Holiday spirit

Dear Editor,

Last November, families, churches, individuals and groups in Warren County donated gift-filled shoeboxes to Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse. These simple gifts, messages of hope, let children around the world know they are loved and not forgotten. For many, these will be the first gifts they have ever received.

The numbers are now in and over 18,240 gifts were sent from Warren, Crawford and Erie counties, including 2595 dropped off at Pleasant Community Church. This contributed to an all-time high of 10,574,805 shoe boxes sent from the U.S. These lovingly packed gifts, from folks in Northwestern PA, will be delivered to children in Chili, Peru, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, Madagascar, Cameroon, Honduras, Haiti and countries difficult to reach. Besides receiving simple toys, stuffed animals, hygiene and school supplies, these children will hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you missed a chance to pack a shoebox, an online giving tool conveniently allows anyone to build a box any time of year. By visiting the project’s website at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/, participants can select a child’s age and gender, shop through an online selection of gifts, virtually “pack” an empty shoebox, and finish it off by writing a note of encouragement. Operation Christmas Child volunteers will pack the shoebox gifts and ship them on behalf of the donors.

A simple gift, packed with love, can communicate hope, the love of God and transform the lives of children worldwide. Thank you, Warren County. For over 20 years, you have been helping to change the lives of children around the world!

Pam Niedhammer

Erie

Is your data safe?

Dear Editor,

Elon Musk recently accessed the previously secure Social Security Payment Data System.

This data release, under the guise of fraud detection, includes: Names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, payment methods, bank account numbers and routing information (if direct deposit), earnings history, tax withholding anc contact information.

Your personal information is now in the hands of a new government agency with unvetted staff. Are the data servers protected to prevent data breach; who knows? Just imagine your bank account being exposed to hackers. What about someone establishing a new credit card against you? There is enough information to do just that. I assume you feel safer now, correct?

The only way this new agency is going to detect fraud is by comparing the Social Security information against some other databases like Census, IRS, and Medicare, increasing the risk of exposure, re-evaluating your work yearly results to the payment formula, or fiscally identifying who you are / exist which they probably will not do. The simplest method is to correlate databases like those discussed above. This method will lead to privacy violations, such as breaches of the Privacy Act of 1974 and HIPPA.

Finally, have you seen any concerns from elected officials about our privacy? The answer is likely no.

Correlating databases can lead to significant legal implications for you. Don’t you 60 million Social Security recipients feel safer now?

Fred L. MacWithey,

Warren

Learning gulf

Dear Editor,

Our first Civics class has been completed in kindergarten with the question: Who changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America?

Answer: Our new President Trump. In our democracy, all the people have the right to make their ideas known and therefore by executive order we all have been given the opportunity to offer our opinion. The Congress represents all the people so they always have a chance to voice the wishes of your parents and friends. In this decision, the Congress probably never knew and had no chance to visit their hometown but we will learn more in our next lesson. With God’s help I hope!

Charles S. Merroth,

Warren

No quick fixes

Dear Editor,

“The welcome back Mr. President MAGA voters” may not have know about Project 2025. Donald Trump lied denying knowing anything about it but here it is and more of it is coming especially when Trump’s weirdo cabinet members get seated. So much for “I don’t like Trump but I like his policies.” These are some of Trump’s policies.

Will Trump’s tariffs on Canadian oil help lower Keystone gasoline prices? No.

Will Trump’s tariffs on Mexican/Canadian/China, etc. imports lower car prices, food costs, construction materials, household goods? No.

Will Trump’s ban/elimination of E vehicles incentives and non fossil energy lower cost of living? NO. Or help neutralize the effects of climate change? No.

Did Trump’s quickly blaming D. E. I. for airplane accidents, etc. lead to resolution and improvements? No.

Did Trump’s firing and demotion of military officers, his former cabinet members, and civil servants who Trump thought were not loyal enough to him make America safer? No.

Did Trump’s pardoning and commuting the January 6th Capitol rioters promote law and order and advance justice? No.

Did Trump’s on-going Mass Deportation actions secure the streets of Warren? And what is the legal status of the local Ukrainians sponsored by local churches?

Did Trump end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours? No.

Did Trump’s executive orders curtailing Transgender Rights (which are challenged in the courts) Make America Great Again? No.

Will elimination of USAID (less than 1 percent of national budget) by Elon Musk aid our authority/prestige in the world? No. Help third world countries survive? No. Create a void China will exploit? Yes.

Have reactionary Trump’s actions driven your IRA retirement portfolio upward? No.

Will Trump’s tariffs increase our exports? No. Create more American jobs? No.

Will Trump’s pulling the United States out of the World Health Organization make us and the world safer from infectious diseases? No.

It was reported Winston Churchill said “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter,” average MAGA voter in this case.

If Conservative President Ronald Reagan in August 1986 had said “The (10) nine most terrifying words in the English language are I’m from the (Trump) government and I’m here to help,” he would have been right.

Don Scott,

North Warren

Poor partners

Dear Editor,

It’s a good thing the French had a greater commitment to freedom and stuck with us to the end of the American Revolution. There were still as many French troops at Yorktown in 1781 as there were Americans.

But the U.S. would like to negotiate a deal with Communist Russia where Ukraine gets only part of its stolen country back, unless of course Ukraine agrees to give us half its rare earth minerals: then we might continue to help.

If I was a Ukrainian I’d tell the U.S. to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine and go with the French and the Europeans.

Pete Westover,

Russell