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Portal makes college a whole new game

This month, I’m going to digress and give attention to the “portal” that is now prevalent in college athletics. First, I have to give a history lesson on the NCAA (National Association of College Athletics) and the rules of enforcement. When I was a player in the sixties, and at that time in division I and II, freshman basketball, football and other sports were not allowed to play on the varsity until they were sophomores. Thus, there was Wilt Chamberlain, 7-foot-2 on the freshman squad, beating the pants off the Kansas Jayhawk Varsity in scrimmage after scrimmage. If a player, ...

Stepping on toes at the big dance

There’s a party goin’ on and you’re invited! But first, you must choose a color in order to be admitted into the gymnasium, which is divided into two sections. Left is for blue, and right is for red. That’s it. No purple, black, white, yellow, green, etc. Although you are free to dress in whatever color or style best suits your taste, you are required to wear a blue or red headset, which will dictate the genre of music you hear and the kind of images that appear on the screens above the basketball hoop. The people wearing blue headphones appear lively, animated. They are ...

Were Jesus and His Disciples Communists?

More and more these days Christian politicians and their followers use the Bible to justify their stances on societal issues. Many of our leaders use scripture to justify their support of the state of Israel and the related military actions as just warfare. They also use the Bible to condemn abortion, homosexuality and transgenderism. It seems to me that there is just as much evidence in the Bible, maybe even more evidence, suggesting that Jesus and his disciples were communists. Every day I read from a Daily Catholic Devotions magazine called Living Faith. A recent Daily Devotion ...

Reconnecting the dots on Fredonia’s water

I am responding to the commentary “Dots have been connected, don't look away” from May 16 by Andrew Ludwig in the OBSERVER. I wish to offer two new sets of dots. First, dismantle the commentary dots which are largely based on misinformation, half truths and even deception. Second, reassemble the dots in the correct way. Upon my careful review of that article, I realized it is imperative that our village residents and businesses understand the Fredonia water situation the right way. As I have said in the past, opinions and ultimately decisions should be based on factual ...

Loss of seeds is food for thought

The world of commercial seeds has reached the point in a Monopoly game when one person owns everything and everyone else is paying rent. To understand how we got here we have to understand the relationship between humans and plants through the millennia. At first, 100,000 years ago, people were just eating what they could find. Then around 10,000 years ago the Earth entered a steady state with regular seasons and people started deliberately planting things and eating what they had planted. At first, some settled down and formed little communities while others traveled with the ...

Subversion exploits openness, generosity

CHAUTAUQUA—Chautauqua Institution’s 2026 season kicks off this weekend. Among the first speakers is Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute, who addresses Advocates for Balance at Chautauqua, or ABC, at 3 p.m. Monday in the Athenaeum Hotel. * * * Before getting to that, let’s salute ABC’s hundreds of supporters, without whose encouragement—both moral and financial—ABC couldn’t have enjoyed the success that it has enjoyed and which needs to continue. You, faithful reader of this column, already understand that their effective persistence ...