MAIL BAG LETTERS FROM READERS

I have been out of work since May 2008 and I have been diligently seeking employment, but with no success. I know I am not alone.

I also have been keeping track of our government’s statistics of the unemployed, and the true percentage is grossly more than the reported percentage. They are not counting all the people who have fallen off the grid, meaning all the people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits.

Our government is trying to keep the percentages around a flattering 8 to 9 percent, or in some states 10 percent.

As our patriotic duty, we were asked to fill out a census that went to each and every home. There were no spaces on that form that asked who did not have a job, who was collecting unemployment or who was not working.

I think it is high time that we get the true percentages of the non-working, not just the ones who are collecting unemployment.

I am one of many people who will fall off the unemployment grid very soon, and I do not want to be added on to the employed list simply to lower the government’s statistics (so it can appear to be succeeding).

I am not looking for a handout from my government: local, state or federal. I’m looking for real employment so I can continue to hold onto my life’s accomplishments for which I worked very hard, such as my home, car, medical benefits, etc., – the very things that used to make this country great.

GOP candidate Derk deserves voters’ support

We are writing in support of Malcolm Derk, a Republican candidate for Congress in the 10th District.

Derk, a Snyder County commissioner, is a graduate of Susquehanna University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and religion. Derk and his wife, Erin, live in Freeburg, where he served on the borough council and was its president from 2006 to 2007.

Derk is a bright new face on the horizon of Republican politics in the 10th Congressional District. He is a person of integrity, carries no “baggage” or “skeletons” and is the candidate who can win in November. Derk is pro-life, believing strongly in the protection of the unborn, and pro-Second Amendment, a hunter and owner of guns.

Volunteerism always has been a priority in his life. He has visited Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Philippines on humanitarian aid trips. He is an Eagle Scout and has been part of various local service projects and community programs. He is past president of the Snyder County 4-H Foundation, a merit badge counselor for the Boy Scouts of America and co-chair of the United Way public service program.

Derk also is involved in his home church and serves as a supply pastor for several congregations in Snyder and Northumberland counties.

Derk is number one on the ballot and number one in his pledge to serve you in Congress.

On May 18, we urge all our Republican friends to vote Derk for Congress. For more information, visit www.derkforcongress.com.

Kirby Park’s privies deemed pretty pitiful

On a recent outing with my son at Wilkes-Barre’s Kirby Park (admittedly we were playing hooky to spend the day fishing!), I was disgusted to find in that otherwise idyllic and family-friendly oasis the state of the portable chemical toilets to be revoltingly unsanitary.

C’mon, this is one of our area’s best recreation spots, full on any given day with folks from every strata of society: mothers with their small children, retirees with the right idea of how to spend a nice day, business execs in professional attire sporting telltale lunch-hour sneakers … the list goes on. Is it too much to ask that there be a few modest provisions made for the bare necessities of physical comfort?

While I have never experienced a portable toilet that was the ideal place to hold, say, a candlelit dinner with the wife, these Kirby privies were almost enough to make this father and son on the lam consider returning to school!

Psychics should not mislead the public

I’m not against people who present psychic services with the very clear purpose of entertainment.

I’m not against people who seek psychic services and who understand that the services aren’t “real.”

What I am against, though, is people who say that they have supernatural powers and don’t offer their services as entertainment. Self-proclaimed psychics offer false hope and can exploit people who often are in very desperate need of assurance, are very afraid and are desperate to find missing persons.

Pauline Bailey, a resident of Pittston, recently contacted psychic Carla Baron with sincere hopes of finding her missing daughter. According to Baron’s website, phone sessions range from $155 to $310. I’m not sure whether the Pittston resident was charged for the services of Baron, but there is little doubt that other individuals have been charged.

There is no compelling evidence that people have supernatural powers. If psychics such as Baron do have powers, they should submit themselves to experimental testing and prove their abilities. Until this is done, everyone should be very skeptical.

I have challenged Baron to a test of her psychic abilities and also have referred her to James Randi’s “The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.” As of this writing, she has not responded to my message.

Bishop coverage doesn’t wash with fan of soaps

This is an open letter to the brain trust at WNEP-TV programming. Not everyone in this area wishes to be informed whenever a member of the Catholic Church hiccups. Some of us would actually like to kick back, relax and enjoy ABC’s daytime dramas.

Surely WNEP could have shown the live installation of Bishop Joseph Bambera on WNEP2 or perhaps sometime during the three hours it devotes to news later in the day.

News media just not asking right questions

Why is there no reporting of our casualties in this forgotten war? Why is the Patriot Act still the law of the land? Why is Guantanamo Bay prison still operating? Why is this president honored for doing the identical policies of the previous president?

Why is the health care bill called reform when it will destroy the greatest care system in the world? Why did the left say it’s our duty to protest the government, but it’s wrong when the tea partiers do?

Where is the media on these questions of national importance? When will the newspapers and other media start telling the American people that America is in a slow descent to Hades?

We are living beyond our means and headed the same direction as the European Union, with debt that cannot be sustained without drastic cuts in benefits and entitlements. The longer we put off decisions, the greater pain and sacrifice our children and grandchildren will suffer.

John A. Kellett Jr. Pocono Pines Russell O. Gunton and Patricia A. Gunton Dalton The Rev. Adam Sexton St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church Nanticoke Justin Vacula Wilkes-Barre Rob Riemensnyder Wilkes-Barre Joe L. Souder Berwick