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The separation of church and state

It was drilled into me at an early age that part of being an American was the belief in the separation of Church and State. Of course, the foundation of that belief goes back to the earliest history of the country when immigrants came here from Europe to escape religious persecution. That principle was codified in the Constitution of the United States with the words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof....” Having said that, it worries me that today some are beginning to equate religious affiliation with ...

Twichell still standing for taxpayers

The OBSERVER is correct in pointing out in its June 26 View that the village of Fredonia is a leaky vessel. Where the OBSERVER’s comments fall astray is by taking a slap at Trustee Michelle Twichell for anything other than perhaps her choice of words. Time and time again, Trustee Twichell was the only trustee to stand in opposition to this current board’s out of control spending. Twichell has stood firm in her opposition to this board’s fiscal mismanagement, in spite of the nasty comments from her fellow board members regarding Fredonia’s budget and water issues. Perhaps ...

First year in Albany: New Assemblyman gets taste of gridlock

As we all know, the Legislature in our state is one of three co-equal branches of our government; its purpose is to make law. Laws can be good when they flow from the truth, but when “truth” is subjective (your truth or my truth), then laws can be quite destructive. The Legislature’s purpose is not to bow to the will of the executive branch, or to defer its law-making power to the judiciary, or to capitulate its power to a regulatory agency; rather, the elected members of the Legislature must represent their constituents by seeking the truth. In practice, this would require ...

Evolving America needs something to celebrate

What are we celebrating this weekend, anyway? The memory of something that occurred in our distant past. The ideas of freedom and liberty so earnestly and dramatically expounded by our founding patriots that seem so distant now. Long ago and far away. We ooh and ahh to the fireworks displays, spend extravagantly on our own fireworks, watch or march in the parade, party and barbeque, fly Old Glory — happily taking a Friday off from work. As long as everything is normal in our own world. But not every American, or hopeful American-to-be, is included in this “normal” America. ...

Beneath our Norway maple – vandals and thieves

It’s garden season. All the trees, bushes and pretty flowers in my backyard look so innocent. But I have learned – the hard way – that they are out to get me. They are a well-organized crime family, with covert agents working behind the scenes. I’m out there constantly, hoping to survive the daily threat. Let’s start with the killer weeds. They hide under the flowers until they are big enough to break through on their own. I have to bend over, like an open safety pin, to tug, twist, and yank at their stubborn roots. Some tap roots are so entrenched, they are embedded among ...

Even loyal Catholics struggle in scandal

A recent commentary in The Buffalo News caught my attention because it summed up the feelings of many Catholics in the Diocese of Buffalo who have endured the sexual abuse scandal and coverup that resulted in more than 900 verified abuse claims against priests of the diocese. During this unsettling period some Catholics like the commentary writer sought alternatives to the Catholic Church. She, and others returned to the Catholic Church only to face the closure or merger of parishes that had been the center of their spiritual lives. Catholics were told the closures were due to the ...