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In the small community of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, February 19, 2025, marked a somber chapter. On that day, Pennsylvania State Police discovered three individuals, aged 25, 24, and 32, dead from heroin overdoses in three different homes. This tragedy underscored the pervasive issue of drug abuse in the area.
President Donald Trump has asserted that his military actions in Venezuela aim to prevent such incidents. He believes that targeting fishing boats and capturing the nation’s dictator will reduce the narcotics influx into the United States.
Republican members of Congress have echoed these sentiments, even as Trump’s attention shifts to exploiting Venezuelan oil.
This approach harks back to the War on Drugs era of the 1980s and ’90s, where increased law enforcement and stricter sentences were expected to deter drug use. Instead, overdose fatalities and youth drug experimentation rose. The reality remains that those determined to use illicit substances will find a way.
Anne Case and Angus Deaton, in their 2020 book Deaths of Despair, suggest that addressing the root causes of drug abuse is crucial. They identify economic stagnation and a deep sense of despair, particularly in rural regions, as primary contributors.
“Without a good job, you can’t get married or have a stable home life,” Case shared with The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Your community is falling apart. Your sense of connection with other people is gone … [It] made the drug epidemic much, much worse because [drugs] were falling into a community that was looking for a way to numb itself.”
These observations resonate with Tyrone’s situation. Once a thriving center for paper and textile production, the town has lost numerous jobs to offshore competition and corporate decisions. Around 14% of its residents live in poverty, and Blair County, where Tyrone is located, saw an 80% increase in drug-related deaths from 2019 to 2022.
Trump secured 70% of the vote in Blair County in 2024. His campaign promised economic revival and a return to former prosperity, appealing to communities like Tyrone. Yet, as he labels economic concerns a “hoax” while leading another foreign intervention, it seems he manipulates the pain of these communities to justify military actions.
Meanwhile, Tyrone’s residents may see little improvement in their circumstances, whereas oil companies stand to gain significantly.
ICYMI
Anti-abortion extremists, including some prosecutors and law enforcement, have considered targeting women who have miscarriages or stillbirths. Wisconsin state Sen. Kelda Roys, a gubernatorial candidate, aims to prevent this in her state.
“When you have the view that abortion is a crime or should be a crime, then naturally you’re going to suspect that someone who has had a miscarriage has taken abortion medication or done something to have caused it,” Roys told our contributor Bonnie Fuller.
“This is of course an incredibly traumatic, physically and psychologically, very painful event for anyone to experience. But then to, on top of that, be treated like a criminal and have your body treated as a crime scene, is just horrific,” she said.
Read more: Kelda Roys is on a mission to stop a Republican bill that could criminalize miscarriage
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is officially seeking a second term. His campaign launch video highlights his administration’s rapid 2023 repair of a collapsed highway ramp. It’s a classic celebration of good governance: fixing potholes, creating jobs, and, as Shapiro puts it, “getting shit done.”
Shapiro’s likely opponent is Treasurer Stacy Garrity. She’s one of the few statewide Republican officeholders in Pennsylvania. She is known for having a record of extreme, anti-abortion views.
2028 WATCH… Gavin Newsom hired ousted CDC officials… J.B. Pritzker was profiled by WaPo… Rahm Emanuel visited Nevada…
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