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Who is taking Islam seriously?

Imploring a young audience to “discard the stuck-on-stupid card,” retired Lieutenant Colonel Alan West then quoted poet Maya Angelou, “When people show you who they are the first time, believe them.” Spoken not just once, “Death to America” has been bellowed a gazillion times by Islamic Shias in Iran and elsewhere including Dearborn, MI. Do you believe them? If not, you own a “stuck-on-stupid” card. In New York City, Muslims on Times Square incessantly shouted, “Allahu Akbar.” The leader addressing the hyped-up horde said sarcastically, “Don’t scare them, ...

Charging back on state of electricity

The Editor’s corner by John D’Agostino of August 14 on renewables jolting electric costs was full of misinformation and contradictions. You mentioned that we shuttered “clean burning coal plants.” There is no such thing as clean burning coal, never was. That misrepresentation alone shot your credibility early on. You then jump to the environmental transformation of Lake Erie brought on by the shuttering of “clean burning coal plants” and other industrial facilities that turned the lake (and the land surrounding it) into a toxic waste dump. So is cleaning up polluting ...

Six Supremes put U.S. elections up for sale

Statistics suggest that our current Supreme Court justices have some of the highest IQs in America. It seems fair to conclude, then, that six of them knew exactly what they were doing when they effectively put for-sale signs on the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government—on the presidency, on the Senate, on the House of Representatives. The deciding six were Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Barrett, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Thomas. Definitely and positively, all six realized the message they were sending to candidates and their big-money organizational ...

250th anniversary of the United States a big deal

As it should be, a lot has been made this year of the 250th anniversary (birthday) of our country. It is a time to reflect back on what it has taken to bring us to where we are today. One of my siblings reminded me that, in fact, we have been alive for about 1/3rd of that time — just think about it. If you divide 250 by three … you get my age! Either I am very old or the country is very young — and both are true. It made me reflect back upon conversations with my father. He told us that in discussions he had with his grandfather, that his grandfather described working all ...

Benjamin Franklin makes visit to Chautauqua

CHAUTAUQUA— Chautauqua Institution doesn’t slow down as the season winds down. Although the last week of the season often has somewhat fewer visitors than earlier weeks, the place bustles with as much energy as ever. Morning-amphitheater programs bring out the crowds, as do afternoon ...

West Side Phase II sewers ready to go

This past week, a ribbon was cut and the county officially announced that the Sewer Extension Phase II for the West Side of Chautauqua Lake is now ready for hook-ups. If this had been a church setting, you might have been tempted to shout “Hallelujah!” or “Amen!” but, in any event, it was an important occasion. I don’t think that the general public realizes what it takes to bring such a large project of this type to fruition. A Sewer District expansion requires the approval of the municipalities involved. It also requires the creation of or expansion of sewer district ...