Preparing for 5G is economically essential

The techie in me is excited to hear about a new bill that members of the state House Consumer Affairs Committee will be discussing at an Aug. 9 hearing.

In July, Rep. Frank Farry, RBucks, introduced HB 2564 — the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. The bill would set a regulatory framework for the deployment of small cell nodes, which is the infrastructure that will support 5G technology.

Even though 5G devices won’t be commercially available until 2020, it’s encouraging to see the Legislature being strategic in its efforts to prepare for the widespread deployment of small cell nodes. Countries and states are in a race to ensure they have the ability to support a 5G network, and Pennsylvania must also work to stay ahead of the curve, especially when cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are vying for Amazon’s HQ2.

It’s an incredibly important economic development discussion that deserves a committee hearing and should receive the Legislature’s full attention in the weeks ahead. HONORA ROCKAR

Cranberry ease their pain. All those other states can’t be wrong. LEE CARNAHAN Plum

Regarding the Sports article last Sunday about the Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids (July 29, Harness Racing, “An Overdue Victory”):

The article says, “... but Kakaley got enough out of his trotter. ...”

The Adios is a race for horses that pace, not trot.

Although the breed of horses, called Standardbreds, is composed of both pacers and trotters, their gait is one or the other, but not both. There is a clear distinction. MARILYN PAINTER

Edgewood

The term “cult of personality” first came to modern prominence in a 1956 speech by Nikita Khrushchev in which he denounced the worshipful image of Josef Stalin. The term has been revived recently to describe the relationship between President Donald Trump and his voter base.

In a recent column (July 10, “There Is No Cult of Trump”), though, conservative writer Cal Thomas conflates the popularity of two previous presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, with the cult-like devotion of Mr. Trump’s base. But this is a fundamental “category error.” Admiration for a politician or affinity for his (or her) policies or principles is a far cry from the abnegation of one’s intellect and self-reflection required to submit to the whims of a demagogue. Why is it even important to quibble over definitions? Because in the Era of Trump, words, and even truth, are fungible things, so fidelity to accuracy in definition is

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more important than ever.

No better example of a cultish reaction could be offered than that of the Republican Party following the recent debacle in Helsinki. If one throughline could be said to define Republican/conservative thought since the end of World War II, it would be antipathy toward the USSR (now Russia) — our existential and implacable foe. Yet, following the Helsinki debacle, some two of every three Republicans polled thought Mr. Trump had done a bang-up job. This is a near-bovine response. As The Economist put it: “Mr. Trump could walk down Fifth Avenue and publicly thank Mr. Putin for his help in delivering him the White House, and it might not cost him a vote.”

To paraphrase the great Christopher Hitchens in his denunciation of waterboardingas-torture: “If Trumpism is not a cult, then there is no such thing as a cult.” JIM LeJEUNE

McCandless