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When history leaps from the page

Some years ago I was sitting at a research table at the state archives in Harrisburg. I had filled out a research slip for something or other when I was handed (by mistake) a letter-size envelope containing a piece of canvas – a sample for those in state government in 1861 who bought tents ...

We ask presidents to do too much

In September 1935, an explosion of nine tons of dynamite devastated no fewer than a thousand homes in West Lebanon, a small community north of here in Indiana County.The accidental detonation at a stone quarry on the outskirts of town rendered the homes unfit for occupancy. Authorities ordered ...

GOP crackpots jump the track in Ohio

At least four or five times a week, freight trains rumble past my house. The tracks are no more than 75 feet from where I park my car.Most of the early morning trains consist in part of tanker cars carrying who knows what chemicals. More than once I’ve wondered what would happen if just one ...

The delight of a new slant on things

Not long ago it came to my attention that our irascible high school librarian – Nellie Mancini – was the sister of a great newspaperman.This would be Mickey Furfari. Beginning in the dark ages, Mickey took to covering sports at West Virginia University for the Morgantown Dominion-News ...

Biden speech looks ahead to 2024

GOP rants from the House floor aside, President BidenĢƵ State of the Union speech and the official Republican response by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas cast a bright light on the stark differences between the two parties, as the nation, ready or not, takes a turn toward what ...

POTUS has handy debt limit solution

“I want to look the president in the eye,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the other day, “and [have him] tell me thereĢƵ not one dollar of wasteful spending in government.“Who believes that? The American public doesn’t believe that.”Of course, McCarthy, the Republican leader, ...