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Nicotine Pouches Not Approved For Cessation To The Readers’ Forum: As expected, Gov. Hochul’s proposed excise tax on the sale of nicotine pouches, similar to taxes on other non-cigarette tobacco products, has supporters and detractors. I urge you not to accept claims that nicotine pouches, like Zyn, should be exempt from tobacco excise taxes because they are approved for smoking cessation. That’s wrong. There are a variety of FDA-approved, medically backed, safe nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), available both over-the-counter and by prescription. They provide controlled, ...

Keep The Truth In Sight

Local Commentaries

Do your eyes lie or is it your mind struggling to erase what your eyes have seen? If you never saw the videos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s deaths, you could just accept the news that they were provocateurs and deserved to be shot. You could choose to believe what you hear. The operative word here is choose, but your mind can’t erase what your eyes saw, you don’t have a choice to unsee what you saw! That is a hard mental disconnect! Our pledge of allegiance says, “we believe in one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Justice ...

Is Anybody Sorry Anymore?

Local Commentaries

In today’s generation, the simple phrase “I’m sorry” is used far less than it should be. Instead, many people play the blame game or deflect responsibility rather than taking personal accountability for their actions and choices. Receiving an apology for an unprovoked action of another can feel wonderful, but the crucial question remains: Does an apology reflect true sincerity, or is it a strategic avoidance of consequences, or quite possibly it’s merely a passive phrasing like “How are you?”, “Dude”, or “Man” but really has no substance? Google defines an ...

Just One Well-Aimed Snowball

Local Commentaries

Frankly, I don’t throw a snowball very often these days. Occasionally I might toss a mischievous handful at Richard in the driveway. I do remember though, back when I was first aware that a good snowball is a weapon. I’ll never forget what happened: I was in the fourth grade. In the winter we couldn’t wait to blast out of school and race home for snow play. My classmate, Nancy, and I built a tall snow fort behind the front yard low hedge. It was a fun place to snuggle out of the wind and we kept fortifying and smoothing its sides with each new snowfall. We dug out peep holes so ...

How Far Is It Going To Go (Part 1)

Local Commentaries

*Note – Because there is a lot to say about this subject, this narrative will be in two edition segments beginning today and concluding next week. I’m not a huge fan of the “to be Continued” blurb, so I’m giving you a heads up now. I hope it doesn’t change your mind about reading it. As a huge baseball fan, I try to keep up with the history of the game as best I can, including the bad that comes with, what I feel is the greatest sport of all. That’s not to say I don’t care for other sports, but baseball seems to be the sport most often statistically discussed and ...

The Race For Governor Has Begun

Local Commentaries

The New York State conventions of the Democratic and Republican parties have ended, and the race for Governor has begun. Six months from now you will feel numbed by what is likely to be the most expensive and possibly the most negative race for Governor ever. The Republicans, of course, will blame all of the problems in New York upon Kathy Hochul. The issues they will hammer on will be “cashless bail,” high electricity costs and restricting hook-ups for natural gas. Hochul is trying to address these issues and move to a more middle ground, but she and her party are vulnerable ...