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Why pursuing Greenland makes sense

Recently our “loyal” allies – France, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands – sent small forces to defend Greenland from U.S. aggression. These forces were intended to make any U.S. military action an attack on multiple NATO members simultaneously, effectively raising the stakes for any “coerced territorial surrender.” Not to be left out, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland strongly opposed U.S. efforts to acquire Greenland, calling the situation a “rupture in the global order.” Obviously still ...

Having a sweet tooth during a blizzard

Running out of Werther’s hard caramels doesn’t qualify as an earth-shattering crisis. Unless the only hard candy left in the house are the candy canes hanging on the Christmas tree. And they of course contain sugar. I’m supposed to limit my sugar intake. Werther’s, a German company, has been making their butterscotch-flavored morsel since 1909. They sell their candies in 100 countries. Here in the States, the candy has developed a reputation as a senior citizen favorite. Last Christmas, my grandson, Malcolm, said my candy dish was full of “old lady candy.” I noticed that ...

Village fleeced in deal with sewer district

The problems outlined in this commentary with the County Pomfret Portland Dunkirk Sewer District (PPD Sewer District) have previously been brought before the Village Mayor and Board of Trustees, but needs repeating. It’s important to reiterate those problems as nothing has been done by the Village Board to remove the 61% discount in the rate for sewer services provided by Fredonia to the PPD Sewer District, a Sewer District located outside of the Village. The 61% discount in the sewer rate to the PPD District from the established rate for Fredonia residents amounts to a Village ...

Facing the Challenges of Local Government

We tend to forget that it takes dedicated people to run our local government institutions. One of my earliest memories of politics was observing my Dad’s duties as Supervisor of the Town of Kiantone. It was not a job that he really wanted—he was plenty busy running the farm—but the Republican Committee asked him to run for the position, so he did. After a couple of terms, a neighboring dairy farmer, a Democrat, Frank Bratt, decided to run for the job. My Dad’s reaction was: “Well, if he wins, he will do a good job.” Bratt did win, and I remember my father saying shortly ...

Finding clarity in protests over ICE

By THE REV. MEL McGINNIS “We are seeing two movies on one screen,” the late Dilbert creator Scott Adams once said. Minneapolis is exhibit one. One side calls it murder, the other, self-defense. One side says, “ICE is causing chaos.” The other side says, “ICE is there because of the rampant chaos there already.” I’m not a law enforcement expert, but you don’t have to be an expert to have common sense. Do you listen to an officer giving an order to exit the car or do you follow your lawbreaking partner saying, “Drive baby, drive?” Renee Good listened to her ...

Natural gas best option for facility

In early 2013, New York’s then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo showed up in Dunkirk on a wintry day to announce with great fanfare that the NRG power plant in Dunkirk would be converted from a clean-coal facility to natural gas-fueled power production. I was a Chautauqua County Legislator at the time and I was there that day to experience the community’s collective sigh of relief that the county’s largest property-taxpaying entity would continue to operate. However, everything changed as the governor pivoted and decided he would bow to political pressure from the advocates on the far left ...