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Love Is Answer To Violence

If you are a student of history, you know that violence has been with humanity since the day Cain slew Abel. Despite its tragic commonality, death always shocks us more when we can relate to the person lost. That shock echoes in our hearts and minds, pushing us to ask the same questions: how did this happen, why did it happen and how can we prevent it from happening again? It is natural to tune out the deaths we cannot relate to, after all, it would be unbearably heavy to think about death constantly. But make no mistake: there are people who must think about it every day. First ...

Repowering NRG Could Power Region Economically

Ever since NRG started talking about shuttering its coal plant on the Dunkirk waterfront, people have had all sorts of ideas about what should happen to that facility next. For a very long time, a lot of people argued vehemently that NRG, or some other company, had to start processing coal there again. It appears people have finally come to understand that it is not going to happen. With that realization came many dreams about what should next fill the previously gorgeous, prime real estate. A multitude of diverse and exciting ideas emerged. Who wouldn’t love to see that land used ...

Inciting Violence Isn’t Protected Speech

Let’s pick up where we left off last week. Intolerance directly or indirectly begetting (1) threats of or (2) actual physical violence may ultimately reflect something along the spectrum from disrespect for others to disregard of the rule of law. It’s often smart to pull back on the rhetorical reins long before loose language rises to the level of implicit threats, much less explicit threats. Since the Sept. 10 assassination of Charles James Kirk, many have called for pulling back on the rhetorical reins. Toning it down. Being respectful of others. Such calls have been ...

How To Handle A Discontinued Plan

Question: I just received correspondence from my insurance company informing me my 2025 insurance is discontinuing and won’t be offered in 2026. What should I do? Answer: Happy Insurance Season! It is the end of September and your plan is required to inform you about all of its changes for 2026. We have been talking all year about how 2025 changes to prescription drug coverage have impacted seniors and saved them so much more money on their medications. That means that insurance companies covering you have had to pay more. Such a change usually means we will be seeing some ...

Kirk Was A Martyr Too

In an interview, Charlie Kirk said, “Before I go on a college campus, my prayer is very simple: ‘God use me for your will…’ So what is God’s plan when I go onto college campuses? I will only tell the truth. I will not compromise and I love on the lost… Jesus called us to tell the truth and Jesus called us to contest in the public square for his purposes. I am far more interested in what God wants of me than what I want from God and what God wants for me is a life fighting for the truth.” Observing the opposition fighting against him, Charlie said, “They will use the ...

The Cycles of Our National Politics

In my lifetime, I have lived through what I would call two or three “cycles” in our national politics. We came out of World War II as the major super-power in the world—there was a good feeling in the country. Yet, somehow, we lost our “mojo.” Along came the fall of China to the communists and then the war in Korea. Suddenly, in the 1950’s, we were in a mood of fear and apprehension. Along came Senator Joe McCarthy, “pouring kerosene on the fire,” blaming it all on purported communists in the government and conducting a campaign of fear, falsehoods and blame. The ...