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Toward A More Perfect Union

The notion of America becoming a more perfect union is a fascinating idea. It is self-reflective and humble. It recognizes our nation’s basic good qualities, while also acknowledging that our past actions are not always ideal. We believe it is an attitude and perspective that can serve us well in this moment. Some of the readers here will know us. We grew up and knew each other at a young age, graduating from Frewsburg High School in 2006. Still, we have taken different paths over time and often see the world from differing perspectives. One of us went on to the military and ...

A Chemist Explains Why Scientists Write

Civics education, I’m told by experienced jurists like former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Jack Zouhary, a federal judge in Toledo, is in the dumpster in public schools. Citizens including a new US Senator graduate without knowing the branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial), the difference between the U.S. Senate and the state Senate, or which came first — the U.S. Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. Justice O’Connor, who went to school in Texas, said she got sick of hearing about Stephen F. Austin, but she still ...

Your Wedding Day Is Yours

Brides and grooms receive lots of advice. Some of it’s even good. Here are a few suggestions that brides and grooms can evaluate for themselves. ¯ During your life, you get few days that really are yours. A wedding day is one of them. It’s yours to dream of. yours to contemplate. It’s yours to plan. It’s yours to enjoy. And it’s yours to remember. Is it also others’ to dream of, contemplate, enjoy, remember, and, to the extent you invite them to do so, plan? Sure it is. Yet it’s really your day. Most, if not all, prospective guests will be ...

Traveling More Than 1,600 Miles For A Shot

I traveled more than 1,600 miles to get a COVID vaccination shot. Thereby hangs a tale. Back in January, vaccines were reserved for people at high risk of becoming very ill if infected. Medically speaking, I am a wreck: heart attacks, cancer, emphysema, and pre-diabetes. To boot, I am age 78. I qualify, easily. On Jan. 25, I drove the 30 miles from home in Brookville to the DuBois Alliance Church gym/hall and got my first Pfizer vaccine. The injection itself was a breeze, with a bit of arm soreness as the only noticeable side effect. The nurses, EMTs and other staff members ...

There Is A Difference Between FSA And HSA

Question: What is the difference between an HSA and a flex-spending account (FSA), and which is better? Answer: Both of these options are useful ways to pay for medical expenses with benefits and limitations with pre-tax dollars. An HSA (health savings account) is a pre-tax way of saving money to pay for medical expenses later. The HSA is useful for those individuals who have a high deductible health plan (HDHP). The HDHP must have a minimum deductible level of $1,400 for individuals or $2,800 for families. You cannot establish an HSA if your health plan isn’t a HDHP. A HSA is an ...

Sacred Ground

When you first see it, it is just a piece of low ground situated along a fast-flowing, southern river. Then you look about and see the cannons, plaques and memorials and you realize that you are at Pittsburgh Landing on the Tennessee River at Shiloh. You glance down at the brochure sent to you by the National Park Service and there is the old photo taken in 1862 of this place crammed full of steam boats delivering the goods of war — yes, this is that same place. This is same piece of ground that General Grant and his Army were jammed into on Sunday, April 6th of that year as the ...