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Eternal beauty found in region’s churches

If beings from outer space were to study the history of the architectural accomplishments of the human race, they would be greatly interested in our churches, especially Catholic churches. Here are the greatest artistic structures ever created by man, with signatures of our most celebrated artists – including Michelangelo, DaVinci, and Rafael – etched into their walls. Churches were/are symbols of the connection between the Divine and the mortal. Those aliens would also note that, in modern times, these “Houses of God” and the number of people who worship within them are in ...

Having quality of life here at home

When speaking about an optimal "quality of life," different people can have very dissimilar definitions. It usually depends on each person's individual preferences. These days, we often hear people rave about how perfect they think life is in Middle America. They tend to romanticize the lifestyle they envision there. Most are generally referring to a less complicated, stable, happy life lived in a safe, small town. They imagine a place where they can live quietly in a spacious, clean, and healthy setting alongside kind, helpful, and cooperative neighbors who all share their values. ...

Some orders are compromising military

They were not supposed to think. “Just following orders” conveniently removed the possible internal conflict by justifying immoral actions. Individuals were removed of personal responsibility, indoctrinated from young ages to hate everyone that the leader chose to blame. When those forces become overwhelming, individual moral compasses go haywire. Is this what is gradually happening now? We think of the atrocities of the Hitler regime and can’t imagine how the Nazis could do what they did and live with themselves. They believed they weren’t personally responsible because they ...

Jackson Center notes silver anniversary

NUERNBERG—Stroll into the justice palace in this beautiful city in Mittelfranken, ask to see Courtroom 600, and the nice, polite man at the reception desk will probably decline. “Unfortunately not,” he said, “because it’s a functioning courtroom.” The answer was no surprise, yet it was worth a try. Courtroom 600 is the site of the post-World War II trials of national-socialist leaders in Germany. The chief American prosecutor was Robert Houghwout Jackson, namesake of the Jamestown-based center. ≤ ≤ ≤ Eighty years after the opening of the trials in Nuernberg ...

Big Apple’s new ideals rotten to the core

Just because Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump in their Oval Office meeting appeared to bury the hatchet, my opinion of communism/socialism has not changed. I believe that if Mamdani introduces hardline Marxist ideas to the running of New York City that they will fail as they have always failed. Mayor-elect Mamdani’s manner reminds me of how Joseph Stalin, Russian Dictator and the murderer of millions of his own people, was portrayed as a loveable Russian grandpa in the 1943 propaganda movie “Mission to Moscow.” Unfortunately many Gen Z and others see Mayor-elect of New ...

All the comforts of home sweet home

Winter won’t officially be here until the 21st of the month. By then most of the Christmas parties will be over and we’ll be deep into present wrapping, food prep, and last-minute stocking stuffers. But with the snow on the ground and that raw westerly wind, I don’t care when the calendar declares the season. For me, it’s here. Give me that old bathrobe, the flannel pj’s, and the fur-lined slippers. Then leave me in my nest in the den: the recliner sofa facing the big TV. Oh, and the warm cat who occasionally visits for a cuddle and a snack. Recently, some friends and I ...