Opinion

Gary Olson hit the nail on the head with his Your View article re the situation in the Middle East. Very few people have the courage to tell the truth about what is truly happening in that area.

Your vote does count! Thomas Dorr, Alice Paul and Bob Moses all dedicated their lives to change suffrage from being a privilege of a chosen few. Let their sacrifices and political convictions be a reminder to us that voting must go back to being considered a privilege and not a futile...

A new study from the Afterschool Alliance reveals that despite widespread support for afterschool programs and similarly high parental satisfaction with them, the unmet need for afterschool is huge and growing.

Karen Dolan deserves many thanks for her role in preserving part of Bethlehem's history, involving students in reconstruction, and advancing environmental education in the memory of Gertie Fox, who saved the Monocacy Creek for generations to enjoy. They are both examples of what public...

I'm proud to cast my vote on Nov. 4 for Mark Aurand for our new state Senate seat in the 40th District. I've been following his campaign and have spoken with him many times. He is the real deal. He is smart, articulate, caring and knowledgeable on the issues. He is poised to make an...

For the last couple of months, I had full intentions of voting for Tom Wolf for governor. However, the last few days, I have totally changed my mind. He has Hillary Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama campaigning for him. I truly believe people can be judged by the company they keep.

As President Barack Obama heads into the final half of his final term, many of us Americans wonder whatever happened to the fresh promise of that cheerfully charismatic optimist who dominated the political stage back in 2008.

Houston recently passed an ordinance through its City Council that has sparked quite a bit of controversy among conservative evangelicals.

While disposing of a body in a mass grave, one man in a hazmat suit turns to another and asks, "When did we run out of body bags?"

Imagine a system of college education supported by high and growing government spending on elite private universities that mainly educate children of the wealthy and upper-middle class, with low and declining government spending on public universities that educate large numbers of children...

As a mother and grandmother, I find it absolutely heartbreaking to read that Tristen Kurilla, a 10-year-old child with "mental difficulties," according to his mother, is in prison, having been charged with homicide as an adult.

With the media revelations about mismanagement, lack of care, fraud and record destruction the Department of Veterans Affairs has been experiencing, I am worried about falling through the cracks.

Your front-page headline, "Gays welcomed," for a photograph about the Catholic Church smacks of ignorance and a touch of bigotry. It implies that historically gays were never welcomed. This sort of banner is quite unkind.

Justin Simmons is an honest and hardworking man in our 131st District. As state representative, he supports policies that are creating jobs and he opposes costly new taxes. He voted to eliminate school property taxes, sponsored legislation to help move homeless children from the streets to...

In his Oct. 7 Your View, Gary Olson makes many unfounded accusations against Israel. One of those is a frequently repeated claim that Israeli settlements are a major obstacle to peace in the region. In making this claim, he demonstrates a lack of both imagination and of critical thinking.

Kudos to Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez for having a round-table discussion recently with representatives of the local NAACP and heads of his first responder units. These meetings are important in keeping the lines of communication and trust open between city representatives and civic groups.

I think it is racist and disgusting what some members of the Northampton Area High School boys soccer team did to the African Nazareth Area High School soccer player by yelling "Ebola."

In response to the letter to the editor, "Aurand supports women's right to abortion": I thank God for candidates such as Mario Scavello who stand firmly for the right to life. What is so offensive about a woman receiving counseling and waiting 24 hours before she makes a life...

The 2014 midterm and 2016 presidential elections are critical for Second Amendment supporters and gun owners.

The taunts and insults against the Nazareth Area High School soccer player by Northampton high school players have given not only the school a black eye but also the Lehigh Valley. By extension, it's a black eye for the state and the country as well.

Judeo-Christian heritage warns of false prophets — those promising all will be well if everyone is regimented into their traditions.

We've worked so hard to get fresh well water to children across the world just to get lightable, gaseous fracking-contaminated water out of our own faucets in parts of Pennsylvania to support corporate greed. Really?

We object to certain of Gary Olson's characterizations in his Oct. 8 Your View. He is entitled to his perspectives on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, even if couched in half-truths. But his denigration of a central Jewish value and his bastardization of its meaning to fit his...

An engineering study involving the proposed removal of Wehr's Dam in South Whitehall Township is underway. The cost for this study is approximately $200,000. The funding for the study is via a grant — public tax dollars. The demolition contract to remove a similar-sized dam on...

As a resident of Monroe County, I have been besieged with advertisements, commercials and letters to the editor attacking Mario Scavello as a state Senate candidate for the 40th District. However, this negative campaign against Scavello doesn't hold up under the light of truth.