bias is hurting the state pension holders who own stock in the Times, and he is suing the paper.  This was a “shareholder’s suit,” he said, not a defamation suit.

Florida owns about 145,000 shares of Times stock.

Uthmeier also sued Starbucks, claiming it violated Florida’s anti-discrimination laws by hiring too many minority employees.  He also opened an investigation into the NFL for what he said was its practice in hiring minorities.  I hope he doesn’t go after Jalen Hurts.

I also own stocks in the New York Times..  I don’t know exactly how many; I bought the stocks some years ago, and I actually get a dividend.  I think the last one was about $6.00, which pays for one Sunday paper.  I want to make clear that I am not a party to Uthmeier’s lawsuit.  

A woman who doesn't understand democratic government

In a front page article on “Voters’ Distrust,” a woman from Pennsylvania was quoted about her opinion of Gov. Josh Shapiro.  She described his position on a data center in her town as an “about-face.”  

She said, “ I don’t trust him now.  He’s just saying what he needs to get votes.”  Yes, and I love him for it.  He is responding to the will of the people.  That is what is supposed to happen in a democracy.  Politicians are supposed to reflect what we want.

I take pride in changing my mind on certain political issues as I learn more about them and realize I was wrong.  And no, I am not going to embarrass myself and detail what some of those issues were.  And thank you, Gov. Shapiro, for listening to the people of Pennsylvania.

3400 housing units on the West Bank

If there is to ever be an independent Palestinian state, the core of that state would be the West Bank.  But an election is coming up next month and Netanyahu wants to shore up support from his right-wing allies.  The Israeli government has approved a 3,400 unit housing development in the West Bank.  

Bidding opened in August for the project.  It will close on Oct. 19.  The election is scheduled for Oct. 27.  The U.S. has, of course, not publicly opposed the project.

For more information see Isabel Kershner, “ E1, Israel’s Disputed West Bank Settlement Plan,” New York Times, (Oct. 18, 2026), p. A5. 

Annihilating Iran?

I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation on the efforts of the United Nations to end Third World colonization.  I spent a month working as in intern at the U.N. headquarters in New York.  I loved just walking into the building.  I loved being associated, even for a few weeks, with an organization committed to world peace, however inadequate it was in realizing that goal.

Today the President of the United States defiled the U.N.  He gave a speech in which he threatened to “annihilate” the 90 million people of Iran.  Think about that. 

Affirmative Action for Jared Kushner

The latest issue of the New Yorker has an article by Dexter Filkins on Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.  What a crook Kushner is.  What a crook Kushner’s father was, sentenced to two years for tax evasion, witness tampering and wire fraud.  (Today he is ambassador to France.)

Jared wasn’t the brightest student, so how did he get into Harvard?  It’s not like he was a DEI student.  What he did have going for him was that his father gave Harvard two and a half million dollars.  That did the trick.

Now this rich little son-in-law is out making billions from foreign countries because of his connections with Donald Trump.  The corruption of these people is unbelievable.

This is exactly who we are

I’ll bet you have heard the phrase “This is not who we are” any number of times.  It is certainly in use since Trump was inaugurated in January 2025.  

It is time to own up.  This is who we are.  We have held migrants in tiny cages, called “small metal enclosures” by the Department of Homeland Security.  According to the report, “the use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards of humane treatment.” 

The report, produced by an internal Department watchdog, was then denied by the Department.  “All detainee facilities are clean, and any allegations of inhumane conditions or excessive use of force are FALSE.”[ibid.]  The cages were used at the detention facility called Alligator Alcatraz.  That is so cute, isn’t it?  Trump made jokes about it.

Gov. DeSantis said conditions at the state-run facility were part of the state’s efforts to remove criminals in the country illegally from the streets of Florida.  The governor’s communications director said “left-wing media wants to focus on a confinement area for violent criminal aliens who have proven they cannot remain peaceful while awaiting deportation.  He added, “[W]e’d make it even smaller if we could.”

We are also paying countries to take deportees who have no connection to their destinations.  For example, we are paying Equatorial Guinea to take deportees, a country where those deportees are kept in prisons and horribly mistreated.

I’m going to imitate Trump in a Truth Social post:  THIS IS EXACTLY WHO WE ARE.  IT IS WHAT WE HAVE BECOME.  WE ELECTED THIS DICTATOR, AND OUR COURTS, OUR CONGRESS, AND OUR BILLIONAIRES PERMIT THIS.  AND COME NOVEMBER, WE HAD BETTER STOP THIS.

Goofing off

Some readers have told me the posts are too serious, not funny, too dry.  So, thanks to my friend Bill in North Carolina, here are three items to amuse you:

1.  Kash Patel has a new book out:  50 Shades of Hay.

2.  Headline:  “Fox relieved to learn that Trump is only banning news networks from the White House.”  (That one was from Andy Borowitz.)

3.  Old Soviet Union Joke:  

Guy stops by the news stand every day, scans the front page, doesn’t buy the paper.  One day the vendor asks what he’s up to.

Guy says, I’m looking for an obituary.

Vendor:  Those are toward the back of the paper, comrade.

Guy:  Not the one I’m looking for.

"volunteer my ass off"

Tonight I spoke to a woman whose name I was given as a possible volunteer for the Democratic campaign this fall.  She was so pleased to be contacted and said she was, and I quote, “ready to volunteer my ass off.”  It is that kind of attitude and commitment that will propel Democratic candidates to victory in November. 

Annie Dillard, 1945-2026

Her most famous book was Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, sort of a Walden about her experience with the natural world near Roanoke, Virginia.  Her book that I liked  better was An American Childhood, an account of her growing up in Pittsburgh.  She was one of those kids who read a great deal, loved her neighborhood library, and found the people in her neighborhood to be worthy of respect.  I also found it refreshing that as soon as she had memorized her phone number, she was allowed to roam her neighborhood by herself.  Here in Towamensing Township it seems the kids aren’t allowed to walk a hundred feet from the bus to their front door without a parent meeting them

And here is a factoid that was not in the New York Times obit.  Her dad was an extra in “Night of the Living Dead.”  I don’t know how I know that, but it might have been in mentioned in An American Childhood.  I know I didn’t just make it up.

No need to worry about AI

We live in strange times.  Here is Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders telling us we need to rein in AI.  It is too dangerous and needs to be regulated.  Here are tech bros running AI companies who are sounding an alarm that AI needs to be regulated.

But wait.

Trump said concerns are overblown.  No need to be concerned.  No need to be alarmed.  Fears are overstated.

But wait.

Isn’t that the guy who said global warming is a hoax, who said he would end the Russian war against Ukraine on his first day in office, who said that Covid would be over in weeks, who had a better health plan than Obama, who would end inflation, and who would end the war against Iran in a few days and then in another few days and later in another few days, etc.?  I’m not so sure I want to trust that guy.

Mail-in ballot victory, but we need more

One of the few things I have in common with Trump is that we both vote using mail-in ballots.  For some reason he decided that it was ok for him, but not for me.

Now the Supreme Court has ruled that he does not have the power to prevent states from using a system of mail in ballots.  

He’s mad at the Supreme Court justices he appointed, evidently thinking that since he appointed them, they should follow his wishes.  On the other hand, two justices–Thomas and Alito (not his appointees, just his lap dogs)–voted that the President of the U.S. can arbitrarily mess up voting systems.  

If normal people ever get back into power, one of the structural reforms we will have to make is to fix the Supreme Court.  There are any number of ways to do that, and I won’t go into them here, but it should be high on the agenda. 

James Talarico on Jimmy Kimmel

As probably every reader knows, the FCC Chair, in a move right out of Dictatorship 101, threatened Jimmy Kimmel with legal problems if he interviewed Texas Senatorial candidate James Talarico.  The FCC Chair said that late night TV hosts could not interview political candidates, ignoring the fact that Trump was interviewed on that very show when he was running for president.

So Kimmel put the interview on YouTube.  Please watch it.  Talarico explains his positions, but he is also very funny.  The YouTube video already has over 6 million views.  It should have more.  It is really one of the best political interviews I have seen.

10 Commandments in Texas schools

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 9 to 8 that Texas schools can be required to post the 10 Commandments in every classroom.  The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled this to be unconstitutional in the past, but the Fifth Circuit now contains quite a few Trump appointees, six of whom voted with the majority.  

Here is what I don’t get.  Given the behavior of Texas politicians, wouldn’t it be more important to post the 10 Commandments in the halls of the Capitol, in the legislative chambers, in the Governor’s official, and anywhere Ken Paxton does business?

Cutting SNAP benefits

The “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed in July 2025, made it harder to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which you may know as SNAP.  This has meant that over one million children have lost food assistance.  And the ballroom construction continues.  

Now Vance is pushing for another change in the assistance program.  Money would be diverted from working single mothers to provide more assistance for married families, one of whom does not work.  We all know that single moms are generally bad people, right?  Let’s punish them.  And their kids.

See Jessica Grose, “The White House’s Miserly Family Plans,” New York Times, (Sept. 12, 2026), p. A21. 

Firemen save Trump on 9/11

I did not realize that Trump was brought to safety on 9/11 by two strong firemen.  I don’t know why he did not tell us this before; it certainly seems almost providential.

When I heard about this I was moved to write a poem.  I titled it

“Trump is saved”

The sky was blue,

The planes flew 

Into the walls.

The frantic calls

Came to nine-one-one.

This was no fun.

But give a shout.

Trump made it out.

Fetterman

Never really trusted him.  That whole thing about tattooing the dates of people killed in Braddock while he was mayor struck me as some kind of public performance.  He garnered publicity trying to revive his town of Braddock, but that wasn’t so impressive.  Braddock is tiny.  Weissport has more people than Braddock.

You can tell a great deal about a politician by the way he treats his staff, and from the earliest days of his Senate career, word was that he treated his staff like crap, and he evidently hasn’t improved.  I never could abide “pro-labor” types who acted like overseers to their own employees.

The whole hoodie business annoyed me from day one.  I have never been known for my clothing style, but if I were in the U.S. Senate, I would dress the part.  The hoodie thing was simply a way to draw attention, just like the tattoos.

I hate the way he treats his wife, an immigrant.  He should be a champion for immigrants.  He is not.  She ought to divorce his ass.

Finally, he is not very bright.  It is obvious from many of his comments, from his failure to do what his doctors advised, and his statements on current issues, including his stand on Israel and his sucking up to the worst President in U.S. history.

For thirty-two years I lived in a state that had adopted three Progressive reforms–the initiative, the referendum, and the recall.  I know there were some problems with the initiative, and I don’t remember the referendum being used, but I really miss that recall.  Pennsylvania doesn’t have the recall.  We are stuck with this clown for over two more years.

Old people and technology

As many readers know, I don’t own a cell phone.  I like the freedom that brings.  I suppose at some point I’ll get a flip phone, especially if I drive across the country again, but right now I’m happy without it.  I also don’t carry a credit card, although I do have one in case I ever need to fly somewhere.  

Today I read a message from my friend Bill.  I want to share it; it sums up how I and some of my friends feel in today’s world:

A society that forces a ninety-year-old to use a smartphone in order to access basic rights is not a modern society; it is a society that has decided to cast aside its own elders.

By 2026 everything has become an app, a code, a portal.  Yet the very people who built this country with their own hands now find themselves illiterate in their own homes.  If booking a medical appointment or paying a bill requires the help of a son or granddaughter–assuming there is one–then the system has failed.

This is not innovation.  It is exclusion.

Technology should serve people, not determine who is still entitled to dignity.

When we leave behind those who came before us, we are not evolving.  We are merely becoming more comfortable–and more selfish.

The world is going to hell in a bushel basket

A far-right political party won the most votes in the former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt.  Why beat around the bush–a neo-Nazi party won the state election.

In Britain the racist party Reform UK is polling very well.  In Spain the far right Vox Party is doing well.  In France Marine LePen is riding high.  And in Serbia thousands of Serbs gathered to mourn the death of the war criminal and Bosnian Serb general known as the Butcher of Bosnia, responsible for thousands of deaths and convicted of genocide.

The American President is reinstalling racist statues that glorify the Confederacy and doing his best to rig the upcoming election.

Where do you even flee to in these times?