If you have a private health insurance policy, would you call your agent and cancel it just because there is a small chance you might find something better? Of course not. That would be crazy. At some point after your policy lapsed, you would be prey for anyone eager to sell you any coverage ...

Politics in our country has taken a decidedly unpleasant, unproductive turn during recent years. Once, we Americans were able to agree to disagree. We could have sometimes dramatically opposing views on the issues, debating them fiercely, without shattering our sense of being one people with ...

CHEERS — to all of the emergency management agencies that swiftly responded to the Mancini Oil Co. fire in Fonda on Tuesday. The fire destroyed two buildings, resulted in couple of injuries and tied up traffic on Route 30A for hours, but it could have been much worse had it not been for the ...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to table a health care reform bill was a matter of simple mathematics. With Democrats solid against the measure and a few Republicans joining them, McConnell, R-Ky., simply did not have the votes to pass the bill. But the setback has merely ...

Liberals in the “we told you so” crowd frequently attempt to have their politics both ways. With President Donald Trump, they are gleeful in claiming he has not kept his promises to coal states — while neglecting to remind Americans many of the challenges facing fossil fuels are of ...

Talk among the politicians in Washington often seems to focus on why the government needs to spend more. If the justification is not national security, it probably will be health care. There seems to be precious little thought given to a serious, growing threat to both our welfare and ...

Of course contacts between Russian officials attempting to influence last year’s presidential election and those around President Donald Trump need to be investigated. That would be a perfect opportunity to explore other aspects of Moscow’s meddling in our affairs. It is strange — ...

Health care reformers, not to mention tens of millions of other Americans who understand money does not grow on trees, are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The rock is this: President Barack Obama’s signature health care takeover law encouraged states to expand the ...

Now that we have more details of Montgomery County’s 12-point Municipal Consolidation and Efficiency Plan, it’s becoming increasingly clear how bold the vision is in Montgomery County compared to Fulton County’s state-mandated Countywide Shared Services Initiative. Montgomery County was ...

JEERS — To the thought of higher taxes. Local government and school representatives should understand property taxes are far too high in our area, especially in Gloversville. The tax burden levied by the Fulton County Board of Supervisors, the Gloversville Common Council and the Gloversville ...

Most Americans have to stay at work until whatever tasks need to be completed are finished. The knowledge we have to do that makes us work harder and smarter. It makes our bosses schedule tasks realistically. That isn’t how life works on Capitol Hill. Regardless of how many critical issues ...

A few days of sunny weather helped dry out wet basements, gardens and hiking trails, but the potential dangers of being in the water still exists. Such was the case for the 31-year-old Ithaca man who drowned July 3 at the Wilmington Flume when caught up in a rushing current. Our sympathy goes ...

Let us hope Omar Khadr never gets to enjoy a dime of the $8 million the Canadian government has awarded him, or gets to send any of it to his terrorist chums in Afghanistan. Khadr, a native of Canada, was 15 when he was captured by U.S. troops battling Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan. ...

Roughly 3,800 children were married in New York state between 2000 and 2010. That’s 3,800 children too many. According to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, research shows young women who marry before 19 are 50 percent more likely than their unmarried peers to drop out of high school, and four ...

The recent dispute between Gloversville and the city of Johnstown over sewer revenue payments to the Gloversville-Johnstown Joint Wastewater Treatment Facility has cast doubt on the ability of the two city governments to share services. Johnstown, for reasons that are still not entirely clear, ...

If there ever was a time when North Korea’s bullying militarism could be curbed without great loss of life, it probably passed decades ago. That should not blind world leaders to the reality that the regime’s lethality grows by the week — and cannot be ignored forever. A new North ...

In light of this week’s celebration of Independence Day, now may be a good time to reflect on our financial independence. Most of the nation’s founders and early leaders understood the perils of a government deep in depth. Even Alexander Hamilton, who as secretary of the treasury ...

A measure of the dishonesty with which the so-called Affordable Care Act was adopted during former President Barack Obama’s administration can be seen in legislation Congress is considering now to replace the ACA — Obamacare, as it has come to be known. Throughout the country, insurance ...

It is ridiculous that counties throughout the state had their 2018 budgets placed in limbo by infighting over charter schools. Before the end of the state’s legislative session, the state Assembly approved reauthorizing local sales taxes, which needs legislative action every two years, for ...

As the Fourth of July approaches, many local residents are no doubt planning to attend a fireworks show. Some will celebrate by using their own “sparkling devices.” In 2015, New York state passed a law that gave Fulton, Montgomery and Hamilton counties, along with 37 other counties, the ...