[] 6 The Dallas Post November 8, 2001 Dallas, PA EDITORIALS | \d [J ® Why is America a sieve? Many observers have questioned why the U.S. was so vulner- able to the attacks that took place September 11. They criticize our intelligence agencies for being unaware of such carefully planned, large-scale operation; they question airport security, and they wonder why illegal aliens were allowed to stay in — and even leave, then return to — our nation to do their dirty deeds. A letter to the editor published on this page makes the last point, and asks why we can’t do better. While the writer's concern with sloppiness and incompetence is well-placed, he misses the mark in one important aspect; by appearing to limit his attention to “people from the Mideast,” he creates the impression that we are unable or unwilling to distinguish between real threats and innocent bystanders. Don’t forget that in the days immediately following the Okla- homa City bombing, the prime rumor was that “Arab terror- ists” were behind the slaughter. Many — nearly all — Middle Eastern people who choose to live in the United States are as shocked by recent events as any other responsible citizens. Some are Muslim, others are Christian, still others claim no religious affiliation, just like the rest of our population. The point isn't to take action only against certain groups of people who enter or remain in the U.S. illegally, it is to uni- formly enforce laws enacted to protect Americans’ security and jobs from those who would skirt our system of justice and take advantage of our forgiving nature. We can do that without dis- criminating against people who look a certain way or who practice a certain religion. To do otherwise would betray one the principles that underpin our society. Honor veterans Sunday Veterans’ Day is Sunday, November 11, and the observance is likely to have new meaning for many people this year. U.S. troops are engaged in a military action on foreign soil, re- sponding to the unprovoked attacks of September 11 that killed 5,000 innocent Americans. Thousands more, members of the National Guard and Reserves, have been called to duty at airports, nuclear power plants and other facilities that now appear vulnerable to attack, missions that might have seemed benign two months ago, but that now hold unknown risks. All the uncertainty and the prospect of casualties in a land halfway around the globe inspire greater appreciation of the men and women who serve now, and those who came before them, each willing to place his or her life on the line if neces- sary to defend the freedoms we hold dear. If you'd like to honor veterans this Sunday, stop by the Dad- dow-Isaac American Legion Post 672 for a short program that begins at 11 a.m. Publisher’s Notebook Every time I read another article about Microsoft, I thank my lucky stars for being on a Mac. Of course, now that the evil empire has bullied the U.S. government into a favorable settlement on anti-trust charges, my days may be numbered. Oh, you thought the settlement was fair and balanced? You should have known better the moment Bill Gates remarked that he was happy with it. Unless this type of case elicits wailing and gnashing of teeth from both sides, it's not fair or " balanced. As if to reinforce its dominance of both the computer world and the halls of the Capitol, Microsoft recently blocked access to some of its web sites by "foreign" browsers, defined as any- one who doesn't bow to the great Gates while mailing in roy- alty fees. And, seeking to co-opt both "pc" markets - personal computer and politically correct - the Sultan of Seattle has decided that unpleasant words must be banned from the lan- guage, at least the language of Word. I read about this in a column that appeared in my second favorite newspaper, The New York Times. The author described synonyms provided by the Word 2000 thesaurus. Looking for a suitable replacement for "jerk," Word provides "tug," "sharp pull" and other terms that could be useful in writing about how to catch a fish, but are worthless for describing Donald Trump. This offensive on offensiveness might be understandable if Microsoft was an affiliate of the U.S. Health and Human Ser- vices Department or the Luzerne Intermediate Unit, but it seems odd coming from a champion of the free enterprise system. I mean, how can Bill even write a steaming memo to his staff, dressing them down for allowing Netscape to sur- vive? Maybe it would go something like this: "To: Explorer team : From: The Bess most wonderful, inspiring leader Re: Failure to erash Netseape into Hwy bytes reduce (word not found) into small pieces Listen up ereeps crawls, I've had enough of your wimpy sloppy joe sandwich performance. I want those idiots (word not found) at ASE (word not found) on their knees begging for forgiveness. Starting now, we'll give 1,000 stock options to anyone who can take business from those suekers lollipops. Take no pris- eners guests! Bilt Invoice The Dallas Post TIMESeLEADER unity Newspaper Group P.O. BOX 366, DAL A 18612 » 570-675-5211 Ronald Bartizek H B. GENERAL MANAGER eather B. Jones REPORTER Ruth Proietto PRODUCTION MANAGER Brenda McDonough ADVERTISING ACCT. EXEC. Darlene Sorber OFFICE MANAGER Ron and Charlotte Bartizek PUBLISHERS EMERITUS Stephen Peterson PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 1-800-427-8649 Swampy reflections. Photo by Monica Marzani. I lH ES Is the U.S. government guilty of harboring terrorists? Editor, I was watching a congression- al hearing as the immigration commissioner was making one excuse after another as to the reasons the INS has not done its job of rooting out terrorists as they come through our borders. Is government guilty of delib- erately by neglect harboring ter- rorists in our country in order to appease the likes of Saudia Ara- bia, Egypt, and others? All Mideast people on passports or Amnesty Week is November 12- 18. All fines on any overdue books or other library items brought to the library during this week are being forgiven. Magic Show next week: In cel- ebration of Children's Book Week, November 12-17, magician Mark Piazza will present his "Reading Is Fun" magic show on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the library. He will take the children magically to distant lands, back in time, or to visit places like Oz and Hogwarts, and show them how important read- ing really is and how it can shape their lives. Registration is re- quired. Call the library at 675- 1182 to reserve places for your young readers. Citrus Fruit and Cheesecake Sale: The Friends of the library are now holding their 10th Annu- al Fresh Citrus Fruit Sale, featur- ing the traditional Indian River selections of red grapefruit, or- anges, mixed grapefruit and or- anges, and tangerines. This year another fruit selection and gourmet cheesecakes, especially appropriate for gift-giving by businesses and individuals, are also being offered. See the coupon below published as a visas who are not citizens of USA must be called in by INS and investigated as to their sta- tus and current whereabouts. Anyone of status must be de- tained and immediately deport- ed. The INS commissioner made excuses as to why this cannot be done immediately because the computers are not: net- worked. No one on the congres- sional committee questioned him, yet any computer novice is aware that networks can be set Give it up! Amnesty Week is Nov. 12-18 | hi courtesy by the Dallas Post for zs “information about prices, order- g deadline ald pick-up dates. Memorial slate blackboards available: The building which now houses the library was built in 1927. It served as a high school until 1961, and an ele- mentary school until 1983, when the blackboards were removed in order to renovate the building for library needs. In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the for- mer school, 9" x 12" slate black- boards are being framed and of- fered for sale @ $25 each. To place your order, contact Martha at the library. The limited supply of blackboards will be available in time for holiday giving. (Sugges- tion: This would make an unusu- al gift for anyone who attended the school in the "good old days".) Book reviews: The Monday morning - group recently dis- cussed “The Girl with a Pearl Earring,” by Tracy Chevalier. The author weaves a fictional story revolving around the popular painting by the same name by the Dutch painter, Jan Vermeer. The group found the story weak, but were interested in the infor- mation it conveyed about the customs and dress in Delft in the 1600's. It evoked a vigorous dis- cussion and most of the group found it easy to read and inter- esting. (My thanks to Jean Rodda for her notes.) The evening group discussed the book, “Stolen Lives,” by Mali- ka Oufkir. Pam Oliveira reports the following: "It was a dramatic tale about a family's survival when held prisoners for 15 years up in a matter of weeks if not days to tie all the INS computers together. Don’t our congressman have enough brains to have someone on their staff who could under- stand and correct what the INS commissioner falsely alluded to? Lets get the INS on the ball and bring all the people from the Mideast and quiz them out. A few years ago in Scranton, the INS raided a meat plant and took the Mexican workers who in deplorable conditions. The au- thor is the eldest daughter and it is amazing to hear her recount her years in captivity with little resentment and hatred. We all agreed that the one element that made this story stand out for us was that it happened during our lifetime in the 80's and 90's and not centuries ago. If anyone is were here illegally and put them on a plane and flew them out of our country to Mexico. These people were not going to blow up anything in our country, yet those who are threats to our country are coddled by our gov- ernment. Mr. Ridge should immediately take action on this matter. Thomas Dombroski Trucksville looking for a story about shongth | and overcoming insurmountable obstacles, this is the one!" The group willl meet on Mon- day, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at Stax restaurant to discuss “Lake Wobegon, Summer 1956,” by Garrison Keillor, and welcomes newcomers. For more information call Pam at 674-9935. SL [ "Here's my order for: Citrus Fruit sale Conducted by the | Friends of the av. Sf) Back Mountain Memorial Library New this year - Gourmet Cheesecake! Fresh fruit sampler (oranges, apples, pears and tangerines in a gift box) and cheesecakes are new items. The fruit will be delivered to the library on Dec. 7. Pickup hours are: Friday, Dec. 7, 7-9 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 8, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (Cheesecakes must be picked up Friday to assure quality.) WE. EER EEN SER NEN SE GEN WIE SER SER MEE WEE EE SE AR SEE EE EE ___ 2/5 bushel of Navel oranges @ $12 ea. ____ 2/5 bushel of red grapefruit @ $12 ea. | I | ____ 2/5 bushel of mixed orange/grapefruit @ $13 ea. $ i ____ 2/5 bushels of Sunburst tangerines @ $16.50 ea. $ | S.__ S ____ Fresh fruit sampler @ $18 ea. $ ____ Gourmet cheesecake @ $8 ea. $ (Specify ____ Plain __ Cherry ___ Chocolate Swirl) Name City State Zip Phone Back Mountain Memorial Library. Send or bring completed form to: ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] } ] | Address } ! ] ] ] ] | Proceeds benefit the library. | Checks shouid be made payable to: Back Mt. Memorial Library, 96 Huntsville Rd., Dallas, PA 18612 Coupon presented as a public service by The Dallas Post ONLY YESTERDAY 70 Years Ago - November 6, 1931 SWARTZ AND ROBERTS WIN BOROUGH SCHOOL DIRECTOR CONTESTS EASILY Heavy voting marked the elec- tion in dallas borough where in- terest was focused on the fight for school director. Dr. G. K. Swartz, nominated on three tick- ets, came off high man, closely" followed by John Roberts, Re- publican nominee. At a meeting of the Dallas township school board, Walter Fletcher was appointed by the board to serve as a school direc- tor in the place of Earl Husted who is now a resident of Kingston Township. Fire, which originated from a defective flue caused $500 dam- age to Woolbert 8 Market in Trucksville. Trucksville and Dallas fire com- panies responded to the alarm but the blaze was under control after the arrival of the Trucksville company. 60 Years Ago - November 7, 1941 LAKE ROAD MAY SOON BE OPENED A two-mile stretch of the new three-lane highway to Harvey's Lake has been completed from Dallas to a short distance this side of Castle Inn but will not be opened for traffic until the State Highway Department accepts the state road from the contrac- tors. The newly organized Tri-Hi-Y Club of the Dallas Township High School is sponsoring a dri- ve to collect food which will be distributed to the needy families of the community on Thanksgiv- ing. “Sis” Elston has been named chairman. At Acme Markets, some of the | chuck | items you could get: roast, 1 Ib., 23¢; smoked bacon, 1 Ib., 23¢; lettuce, large head, 6¢; grapes, 2lbs., 15¢; soup, 1 1-Ib. cans, 25¢; butter, 2 Ibs., 73¢. 50 Years Ago - November 9, 1951 NEW DODGE FEATURED AT FORMAL OPENING ! The 1952 Dodge will go on dis- | play at L. L. Richardson's show- room on Lake Street, Dallas, in | conjunction with an open-house | in celebration of the completely Continued on page 7
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers