The Democrat majority on the Select Committee on Intelligence has released its “torture” report – hurriedly released before the Republicans take control of the panel. There is little “new” in the report – but like most reports, what it leaves out would make a good report. For instance, it left out all the interviews with the CIA Directors, other top CIA officials, the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States. . . ooops - they weren’t left out – those people were not interviewed at all! We repeat – this extensive report interviewed none – not even one – of the principals involved in the enhanced interrogation sessions.
Authored by John Shaffer, Editor
The Democrat majority on the Select Committee on Intelligence has released its “torture” report – hurriedly released before the Republicans take control of the panel. There is little “new” in the report – but like most reports, what it leaves out would make a good report. For instance, it left out all the interviews with the CIA Directors, other top CIA officials, the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States. . . ooops - they weren’t left out – those people were not interviewed at all! We repeat – this extensive report interviewed none – not even one – of the principals involved in the enhanced interrogation sessions. Greetings from Sister Street. I guess I was premature in bragging about the light display. It didn't take long Saturday evening for the wind to make a shambles of it including a little two-foot tree that I had securely anchored to a bench or so I thought.
I haven't heard much yet about my less than perfect attempts but it has only been a week. I had not seen my neighbor who lives at the end of the street for a few weeks (since the temperature dropped below 50 degrees). I stopped by his wife's place of employment to check on his welfare. She assured me he was fine. I'm used to seeing him often during warm months. We traveled down to Linden, PA Sunday morning to take in a model train show and sale. I should have known it would be a whole bunch of dealers selling obsolete, rusty old train pieces and parts at outrageous prices. I did buy a few magazines at four for a dollar. Good for cold snowy days which am sure we will have plenty of soon. That's as far as my railroad plans usually get anyway. If fathers aren’t around when their children are being raised, they are known as absent fathers. There are some male animals that are not only absent fathers but also dangerous fathers, and the black bear has been known to be one of the latter.
Normally, a male bear does not recognize his offspring, which could explain its capabilities of the killing and even the eating of his own young. This is exceedingly rare in the animal world. In Minnesota, Bear Biologist Lynn Rodgers studied reported cases, from 1930 to 1978, of both bear and yearling bear being killed by other bear and could only find reports of nine cases, in which this occurred. By Kathie Lepper
What a beautiful day we had to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with family. It was a winter wonderland overlooking "The Ridge" and down through the valley. I enjoyed driving to LeRoy after attending Mass and stopping at my daughter, Debbie and Denny Foust's home to spend some time with their family of Fousts and Deaks. The mountains were dazzling as I made my way to LeRoy where I joined my son Ralph and Judy Lepper and their family at Dave and Amy DeCristos' home for the Thanksgiving feast. By John Shaffer, Editor
The official deficit for fiscal year 2014 (which ended September 30) came in at $483 billion dollars. That is a steep drop from the $1.2 trillion from fiscal 2009. The Obama Administration, if not downright overjoyed, is at least pleased with the drop in the deficit, attributing it to its wise policies. Of course, the federal government took in over $3 trillion in revenue, by far a record amount – and yet still managed to spend $483 billion more than it took in. So by extracting $3 trillion from the private sector and giving it to the public sector (and we are not including $2 trillion in state taxes or the $1.1 trillion in local taxes) we have managed to “drop” the deficit to $483 billion. By Ruth Dibble
Recipes for this week include Turkey Reubens, Turkey casserole, Hearty Turkey Casserole, Turkey Broccoli Hollandaise, and Apple-Cranberry Stuffing. Dear Readers,
Happy Advent! Last week I cautioned us about the tendency to skip over Advent and jump right into Christmas. I made the rookie mistake of thinking that everyone knows what Advent is. So here is a brief definition of this holy season in Christianity. In the Christian calendar Advent is the first season of the church year, and is a period of 4 weeks of preparation for the birth of Jesus and His Second Coming. The origin of Advent is lost to history, but it was observed as early as the 6th century. It is often celebrated with popular customs such as the lighting of Advent candles. IBS – or Irritable Bowel Syndrome – is more common than ever. What is it? What causes this condition, and what can be done? We will briefly examine the answers to these questions.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is relatively common, and not as severe as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, which include ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease. IBS is a disorder that affects the large intestine (colon). Irritable bowel syndrome commonly causes cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea and constipation. Symptoms can vary from person to person, and symptoms may vary in intensity. Congratulations to Tricia Hojnowski on her success at competing for a place in the District Band. Tricia is a senior at Troy High School and plays the clarinet.
Ron’s mom Beverly joined us and we thoroughly enjoyed our day at his nephew’s (her grandson) home in Canton on Thanksgiving Day. Stacy and Jen Ferguson and children put on a bountiful feast for us, plus for her grandparents, great aunt and uncle and her dad and his wife. We also enjoyed much fellowship together as well as the grand tour of their new home. It was a most enjoyable afternoon indeed. Sales were especially brisk at the shoe store in Troy where I work, both on “Black Friday” as well as “Small Business Saturday”. It was good to see people out and about supporting the small, local businesses throughout the community. By Esther Butcher
The weather is kind of strange, but not too bad. Dark and dreary is not my favorite, but at least we don’t have much snow. Thanksgiving was held at David and Judy Bristol’s this year. They had fifteen people attend. On Sunday they went to Linda and Jared’s in Chemung, NY and onto the Arnot Mall with Lois. Michael and Janet Pratt and children of Grove City, PA and Jim, Joan and Scott Denkenberger were Thanksgiving dinner guests of Gerald and Marjorie Pratt. Owen and Paul Brackman of W. Leroy came in the afternoon. At the risk of losing the Sister Street designation I'll try to come up with some actual "Street News".
I noticed several cars at the Spencer's home last Saturday. I think Thanksgiving dinner was held then. Irene Matson (better known as mom) received a happy birthday phone call from her nephew Joe Biddle who I think lives in Lansdale, PA. Many of you will remember his father "Fid" Biddle, a mailman in Canton for many years. We did manage to put up some Christmas lights last week. By Rev. Kenneth Marple, M.A.
This week will complete our "Facts of Faith" column. We're going to let Aunt Ruth finish up the column; she was the best "fact for faith" this nephew could have ever hoped for! The new Circuit Writer book "101 Facts For Faith" is now available at the Settlement House Fine Arts Shops, Sylvania, PA, the Austinville Union Church and Olde Covert Church for a donation of $10 which will go entirely to World Vision Missions to help suffering children the world over. Thanks for reading. Next week, our column will return to "Healing Hints." By Jim Lewis
Suppose that there was a fire in your house or apartment that resulted in some things being ruined, and others being saved. What would be on your priority list that you hoped had survived the destruction? After you, your family/others and your pets what would be next? My most important belongings would be family heirlooms, pictures and other items of sentimental value, the things of lasting importance in my life. How about you? Can you think of some? Why are these things so important? It is because there is love and commitment attached to them. They are in some ways a part of us. T.V.’s, appliances, furniture and cell phones can be ruined and replaced without a whole lot of regret. Their significance is temporal. Are our lives here on earth the same? Do we function for a time and stop working and that’s it, or is there more? Are there things that we do here that have lasting value like a photo or heirloom? Is there a God and if so, does He have a photo album? Are you in it? Is YOUR picture on His refrigerator? How would you know? By Evangelist Eric Smith
“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and selfcontrolled so that you can pray,” 1st Peter 4:7. This passage continues with the translation difficulties we have been finding in the last few verses. It depends on how the previous verses are translated to understand what there meaning is. For this is the reason theses passages must be kept in their contents. To help understand this passage we need to remember what was happening or what was about to happen when Peter wrote it. Peter has already dealt with Christians and their suffering for Christ. He encourages the readers to live according to God’s will. Studying history shows there was already a certain amount of persecution against Christians for their belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ which often led to death. Peter wrote this letter just a few short years before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans when many Jews losing their lives in 70 AD. By Stratton "Lefty" Schaeffer
It was 1983 and I found myself in the most unusual of places: squatting in the bowels of a large deactivated institutional boiler. Beside me was a gifted mechanic named Tom Gross who had probably forgotten more about large boilers through the College of Hard Knocks, than I had learned while obtaining academic degrees and teaching at several universities. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had retained my services to complete an engineering study of the central power plant on the campus of the Selinsgrove Health Center. The study would set the scope of work for future renovations and repairs to the plant. In turn, I had retained Tom's services to assist with the study. Our team represented academic theory buttressed with street smart practicality. |
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