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Immigration Contradictions At Center Of Crisis

Five years ago, on January 6, I became a naturalized citizen of the United States. It was COVID times, so the ceremony was very uneventful. It was just me and the immigration officer on the other end of the plexiglass at the USCIS office in Buffalo. That same day, the Capitol was attacked, precisely while I was taking the oath of allegiance. I came out as a new citizen into a political landscape that I was not prepared for. I did not know then that, within a few years, this country, my adopted home, would feel so fragile and so dangerous in ways I never imagined. I have loved this ...

Dems Making Health Care Unaffordable

New York’s health insurance premiums have risen well above the national average, imposing a huge financial burden on New York residents. Unfortunately, the New York government recently approved another round of substantial premium rate hikes for almost all private health insurers operating in New York state. Why are premiums so much more expensive than the national average? New York imposes taxes on your hospital bill, on your health insurance contract, on the premium you pay and on health insurance companies. According to an independent analysis of the state budget, New Yorkers ...

Three Sheets To The Wind

I’ve missed that wonderful aroma of sheets and towels coming in from the fresh air. Sadly, my house deed states, “no clotheslines,” meaning no tee shirts flapping in the wind on a sunny day. Generations X and Y have probably never inhaled that glorious smell. Now all our sheets come out of the dryer. The manufacturers have tried, but there is still money to be made by the person who gets that little delight just right. Yesterday, I had reason to mourn the loss of that washday joy – the only good part of the laundry process I remember from being a kid. I was sorting sheets – ...

Pegula Seeks ‘Best Opportunity’ For Bills

ORCHARD PARK—Let’s pick up where we left off 50 weeks ago, at the conclusion of the Buffalo Bills’ 2024 season. That season ended in the American Football Conference championship game with bad officiating favoring what this column called the Kansas City “Chief Referees.” This followed a divisional-round-playoff game between the Houston Texans and the Chiefs for which referees were themselves called for bad calls favoring the Chiefs. * * * Fast forward to the divisional-round playoffs following the 2025 season, with the Bills playing the Broncos in Denver on Jan. ...

Pegula Seeks ‘Best Opportunity’ For Bills

ORCHARD PARK—Let’s pick up where we left off 50 weeks ago, at the conclusion of the Buffalo Bills’ 2024 season. That season ended in the American Football Conference championship game with bad officiating favoring what this column called the Kansas City “Chief Referees.” This followed a divisional-round-playoff game between the Houston Texans and the Chiefs for which referees were themselves called for bad calls favoring the Chiefs. * * * Fast forward to the divisional-round playoffs following the 2025 season, with the Bills playing the Broncos in Denver on Jan. ...

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness

If cleanliness is next to godliness, I might not make it to the pearly gates. It’s sad that I’ve slipped so much. I was reared to know the difference. Mom made me rewash dishes or pans that didn’t pass inspection and if I dusted around the doilies instead of under, well, that only led to more chores. When I picture myself climbing the back stairs up to our apartment, in my memory I’m always sweeping them. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have back stairs now … I’d be tripping over dust bunnies. It’s not that I don’t dust or vacuum at all. I remember vividly ...