Free Republic

ROARING SPRING, PA. — When the Appvion Inc. paper mill plant shuts its doors for good in two weeks, putting 293 people out of work, it will mark the first significant manufacturing loss in this state since President Biden took office. “We were all completely blindsided,” said state Sen. Judy Ward, who claims she and other local officials had no hint that the plant, founded in 1866, was in danger of shuttering. Mitchell Becker, president of the local branch of United Steelworkers, the union that endorsed Biden for president, said he thought his job — which he’s kept for 25...

PITTSBURGH -- Years ago, there was an urban arcade called The Bank located here within a series of five old buildings that once housed financial offices in the Gilded Age. Connected internally by a savvy developer, 145,000 square feet of abandoned former grandeur was turned into a series of high-end shops, bars, a bookstore located in a former bank vault and a disco simply called The Library. It was the late 1970s, and discos were everywhere. This one attempted to set itself apart with a little pretense, a proper dress code: jackets, ties and no jeans for the men; women...

ERIE, Pennsylvania -- The instant you walk into the 750,000-square-foot PHB Industries tool and die plant, your senses are engulfed by the smells, buzzes and hums of machines and people making things. Instantly you are aware you are in a place where man, woman, technology, natural resources and robotics all collaborate for a multitude of product creation and assembly. Aluminum die-casting; zinc die-casting; and machines of every size, shape and capability are everywhere, some run by a computer, some giving off thousands of degrees of heat and some guided by skilled workers. The plant serves a multitude of markets that...

Since the pandemic began, just as the Pennsylvania primary was about to occur, they have weathered a delayed primary, a new mail-in voting process that was already set to debut before the pandemic began, stood in line at drastically reduced in-person voting precincts, and with a handful of exceptions, waited through long delays in wanting to know who won the primary contests. “The primary was supposed to be a test run to iron out the kinks of what happens once the ballots are received by individual county officials,” explained Larry Ceisler, a Democratic media professional based in Philadelphia. In short,...

And judging by the numbers so far, President Trump drew voters out in force. With almost 98 percent of districts counted, Republicans have cast more than 861,000 ballots for Donald Trump, with 734,000 Democrats voting for Joe Biden. And while it’s still unclear how many people voted in person versus mail-in ballot, some counties are reporting that Trump drew plenty of supporters out of their homes. Most voters who cast in-person ballots in the suburban Pittsburgh county of Beaver, for example, were Republicans, said Daniel Camp, a GOP elected official there. “Republican turnout in person outperformed Democrat turnout in a...

OHIOPYLE, Pennsylvania -- Like most places in the United States, this tiny patch of a town is struggling to stay afloat. Like most places, people here are trying to help others out. And like most places, those who live and work here wonder whether their community will ever be the same. Vicki Marietta's family has been in this place forever. Decades ago, her grandparents ran the Ohiopyle House Hotel. Marietta sat on a picnic bench with her mother outside of Backyard Gardens, her charming, uncluttered store that specializes in baskets of local produce: eggs, bacon, cheeses, jars of honey, apple...

When Dr. Laura Schlessinger got her foot entangled with shards of broken glass a few months ago, she cleaned the wound, cringed at the amount of blood and went about her business despite a lingering, stinging pain that nagged at her to do something. Apropos of what she does in her professional life as the host of the "Dr. Laura" program on satellite radio, she yielded to the warning signs and went to the doctor, who informed her there were several pieces still lodged in her foot. She had them removed and then kept them as a reminder of sorts...

(UPDATE at end. Elk ‘apologizes’.) Reporter Salena Zito claimed she was verbally attacked by a Guardian reporter, later identified as Mike Elk, who got in her face, called her an anti-Semite while blaming her for the Pittsburgh Synagogue massacre on Saturday because of her reporting on President Trump. Elk demanded she leave the scene near Synagogue where the press was gathered, according to Zito. Elk and Zito are both Pittsburgh natives who have achieved a national audience (of disparate reach and reputation) for their reporting. Zito posted to Twitter a photo of Elk with the caption, “In middle of a...

WASHINGTON -- When House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made history last week for the longest speech delivered on the House floor, she deserved praise for two things: her stamina in the eight-hour talkfest and her ability to do it in 4-inch spike heels. But politically, she likely did little more than create another attack ad for Republicans to run against Democratic candidates around the country. Pelosi's speech, mostly stories about "Dreamers" -- the people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children by their parents and are caught in a political firestorm between both parties -- was red meat...

RUSH: Salena Zito, one of the first in the media to correctly identify the strengths of Donald Trump via his voters and why they think and support Trump the way they do. She’s on CNN. She’s got a contract there. She’s an analyst, a commentator, shows up now and then. She was on This Morning with Poppy Harlow. They’re talking about Trump’s rhetoric and how much damage, Bob Corker and the IQ test with Tillerson and all that. And Poppy Harlow said this to Salena: “Salena, we’ve seen friends of Trump try to communicate to him through the media. You...

Neither party's elites represent the majority's views on an issue such as immigration; Trump does. Trump often promotes nastiness in pursuit of legitimate policy concerns. Yet his populism also taps into real frustration with two thing The classic answer is to take the wind out of his sails by co-opting (and moderating) some of his positions, thus not allowing him to be the only candidate tapping into populist frustrations. Even with all of his clownery, Trump won't implode until folks have another choice that satisfies the feelings he evokes. One or more of the other Republican candidates needs to draw...

Manchester (NH): Fred Thompson spent most of caucus night in Iowa hovering between third and fourth place -- a far cry from the lofty first-place position he held in Rasmussen's poll of likely Republican caucus-goers last June. It has been a long time since Thompson has made a compelling reason to be in this race. And it should be a very short time before he confesses a compelling reason to exit stage right. A bystander in his own race, Thompson's political what-could-have-been slipped through his fingers long before he announced his candidacy. “The process for running for president has begun...