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Cheers & Jeers

4 min read
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In this image provided by Cassie Thomas, Beckett Thomas, 13, who is a patient at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., poses with Taylor Swift, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Cassie Thomas via AP)

JEERS: In the same way that it doesn’t hurt to look before you leap or check the depth of the water before you jump in a lake, it also doesn’t hurt to check the provenance of information or images you post to social media. That’s a lesson that state Sen. Doug Mastriano learned the hard way this week. He thundered on X – the social media site most of us still know as Twitter – about the Biden administration’s subdued response to the drone sightings in the Northeast and elsewhere. Mastriano said that “it is inconceivable that the federal government has no answer nor has taken any action to get to the bottom of the unidentified drones.” The seriousness of his message, though, was undercut by the fact accompanying the post was an image not of a drone but of a prop from a “Star Wars” movie on a flatbed truck. When contacted by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mastriano insisted that he knew it was a “Star Wars” prop and accused the reporter of being on “the extreme left” that “totally needs a sense of humor.” If he was just kidding, though, why be so defensive?

CHEERS: In what amounted to a valedictory appearance, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey stopped at the Century Inn in Scenery Hill last week to talk about high-speed internet, its importance to small communities and rural areas and his efforts in Washington, D.C., to bring funding for it to Pennsylvania. Just a few weeks before he becomes a former senator following his razor-thin defeat in November by Republican David McCormick, Casey pointed out that the federal dollars for the internet expansion in Washington County were from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.3 trillion package designed to jolt the economy out of its COVID-19 doldrums. Casey said that “I’m damn proud I cast the right vote in March 2021 for a hundred different reasons, but in particular so we could invest in high-speed internet in a real way.” He also explained in human terms the consequences of not having high-speed internet – some children would be unable to do their homework. According to Casey, “If a child can’t do their homework, it’s really hard for that child, It’s really hard for that family. It’s really hard for the classroom that she’s in, and the school that she’s in.”

CHEERS: Taylor Swift is, of course, a global superstar and, from all indications, a savvy businesswoman, since her worth is said to be about $1.6 billion. She is far luckier than earlier music giants like Elvis Presley or the Beatles, who received bad advice or were taken advantage of by unscrupulous or inexperienced managers. Judging by news reports, Swift is also a pretty good employer. It’s been reported that Swift gave out $197 million in bonuses to people who labored on her Eras Tour, including drivers, caterers, musicians and dancers. And that’s on top of the salaries they already received. This is good p.r., but it also shows Swift is not a diva and has respect for people who work on her behalf.

CHEERS: Cheers to Uniontown senior Calvin Winfrey III on becoming the 20th player in Red Raiders boys basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark in an 81-53 victory at Latrobe on Tuesday night. Winfrey needed 13 points to reach the milestone and did so with a driving layup in the third quarter on his way to scoring a game-high 26 points. Winfrey is the third Uniontown player to accomplish the feat in the past two seasons. Jamire Braxton hit the 1,000-point plateau as a senior last year and current senior Notorious Grooms scored his 1,000th point later in his junior season. The Red Raiders improved to 5-1 overall and sit alone in first place in Section 1-AAAAA with a 3-0 mark. They are currently in Orlando, Florida, playing in the KSA Tournament.

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