Op/Ed: We are one

By Viraj Joshi, Special to The Times Viraj Joshi Four years ago, I felt great pride and joy when I saw Donald Trump taking the oath of office on the United States Capitol steps. However, as the Trump presidency went on, my support and the joy I felt when he took the oath of office slowly dwindled as the days of his presidency went on. I soon realized that Donald Trump was not just destroying Republican...

Pa. GOP elected officials bear serious blame for the attempted coup

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa Sigh. Our nation’s capital is an armed camp. Our state capital is an armed camp. Peaceful this Sunday morning, so far, thankfully. Tragic, but necessary, as right-wing terrorists may be planning attacks in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals across the country because of a lie. Donald Trump did not win the presidential election. There was no significant...

No peace, love and understanding, it is time for a reckoning

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa What happened Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol had the feeling of the inevitable if you were willing to pay attention. Those of us who issued the alarm years ago were dismissed as having “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” We were ignored right up until the point where Donald Trump incited a riot and attempted a coup d’etat as Congress moved to certify the...

Hawley is a lying weasel when it comes to Pennsylvania’s election

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa New Year, same old lie. I really wanted to write something hopeful about 2021, about how it would be a better year and that maybe some of the people acting like felon-trainees in politics and the local business community would see the light and start acting like reasonable human beings again. Nope. New Year, same old @#$%. You may have seen Donald Trump’s...

Focus on the good for this most unusual Christmas

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa It’s easy to be hung up on all of the bad things we’re living through right now. I’m not going to list them all, you know them all too well and don’t need me to remind you. So, as we head into Christmas week, I want to focus on the things we can celebrate – and yes, there are things. With all of the difficulties, we’ve learned to appreciate...

Not content with taking your vote away, apparently Republicans also want you to die

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa This was going to be a column about the non-trivial issue of politicians seeking to disenfranchise millions of voters literally because they didn’t like how the election went, but COVID-19, being COVID-19, the virus pushed itself back to front and center in the headlines again Thursday. With cases spiraling — especially in the central part of the...

GOP members in Pa. legislature — again — want to throw out your vote

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa It’s been a month since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump for the presidency — as it turns out by some seven million votes and more than 70 electoral votes, the biggest win by a challenger for the presidency since Franklin Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover in 1932. And yet, too many seem convinced that somehow state legislatures, the U.S. Supreme Court...

Republicans screaming about ‘voter fraud’ know they’re lying

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa Rudolph Giuliani came to Pennsylvania this week for one reason: to lie. State Sen. Doug Mastriano held a publicity event in Gettysburg — it wasn’t a hearing — for one reason: to lie. President Donald Trump continues to rant and rave on social media (and now, during press conferences), gibberish about he actually won Pennsylvania. That, too, is a...

We will remember who is backing this coup

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa This madness is not just on President Donald Trump, who continues to to make ridiculously false claims about the election. This is not about Rudolph Giuliani, who went into federal court this week, literally seeking to set aside your vote in Pennsylvania, with crazed conspiracy claims untethered from reality. Yes, they spew ridiculous conspiracy theories...

As pandemic rages, we can’t give up the fight

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa The election is over — Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States. You know what’s not over? The COVID-19 pandemic. More than 180,000 new cases were reported Friday, some 5,500 in Pennsylvania. Over the last week, Chester County is averaging 100 new cases a day — and generally speaking, we’re doing better than average, But still...