Letters to the Editor Policy

To All Our Supporters

We, the Sons of the American Legion Post 86, Susquehanna, and the families of Johnny Edwards and John Napolitano, would like to take a minute to thank all of our supporters for making this year's Lenten Fish Fry an extremely successful event.

Each year for the past 5 years, the Sons of the American Legion, Susquehanna, sponsor a fund raising fish fry on each Friday of Lent. Each year we rely on many volunteers to plan, prepare, serve and clean up at each dinner. Each year we rely on the general public to purchase our dinners.

Once again, the local people have come through on both sides.

So, thank you to all the volunteers who cook, serve and clean up, all with a smiling face and an generous heart.

Thank you to all of our faithful patrons who purchase and enjoy our fish dinners, with a smile on their face, a generous heart, and an enjoyable evening.

Thank you to all for the wonderful camaraderie that surrounds each Friday's event.

All of the proceeds from the dinners funds the Johnny Edwards/John Napolitano Scholarship fund, so a future graduating high school student with an interest in music will also hold all of you in their heart when their name is called as this years recipient.

If you have participated in this endeavor in any way at all, we thank you. And we look forward to your support next year during Lent.

Sincerely,

Sons of the American Legion, Susquehanna Post 86

Johnny Edwards/John Napolitano Scholarship Fund

A Very Special Day

Catholics have a very special feast day following Easter Sunday. It is Divine Mercy Sunday on the Sunday following Easter. This feast Day was given to us by Pope John Paul II, soon to be beatified, in response to the revelations given to Sister Faustina. There is no better time in history for sinners to return to Christ.

What our Church is offering on Sunday, May 1 is called a plenary indulgence, and what this means, in very simple terms, is that, if we will go to Confession, and then receive Jesus in Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday, we can obtain the complete forgiveness of all sins and all of the due punishment.

St Lawrence Church in Great Bend will hold a special Divine Mercy Mass on May 1 as well as St. Ann's Basilica in Scranton with confessions from 3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. and a very special Mass at 5:00 p.m. Consider coming home to Christ who loved you enough to die the ignominious death of the cross to pay for your redemption.

Sincerely,

Annette Corrigan

Jackson, PA

The Political Uses Of Debt

Back in the 1980's, after the "fiscally responsible" Reagan Administration had run up then-record deficits, Budget Director David Stockman confessed that it had been done deliberately, to provide a brake on demands for future social spending. "Gee, we'd like to, but look at that deficit! Sorry!"

Cut to the 1990's. It took a Democrat to clean it up. The Clinton Administration did, and left its successor with record surpluses. The Bush (W.) Administration could have continued the fiscal policies that gave us that surplus. They could have made serious progress toward paying off the National Debt. But instead they nearly doubled that. First, Bush pushed for huge tax cuts for the rich that they did not ask for, did not need, and that did little for the economy. The resulting deficits, however, did not put a brake on the Neocons' desire to fight two wars without paying for either, one of which was infamously fought under false pretenses.

Bush therefore ran the first trillion-dollar deficit. I wish one of his underlings would come clean like Stockman did. If that ever happens, here's what I'm pretty sure went on:

Even-bigger deficits were deliberately created, not as a disincentive for increased social spending, but as part of a scheme to force the radical downsizing of the Federal Government, so it would be (as Grover Norquist says) "small enough to drown in a bathtub." A game of Deficit Chicken. This would enable their lunatic fantasy of creating 50 little close-to-sovereign nations where we once had the United States.

Here's why this would be a bad idea. Many of these mini-nations would eventually have a Boss Hogg in charge, or even a Jerry Falwell. And there would be nothing the impotent Federal Government could do to protect the rights of these citizens. Corporate dominance of these new entities would be assured, as no one state would be big enough to stand up to them as the Federal Government alone could; and a corporation could furthermore threaten to go next door if challenged. Unchecked corporate abuse would be certain.

In addition to corporate worshipers, here's why some people are working toward this twisted State's Rights fantasy: as a malignant act of revenge against a Federal Government that shoved Civil Rights down their throats a half century ago. Think they're not still steamed about that? Half a century is nothing to people who are still fighting the Civil War. Old times there are not forgotten.

The fundamental irony here is, Republicans invoke both the Constitution and their notion of State's Rights. But the Constitution (Article VI) gives supremacy to the Federal Government, which completely undermines their extreme State's Rights conception. Neither is it Original Intent. Otherwise we would not have ditched the Articles of Confederation.

President Obama has been tasked with cleaning up a mess even bigger than the one that faced Clinton, a mess that the GOP has successfully blamed him for. He had to continue deficit spending to prevent an economic collapse (at least he, unlike Bush, had a reason). But now we face a Debt Crisis that, if not dealt with, will eventually result in an economic collapse.

The GOP is using the deficits they created to force radical spending cuts. Their mantra is, "We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem." Not exactly. Huge tax cuts are what returned us to deficits to begin with. And repealing them, and ending corporate tax loopholes, would take care of the deficit instantly.

The GOP is also saying, "We can't tax our way out of the problem." Sure we can. And must! Fact is, we can't cut our way out of the problem. If cutting $60 billion was such an ordeal, what makes them think that cutting $1.6 trillion more - the only way, sans taxes, to stop the growth of debt - will be any easier? That much cutting is unwise, undesirable, and politically impossible.

So if the Republicans, with their No-Tax fetish, insist on protecting the rich rather than dealing with economic reality, our eventual economic collapse is their fault from start to finish. All for a crazy dream of up to 50 tinhorn despotisms that, as a result of their dangerous scheme, wouldn't be worth a plugged nickel. Just like our lives.

Sincerely,

Stephen Van Eck

Rushville, PA

Building Again!

We are building again! Habitat for Humanity of Susquehanna Co. will be selecting a family to purchase a new home in the Borough of Montrose. The 0% mortgage will be held by Habitat for Humanity. Applications will be accepted during Open Enrollment from April 26 to May 23. Eligibility requires an applicant to be a resident of Susquehanna Co., provide proof of full-time employment with a minimum income of $23,000/year or more and have a need for affordable housing. Contact the Habitat office (570-278-4102) or e-mail habitat4humanity@epix.net for information and an application. Ground-breaking for the new house will be on South Main Street on May 7 at noon.

Sincerely,

Dolores Foster, President

Habitat for Humanity of Susquehanna Co.

Do You Remember?

Do you remember the Hough family of Pine St., Susquehanna, PA? They moved to Jacksonville, FL several years ago.

Judy was diagnosed with breast cancer and got some kind of infection and was in the hospital for several months. She had to have a lot of therapy to learn to walk and talk again.

Now she has had a stroke and is back in the hospital for more therapy amongst other things.

My daughter, Melody Heesh Glogowski, is her best friend and has been to see her several times. Right now, Melody and a friend from work are getting ready for the Avon Walk for breast cancer in Colorado - 39.3 miles in two days, from June 25-26. It’s for Judy, and their team is called JuJube (Judy’s nickname).

If you would like to donate for this walk, visit avonwalk.org or send it to Melody Glogowski, 8548 Carr Ct., Arvada, Colorado 80005.

If you want to send Judy Hough a card, her address is 7028 Dilifae Dr., Jacksonville, FL 32244.

Sincerely,

Mary Heesh

Susquehanna, PA

Voice In The Wilderness

What with the mainstream media in the pocket of George Soros and the rest of the Progressives, I have found the voice of Glenn Beck to be a clear window to the future which awaits us should we succumb to the siren song of Social Justice and the rest of the Socialist agenda. A chicken in every pot, everybody deserves a home of their own and a job at the teat of the government. Sounds great on paper. All you have to do is give up your freedom and place your today and tomorrow in the hands of the intellectuals who know so much better what is good for you. Of course, the intellectuals who are selling this scenario just happen to be the ones who intend to be at the top of the food chain in this new utopia.

Our Founding Fathers really had it right. Our Constitution did not materialize out of thin air. It was the product of great minds who had lived under a despot (King George III), who resolved that this new nation would be governed by the people. The primary champion of that concept was Thomas Jefferson, of course. If you have or had questions as to the insight of our Founders, you only have to read the Federalist Papers. Today’s Progressives give short shrift to all of this as our Constitution flies in the face of the “original thinker,” who thinks himself or herself as intellectually superior to the average American. They scoff at the concept of “we, the people.” What could they possibly know, they sneer? Only we original thinkers have it right.

Let me go on record as saying that I believe the Founders were right in seeking Divine guidance. Within the Constitution, they were farsighted enough to provide for amendments which were to be enacted by vote of the people. They certainly did not provide for change in the form of our government by virtue of Presidential Edict. Glenn Beck is not adverse to change. To the contrary, he supports change which comes from the will of the people. With respect to Progressivism, it is truly sinister if it undermines Freedom and results in dependency. I also believe that a return to the Founding fathers and the Constitution as written is not only a good and possible thing, it is the only thing.

Sincerely,

Joe McCann

Elk Lake, PA

Could We Be The Next Fukushima?

Harkening back to the kamikaze pilots who dived their planes into allied ships during WW II, the 600 workers at the ruined Fukushima nuclear complex willingly enter a death zone of radioactive wreckage.

In a time when the word “hero” is bandied about so freely, these men are in the fullest sense of the word, heroes. With full knowledge and forethought, they are sacrificing their lives in a valiant attempt to repair the as yet uncontrolled reactors. But like their kamikaze forebearers, their sacrifices are in vain.

The amount of energy locked up in the atom strains belief. Just one pound of uranium-235 is equivalent to 1.5 million pounds of coal or oil. In the mid-50s, nuclear energy promised to produce electricity “too cheap to meter.” A golden age of free power was just beyond the horizon. But for all its wizardry, a nuclear reactor is simply the latest in boiling water technology.

It started with wood, then coal, followed by oil, now it’s...

Fuel rods, twelve-foot long, pencil-thin pipes filled with pellets of uranium. Fuel rods release a ferocious amount of heat. They quickly change water to steam that turn generators that make electricity. But there is a caveat. The rods must be immersed in water. Otherwise bad things happen quickly.

Exposed to air they turn to molten mass and release plumes of radioactive uranium. That's what happened when Fukushima lost power and the emergency generators failed; the rods lost integrity and released their poisonous vapors into the air.

To cool the rods, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) pumps 1,850 gallons an hour of seawater, the only water available, onto the three troubled reactors. That solved one problem but made three others.

The reactors became encrusted with a thick layer of salt that made them increasingly hard to cool. The salt also corroded machinery making repairs more difficult. And the runoff was screaming with radioactivity, 10,000 times the level considered safe.

Soon the runoff basins became filled with super-hot seawater and had to be emptied into the open ocean to make room for more contaminated seawater. TEPCO has been running this filling-and-emptying loop for almost two months.

“The definition of insanity,” according to Einstein, “is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The professor might question TEPCO's sanity.

But to be fair, to stop dousing the rods would cause a catastrophic release of radioactivity, a triad of Chernobyls.

While Japan looks for a permanent solution, the situation worsens. The island nation jumped the Fukushima crisis from a 5 to a 7. That puts it on par with Chernobyl with a shot at a new category, No. 8.

The ongoing plight calls the safety of the entire global nuclear energy industry into question. In particular, could a Fukushima happen here in the United States?

The Earth’s crust is a mosaic of 15 pieces or plates. They jostle and grind against each other causing earthquakes. The largest and most active section is the Pacific Ocean Plate. In 2008, swarms of small earthquakes were detected in this plate. This giant was becoming restless.

Recently, the Pacific Plate registered an increase of temblors. The quakes started last year in Chile with an 8.8 m. Going clockwise, the next one shook New Zealand this year with a 6.3 m. Continuing clockwise, Japan was rocked with a 9 m. If the quakes continue in the same direction, a major quake could strike the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a long, undersea fault that stretches from Vancouver to northern California. A section of this fissure that runs parallel to Washington and Oregon is locked, storing up energy for a future earthquake. If it ruptures, seismologists predict a major 9 m earthquake followed by a Fukushima-like tsunami.

While there are no nuclear plants near the northwest coast, there is something that is more explosive than Chernobyl and Fukushima combined: volcanoes. Earthquakes and volcanoes are strongly related. Both occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates; either one can trigger activity in the other. Washington has 11 volcanoes and Oregon 43.

Everyone knows the Big One is coming. What they don't know is how really big the Big One could be.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA

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