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Opinion: Victim shaming won’t help solve poverty in U.S.

Starbucks Workers United baristas and supporters rally for a fair union contract outside Starbucks East Coast distribution center on Nov. 19, 2025, in York, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Starbucks Workers United)
Opinion: Is society’s purpose to generate wealth so that a very few can live extravagantly
Starbucks Workers United baristas and supporters rally for a fair union contract outside Starbucks East Coast distribution center on Nov. 19, 2025, in York, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Starbucks Workers United)
Scott Daw of Allentown looks through his scope while hunting deer Monday, November, 26, 2018, on State Game Lands 205 in Lowhill Township. (Harry Fisher / The Morning Call)

Letters to the Editor: Hunters can help hungry Lehigh Valley families

Letters: A processor will butcher a deer at no cost to the hunter and provide...
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles celebrates his touchdown catch during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 52 football game against the New England Patriots Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Bill White: Clothes may not make the man, but they can tell great stories

Bill White: The clothes we wear can tell great stories about us
Overturned salt shaker spilling salt. (Getty Images)

Letters to the Editor: A little bit of socialism isn’t so bad

Letters: People toss around the word “socialism” as if it were like anthrax. I think...
A commuter reads a newspaper on the subway. (Craig Warga/New York Daily News)

Opinion: How to stay informed without being consumed

Opinion: In the communities where we actually live, most Americans behave very differently than our...
Zohran Mamdani rides an A Train at 190th Street after speaking uptown Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Manhattan, New York City. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS)

Opinion: Is Zohran Mamdani’s victory the wave of the future?

Opinion: Zohran Mamdani’s win as the mayor of New York represents a major victory for...
Town Square Cartoons

Browse political cartoons for the week of Nov. 17

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Lehigh University students walk on campus Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, in Bethlehem. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Opinion: How higher education now powers the Lehigh Valley

Opinion: Colleges and universities function as anchor institutions in the Lehigh Valley
A protester holds a sign related to the release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files Nov. 12, 2025, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Letters: Americans want to know the truth about Epstein files

Letters: The Republican Party leadership has worked nonstop to keep the Epstein files hidden
Lauren Sanchez Bezos and Jeff Bezos on Saturday, June 28, 2025, leave Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy, the day after their wedding. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Opinion: Billionaires are not to blame for poverty

Opinion: To avoid poverty graduate from high school, get a full-time job and marry before...
Construction workers, bottom right, atop the U.S. Treasury, watch Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, as work continues on a largely demolished part of the East Wing of the White House in Washington, before construction of a ballroom. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

Letters: Trump should be forced to pay to restore the People’s House

Letters: Many Republican politicians are still focused on trying to get rid of the Affordable...
People pass Independence Hall on Nov. 5, 2025 in Philadelphia, where in 1787 the Constitution was debated. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)

Opinion: Could the United States Constitution be created today?

Opinion: Without compromise any substantive changes to our ruling document may be nearly impossible
Voters exit the Allentown Fairgrounds Agri-Plex after casting their ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

Opinion: I voted and then realized how little I really knew

Opinion: Being a good voter is more than showing up. It is being prepared even...
Planes line up Nov. 10, 2025, on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Airports have been experiencing delays and flight cancellations as airlines are decreasing flights at dozens of major airports to ease the pressure on air traffic controllers, who have been working unpaid during the ongoing government shutdown. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Letters: Should we thank airport delays for ending the shutdown?

Letters: Could this be because it's finally affecting our lawmakers since they too must contend...
An Afghan National Army pickup truck passes parked U.S. armored military vehicles as smoke rises from a fire in a trash burn pit at a forward operating base in Afghanistan in 2011. (AP Photo/Simon Klingert)

Opinion: Veterans deserve more than just our respect

Opinion: Military service has long shaped the Lehigh Valley, where nearly 12,000 residents from Lehigh...
Town Square Cartoons

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A white carnation is seen at the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Wednesday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, to honor those who served in the U.S. armed forces (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Remembering a Berks County hero on Veterans Day [opinion]

Remembering a Topton man's important but all too brief life of service to his community...
Hondo, right, who gave no last name, of Minneapolis hugs a companion during a Veterans Day ceremony at the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in St. Paul, Minn. (Richard Marshall/St. Paul Pioneer Press )

Opinion: On Veterans Day, I appreciate your thanks. But it isn’t that simple

Opinion: Veterans Day is complicated. I’m still bitter. But I’m also proud.
Flock camera system at the intersection of CANDO Expressway Broad Street on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (John Haeger / Staff Photographer)

Letters to the Editor: Big Brother is watching, on camera

Commentary only shared 1 perspective on race In a Nov. 2 Commentary, Carl P. Leubsdorf...
Northeast Community Center food bank provides groceries to eligible community members Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Bethlehem. Area food banks are preparing for an increase in demand for their services when SNAP benefits are paused in Nov. due to the federal government shutdown. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)

Bill White: What I learned when I had to rely on food stamps/SNAP to eat

Bill White: During the Food Frugality Challenge, I learned a lot about the misconceptions people...
(Canon City Daily Record)

Letters to the Editor: One simple step to lowering health care costs

Letter: Two main reasons health care is so expensive are insurance companies and hospitals, in...
Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem. (Chris Knight/Special to The Morning Call)

Opinion: School districts must confront tough choices to protect public education

Opinion: Leadership sometimes means doing the uncomfortable to protect the essential
Good weather and the retention of Judges seemed to bring out voters in Delaware County on Tuesday. In Haverford 7-2 at Annunciation church hall, a sign urges voters to vote no on retaining Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)

Letters to the Editor: Thanks for not letting campaign signs litter our highways forever

Letter: Political signs posted along the highways are useful information to inform local voters of...
Town Square Cartoons

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Hall of Fame basketball coach Terry German owned and operated Camp Olympic for 23 years. German died last week at the age of 88. (Morning Call file photo)

Opinions: Thanksgiving’s approach brings thoughts of ‘impactful’ mentor

Opinion: It’s always people who build the sturdy foundations we all stand on
Lower Macungie Middle School exterior June 17, 2019. (Kristen Harrison/The Morning Call)

Letters: How East Penn could realign its schools without spending a fortune

Letters: There still may be a way to preserve the K-8 realignment plan with most...
Jared Isaacman, founder of Shift4 and Draken International, speaks with Lehigh University Provost Nathan Urban on Oct. 14, 2025, as part of the Future Makers speaker series at Lehigh University in Bethlehem. Isaacman performed the first private spacewalk in Sept. 2024 and was nominated by President Trump to lead NASA before the nomination was later withdrawn. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

Opinion: There is a solution to wealth inequality in America

Opinion: Wealth inequality is the moral cancer destroying our society and our planet
The Kansas Young Republicans organization was deactivated after Politico exposed a racist, violent chat conducted on the Telegram app. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Letters: GOP leaders’ reaction to racist, antisemitic, homophobic texts was disturbing

Letters: Over 250 slurs? That is more than an occasional off-color joke.
The Dixie Cup manufacturing plant in Wilson was in use from 1921 until the 1980s. The 600,000-square-foot complex has been vacant since 2011. (Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call)

Opinion: Dixie Cup building redevelopment depends on compromise

Opinion: For either side to be hostile to the other is to fall into the...
Members of a Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living peer support group attend a meeting in Oct. 2025 at the organization’s Allentown location. (Photo courtesy of the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living)

Opinion: Pa. budget delay hurts the state’s most vulnerable residents

Opinion: This is not a top or bottom issue. This is a human issue.
A garbage truck travels along a road Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at the Bethlehem Landfill. (Rick Kintzel/The Morning Call)

Letters: Consider landfill’s hazards when filling out your ballot

Letters: Lower Saucon residents should know about potential hazards related to the Bethlehem Landfill
Town Square Cartoons

Browse political cartoons for the week of Oct. 27

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The Allentown Symphony Orchestra performs works by Mahler and Wagner on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in Allentown. (Mike Smith/Mike Smith Photography)

Opinion: Allentown Symphony is a Lehigh Valley cultural keystone

Opinion: The Allentown Symphony stands as a living argument for why music matters
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS)

Letters: Liberals should match their actions to their beliefs

Letters: Commentaries concerning Democrats’ American dream problem are examples of left-wing lunacy
A sign in support of retaining Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices in the November election, stands Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Chester County. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bill White: Pa. Supreme Court judges deserve ‘yes’ vote on retention

Bill White: The three Pa. Supreme Court judges in the upcoming retention election deserve your...
People protest during a No Kings rally Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, near Congressman Ryan Mackenzie’s office along Cedar Crest Boulevard in Salisbury Township. The rally, one of several in the Lehigh Valley, was part of another round of No Kings demonstrations held nationwide.(April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Letters: Jefferson Health wasting money needed for medical staff

Letters: Jefferson Health is trying to correct bad management practices by beginning staff layoffs
President Donald Trump addresses the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem. President Trump was visiting the country hours after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023, part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

Opinion: Two split screens, one political awakening

Opinion: Diplomacy backed by credible power can shorten conflicts and prevent worse ones.
South Whitehall Township municipal building.

Letters: South Whitehall incumbent commissioners deserve reelection

Letters: Vote for Monica Hodges and Chris Peischl to keep South Whitehall strong and successful
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Opinion by Roger MacLean: Lehigh County’s taxpayers and families are priority number one

Opinion: When people do not feel safe from crime, harm or violence, they cannot live...
Democrat Josh Siegel and Republican Roger MacLean, candidates for Lehigh County executive, participate in a debate Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, during an event hosted by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce at the WFMZ studio in Salisbury Township. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

Opinion by Josh Siegel: Lehigh County needs a new generation of leadership and new politics

Opinion by Democratic candidate for Lehigh County executive, state Rep. Josh Siegel: County government should...
The US Capitol Visitor Center is closed to visitors on the first day of the US government shutdown in Washington, DC, on Oct. 1, 2025. Efforts to bring a quick end to the US government shutdown floundered Wednesday when senators rejected a plan to resolve an acrimonious funding stand-off between President Donald Trump and Democrats in Congress. (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images North America/TNS)

Letters: Blame Democrats and Republicans for failures in Pa., federal government

Letters: I am dissatisfied and disgusted by our state and federal representation.
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Opinion by Tara Zrinski: Northampton County needs an executive who is accountable and takes action

Opinion: I believe our residents deserve transparency, accountability and action — not complacency and excuses
Northampton County operates the Gracedale nursing home located in Nazareth. Both candidates are promising reforms for the facility. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Opinion by Thomas Giovanni: Northampton County government needs a course correction

Opinion: As I travel across our county one message rings loud and clear: it’s time...
Pope Leo XIV tours on his popemobile after presiding over a Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican during which he canonized seven new saints of the Catholic Church, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Letters: Pope is hypocritical when he condemns wealth

Letters: I was always taught that the pope is infallible. What a joke.
Town Square Cartoons

Browse political cartoons for the week of Oct. 20

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Former Penn State football coach James Franklin’s interpersonal skills have always been his strength. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

Letters: Pa. needs law to prevent ridiculous buyouts for coaches, other state employees

Letters: Since we the citizens will get to pay coach Franklin around $50 million as...
State and local officials pose for a picture Thursday, June 5, 2025, in front of LANTA Buses after an event at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hecktown Oaks in Lower Nazareth Township during an event promoting more funding for mass transit in Pennsylvania. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

Opinion: LANTA moves the Lehigh Valley, we need our leaders to invest in it

Opinion: LANTA supports workers, businesses, students, seniors and people with disabilities
Second Harvest Food Bank Associate Executive Director Sarah Wassel speaks Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, at Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania in East Allen Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Letters: Don’t pay Pa. lawmakers until they pass state budget. Give money to worthy causes instead.

Letters: Pennsylvania senators and representatives should have their pay and benefits forfeited until there is...
Secretary of State Marco Rubio whispers to President Donald Trump during a roundtable meeting on antifa in the State Dining Room at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Opinion: Trump administration using antifa as political straw man

Opinion: The problem with calling antifa a terrorist organization is that there is no organization...
People march toward downtown Bethlehem during a No Kings protest Saturday, June 14, 2025, at the Rose Garden in Bethlehem. The rally, one of several in the Lehigh Valley, was part of the nationwide No Kings demonstrations coinciding with President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Letters: Protesting is American. Ryan Mackenzie should say so.

Letters: Congressman Mackenzie should say peaceful protest is a tool for giving voice to the...
Don Ritter, center, Marta Fedoriw, right and their guide, Dymitro Zhmailo, left, in November 2021 visit the Bykivnia memorial near Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of Don Ritter)

Opinion: Marta Fedoriw: A Ukraine War hero from North Whitehall Township

Opinion: Marta Fedoriw demonstrates that one person engaging in grassroots activism can make a difference.
Employees work in the control room at PJM Interconnection near Valley Forge, Montgomery County. (PJM Interconnection/Contributed photo)

Letters: PJM makes decisions behind closed doors that affect our electricity prices

Letters: When PJM makes a decision causing your bill to rise you may not know...
We the People - Preamble to U.S. Constitution

Opinion: The Constitution does not need replacing or major changes

Opinion: The Constitution is also our best hope for the future
Town Square Cartoons

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Health risks associated with loneliness can include depression, anxiety, increased risks of suicide, premature death, dementia, strokes, heart attacks and other chronic health risks. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Opinion: Holidays can be a time of joy, but also of loneliness

Opinion: According to AARP, over 8 million adults aged 50 and older experience isolation, with...
Tom Hanks, right, appears in a scene from the movie “Saving Private Ryan.” The World War II movie was one of five movies nominated for Best Picture in the 71st Annual Academy Awards in 1999. (Dreamworks, David James/AP Photo)

Letters to the Editor: Tom Hanks deserved honor for his support of the military

Letter: Few civilians have done more for the military and its veterans than Tom Hanks.
A great hammerhead shark circles in the shallows off the coast of Bimini, Bahamas. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Bill White: Throwing chum (and an Oklahoman) in the water

Bill White: Bad writers from our area have been recognized many times in the real...
Anti-Trump and pro-Trump protesters face off during a No Kings event Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Huntington Beach. (Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Letters to the Editor: How you can ‘lose’ an argument … and still be the ‘winner’

Letter: When two people sit down at a table for an argument, and one of...
President Donald Trump chats with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a Nov. 9, 2017, welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Andy Wong/Associated Press)

Opinion: Here’s what a pivot away from China would mean

Opinion: China is now considered a peer power and conceded its own sphere of influence
A protester holds a sign during a 2004 demonstration in Bethlehem against the death penalty in Pennsylvania. (ARTURO FERNANDEZ/The Morning Call)

Opinion: Lehigh Valley should lead the way to ending the death penalty in Pa.

Opinion: Let the Lehigh Valley lead the way to ending the death penalty in Pennsylvania.
United States’ Bryson DeChambeau watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during a practice round for the Ryder Cup golf tournament, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Robert Bukaty)

Letters to the Editor: Modern golf fans show a lack of class

Letter: Fans who think that harassing players at the Ryder Cup as they are ready...
Wind turbines and electricity transmission pylons stand June 8, 2018, near homes in Lindenberg, Germany. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

Opinion: Trump energy policy won’t save consumers money

Opinion: In June, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission warned that prices for electricity might rise...
Twenty-nine people born in 18 different countries were naturalized to become American citizens Friday, March 21, 2025, at the Northampton County Courthouse in Easton. As a group they pledged an oath of allegiance to their new country. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)

Opinion: What does it mean to be a good American?

Opinion: Live the Bill of Rights — especially the First Amendment.
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on her policy platform, including improving the cost of living for all Americans, at the Hendrick Center For Automotive Excellence on Aug. 16, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina (Grant Baldwin/Getty Images/TNS)

Opinion: Before you vote read the party platforms

Opinion: A more honest democracy starts with better-informed voters.
Town Square Cartoons

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro arrives to deliver his Feb. budget address for the 2025-26 fiscal year, which included spending increases on local schools (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Opinion: Fair public education funding is a ship that needs to sail

Opinion: Fairly and adequately fund our public schools now.
“These are the same judges that locked us down during COVID and did irreversible harm to small businesses, churches, and our children’s education,” the state GOP spokesman says of the trio of Democratic justices. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Letters: Pa. Supreme Court justices are standing up for your rights

Letters: Vote yes to retain the current justices who are standing up for you
A woman tends to her area at a homeless encampment at Jordan Meadows Park on Friday, May 2, 2025, in Allentown. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call.)

Opinion: There are good solutions for Lehigh Valley homelessness problem

Opinion: Those who say the lack of affordable housing is the number one cause of...
President Donald Trump addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Letters: District judge deserves to win reelection to the bench

Letters: I urge both Democrats and Republicans to join me in voting to reelect Judge...
A medical robot of French start up SquareMind, designed to facilitate cancer screening using artificial intelligence is displayed May 22, 2024, during the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair, at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris. (Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Opinion: Medical care in the new age of technology

Opinion: Health care now seems to work on what I call the car dealers model.
Liz Wagner and her family members harvest garlic July 18, 2017, at Crooked Row Farm in New Tripoli. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)

Opinion: Lehigh Valley farmland is infrastructure, not nostalgia

Opinion: Farmland is not just scenery or nostalgia. It is industrial infrastructure.
Town Square Cartoons

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Palestinians rush Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, to the site of an Israeli army airstrike on a high-rise building in Gaza City, after the Israeli army issued a prior warning. (AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)

Opinion: At the Jewish High Holy Days, I can’t stay silent about Gaza

Opinion: True peace demands dignity, justice and safety for all.
This image released by Disney shows Jimmy Kimmel hosting his late night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Randy Holmes/Disney via AP)

Letters: What does Jimmy Kimmel suspension mean for US rights?

Opinion: Freedom of speech is a constitutional right; it is fundamental to our republic.
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