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Republican party answers to one

Today, Donald J. Trump owns the Republican Party. Trump selects candidates, controls campaign finances, determines Party policies, and punishes/rewards on the basis of personal loyalty. In the 18th century and into the early 19th century, state political Party Bosses held the power. Then our last Constitutional Amendments were the Civil War Amendments (13-14-15th). There were no 16th Amendment (to shift federal revenue from Custom/import tax to mainly Income Tax), and no 17th Amendment (direct election of Senators away from state legislatures). Patronage, nepotism, and backroom deals ...

View from Hickory Heights: Because He Lives

This weekend is Easter Sunday, the day all Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It is an important day in the church calendar. In fact, it is the basis of the Christian religion. It gets its meaning from the Bible. In John 3:16 and 17 we read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”(NIV) When my first husband was alive our family used to sing in church every now and then. We loved ...

The NCAA is in deep jeopardy at my house

March Madness has made me furious. The local CBS affiliate airs Jeopardy on weeknights at 7:30p.m. When I tuned in last Thursday and Friday, CBS had taken leave of their senses. Instead of the familiar Jeopardy theme song, the screen was filled with the thump, thump, squeak, squeak of basketball. W-H-A-A-A-T? “You idiots.” I yelled. “You pre-empted Jeopardy for basketball? You gotta be kiddin’ me!!!!” You may guess that I am not a basketball fan. I was very unhappy. I could not Fuggedaboudit. The only time I was recruited into any sort of basketball fandom was through ...

Bumblebee bath allows for a natural buzz

In our Northwestern Pennsylvania summers many gardeners provide bird baths in their gardens. The bath needs to be cleaned regularly and filled with fresh shallow water. Likewise butterflies need a butterfly bath. These also need to be kept clean and filled with an appropriate amount of ...

City still going overboard with river plans

As most of you are aware, the city of Warren is attempting to enhance an area of the city they are referring to as the “waterfront.” This is the area at the foot of Liberty Street just past the parking garage. After realizing that they couldn’t put a traditional “boat ramp” into the river at a 90 degree angle they now have come up with a so-called boat launch ramp running parallel to the river. At face value that may not seem like a bad idea however they have the ramp going upstream into the current, which means anyone attempting to launch or retrieve their boat would be ...

View from Hickory Heights: Name has changed, but service is the same

This past year the Akeley Church changed its name. It is now the Akeley Christian Fellowship Church. It was disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church. Other than the change of its name and a new pastor, most of what went on previously is still going on. Pastor Rick Rohlin is now our pastor. We are currently involved in a Bible study about the miracles of Jesus that are written about in the book of John. Bible study is every other Thursday night. The next one will be on Maundy Thursday at 6:30 pm. It is not necessary for you to be a church member to attend. Each year we have a ...