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The World Through A Windshield

There is a country song about a trucker on the road who is “looking at the world through a windshield.” It has made me think, over the years, that in actuality...we all see life through a windshield. The way we were brought up, what we were taught, where we were born—all of it is a “windshield” through which we see and understand the world. I think it is this “windshield” which makes it so hard to comply with the golden rule... “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Trying to see the world through someone else’s eyes is not easy. Just think about the war-torn areas of ...

Trump’s Immigration Policies Weaken Jamestown, America

I am an immigrant. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be entering 2025 with anything other than fear for what the new administration would mean for the over twenty million non-US born individuals living in the United States, many of my loved ones included. What I hadn’t been able to predict, however, was the loss I felt on behalf of Jamestown, as we forfeited the opportunity to welcome new neighbors to our community. My exposure to our flawed immigration system, both through personal experience and through my work as director of the New Neighbors Coalition program, would not ...

Are You Serious, Nick Langworthy?

“I can say confidently that under the Trump Administration we are witnessing the renewal of the American Dream” The office of MAGA cheerleader, Congressman Nick Langworthy, releases a weekly newsletter to his constituents in Western New York’s 23rd Congressional district. The district comprises all of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Tioga Counties and parts of Erie, Schuyler and Steuben. Langworthy, born in Jamestown, is a graduate of Pine Valley Central School and Niagara University. He was long active in Republican state politics before being elected to Congress in 2022. ...

Skrmetti Matters Beyond ‘Treatment’

Let’s pick up where we left off last week. Sex and gender differ. Organisms that reproduce sexually—as opposed to asexually—have two sexes: Male and female. Males are he; females are she. Gender, by contrast, is a construct of language. Masculine nouns are he, feminine nouns are she, and neuter nouns are it. ♦♦♦ With that understanding, the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Skrmetti involves sex, not gender. During the Biden administration, the United States and other plaintiffs appealed their loss in the Cincinnati-based federal-appellate ...

Ways To Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties

Question: I signed up for Medicare, and evaluated my options and signed up for additional insurance, but now I received paperwork telling me I have a Late Enrollment Penalty and have to pay more money for my premiums? What should I do? Do I have to pay this? Answer: The steps for getting onto Medicare are different for everyone, and the timeline to join can be different too. Every individual has a different set of variables they bring to the table when discussing Medicare and when to join. Most individuals become eligible for Medicare when they turn 65. If you are working and carry ...

What Are Your Goliaths

First, of all, I hope that you are familiar with the account of David and Goliath from the Bible. Our guest preacher used it as his scriptural reference Sunday. In case it is unfamiliar I will give some of my history with it as well as something from the Bible. I missed the book of the Bible that he said the story was in, but I knew the story. I was able to look it up on the Internet. The account is in I Samuel 17 in case you want to read it. Goliath was a giant who wanted to throw his weight around and pester the Israelites. For forty days he appeared to taunt them. He was a ...