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HS girls basketball: Chaquanna Zendarski, Kayle Aufiero lift Nanticoke past Pittston Area to stay perfect

H.S. boys basketball: Crestwood takes down Hanover Area, 61-36

The American people have been sold a bill of goods.First, Madison Avenue convinced us, through a never-ending stream of television commercials, that we had to keep up with the Joneses. We started buying needless things because we were told to. Then, the banks offered credit cards to everyone and anyone who wanted one, regardless of their ability to repay. This taught us that we could have instant gratification.Then, the corporations bought our government. Now the government only passes laws that benefit the wealthy, to the detriment of the U.S. economy. So we decide to elect a president who promises change. But since the change isn&#8217;t instantaneous, two years later we elect a Congress of the opposite party.Now that party, in order to regain the presidency, will vote no on anything the current president wants because they don&#8217;t want him, or her, to look good.Since we are stuck with a two-party system, I think it is time to pick the party of your choice and vote a president and Congress of the same party. Keep them all in office for at least eight years and see what happens.As it stands right now, the conservatives vote so that corporations can move our good-paying jobs out of the country. Then we elect liberals to help the unemployed and poor. Then we elect conservatives because they convince us that all our tax money is going to support people who don&#8217;t want to work. Then, because of a reduced tax base, education and social services begin to decline, so we elect liberals again.But we never keep a party in office long enough to achieve any permanent changes, because we want the learned instant gratification to which we have become accustomed.If you think the government should get rid of Social Security, Medicare, unemployment compensation, welfare, the minimum wage, food stamps and unions, and the wealthiest Americans should get more tax breaks, then vote straight Republican.But if you believe that the government should create an environment in which good-paying jobs are returned to the United States, where infrastructure should be improved, where our children are the best educated in the world and where we create jobs so people no longer need welfare or unemployment, then vote straight Democrat.Then keep them in office for eight years and see what happens. Only then will we be able to see what the party of our choice really wants. Then we know who to blame for our success or failure.Bill HerbertWilkes-Barre

Letter to the Editor: Allow single party to control nation, so policies can be fully evaluated