Sep 1, 2006 2 min read

Paul Sunyak’s column in the Aug. 18 Herald-Standard (“Veterans, which of these did you fight for?”) hopefully will be read by all the veterans in our Herald Standard territory. As a World War II Purple Heart veteran, I can answer the question. I’m disgusted with the way politicis are played in our great state. From Gov. Ed Rendell down to the Legislature and more. Mainly, state Rep. H. William DeWeese is a good example of how the system has deteriorated in Pennsylvania. Take the midnight pay raise, for example. Then DeWeese as minority leader demoted those who voted against the pay increase.

Of course Rendell and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court judges all were involved in this farce. Something is wrong with the system, when a little file clerk in Harrisburg can deny a citizen access to certain records. We use to call these types “office commandos.” We need a smaller Legislature and an open Sunshine Law passed.

I’m saying that Paul Sunyak, Charley Reese, and Gene Lyons are the bright spots on your editorial page. I liked Reese’s Aug. 16 commentary on Bush’s hypocrisy in the Middle East. Lyons’ commentary on July 24 about Israel extremism was an excellent article.

Please wake up, America. There is more to this great country than a great sports team.

John H. Riffle

Uniontown