By Jeffrey Page
One year ago, the Democrats were sitting pretty. Now they seem unable to find the chair.

“In the Fields” Benedict Farm in Montgomery is a pastel painting that is on exhibit at the Wallkill River School and Art Gallery in Montgomery through March 31. You can see my paintings of the historic village of Montgomery, and fellow-zester Carrie Jacobson’s colorful oils all month, and watch us demonstrate live on Sat. from 5-7pm. Free, refreshments served, 232 Ward St. (same as 17K) Montgomery.

By Shawn Dell Joyce
In the time it has taken you to read this, Americans have collectively spent $23 million. Shuman says that $16 million of this figure could be spent in small locally-owned stores. Imagine how much $16 million would help our schools and communities.

SAILOR’S PRAYER - A simple yet eloquent prayer offered by every sailor who sets off to sea – “Keep us, our God; for your ocean is so big and our boat is so small.”

By Bob Gaydos
The quake in Chile actually shortened the length of days on the planet and, never mind shaking the earth, it actually moved it. That’s got to have far-reaching ripple effects. Take Jim Bunning, for example.

By Michael Kaufman
Last Thursday afternoon a group of Jewish high-school girls in the state of Washington gave the adults in the state a lesson in sportsmanship…

By Shawn Dell Joyce
Phthalates, called “plasticizers,” are chemicals used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic soft, pliable, and in the case of water bottles, clear. This chemical is as American as apple pie, and is present in all of our households through things like toys, food packaging, shower curtains, vinyl flooring, lubricants, adhesives, detergents, and most cosmetics. Phthalates make baby’s teething rings soft, give your car that new car smell (by off-gassing), are in almost all perfumes and nail polish. They make medical tubing and IV bags flexible. …Here’s the bad news …

By Carrie Jacobson
Shawn Dell Joyce and I are showing our paintings at the Wallkill River School in Montgomery, starting in a week. Shawn is making paintings celebrating Montgomery’s bicentennial, and I didn’t want to be left out.

By Michael Kaufman
Scotty Lago isn’t the only one with sexually suggestive pictures on the Internet, just the only one sent home from Vancouver, in another example of Olympic hypocrisy that goes way back. Remember Jim Thorpe?

By Jeffrey Page
Kathy Nguyen was the only New Yorker to die from anthrax after 9/11. But who was she?