57k Race Team
Father & Son Kevin Fetterly Sr. & Jr.
Urgent Response RequestedATTENTION READER: Your Urgent Response is Requested! I need to know if you want the Massena News to remain around in distribution. The lack of interest towards this newspaper from Massena businesses and civic leaders sends me a loud and clear message. That disparaging message notwithstanding, my dedication is to you the reader, not to anyone who doesn’t consider your attention worthy of captivating. 
The ConnectionRead this Editorial first (if you already haven't), then return to read this article. Better that way... You probably can think of many similar examples exemplifying this phenomenal human connection. Perhaps you have noticed a connection being made myriad times in your life. Well, I think we’re all connected somehow. Perhaps you have lost a loved one, and a heartache so intense became a constant reminder that a deep connection has been severed. Obviously the connection between some is stronger than between others, such as with family. Perhaps the bond grows stronger with love, or maybe we just pay closer attention to those we love, not just on a conscious level but also on a subconscious level, than to those we don’t love or are not particularly in love with.
Editorial Issue 4 of Volume 2Ahhhhh yes…These fingers are made for writing. But what I really want to say is that: These words are made for seeking, and that’s just what they’re gonna do. One of these days these words are gonna spell the truth right out of you. That’s right, my friend. Seeker Dude John Lucio here in your house. A Truth Seeker: Seeking truth and spelling it out through the inner beauty, or lack thereof, of one’s own inherent true nature. That’s how I write: dispelling myth, removing BS, and making manifest one’s true desire, intent, and resolve. Why? Because it is in that very manifestation where fundamental truth resides, awaiting discovery. No, not in the information placed before an individual to see with his/her eyes and/or to hear with his/her ears. Nor in the transformation of data from the instant it reaches one’s eyes and/or ears until it arrives at a location in one’s mind for final processing a second later.
Editorial Issue 3 of Volume 2Accepting The Limits... Still, I see all those other communities around the world under famine and disease; some, under siege of rebels, terrorists, druglords, thugs, racist bloodthirsty mobs, or a totalitarian government regime. Gunfire. Explosions. Innocent civilians suffering immensely as bullets and shrapnel rip through their flesh. Their screams drowning in the echoes of explosions, as terror becomes the order of the day. Rage instills desire for vengeance so intense that even the stench of death clinging to the hair of one’s nostrils might begin feeling as bittersweet as salt on a wound. Anger begets anger, and the vicious cycle continues. Thank God to be living here in the beautiful, peaceful, friendly Massena—in the USA!
Separation of Church and StateIf asked what the sum of 1 and 2 is, one would most likely answer 3. Not rocket science. No one would argue that. Right? Well, there are myriad other types of similarly easy to conceive statements which oftentimes become distorted in semantics. Take for instance, the rhetoric that “the words ‘Separation of Church and State’ appears nowhere in the Constitution”. Well, of course it doesn’t. Neither does the number 3 ever appear in the mathematical equation of 1 + 2. That’s a conclusion drawn from putting 1 and 2 together—from reading those two characters and understanding what the sum of their values represent.
Words also consist of characters—they’re called letters. Moreover, when reading a statement, or a series of statements within the same context, the sum becomes clearly visible through the equation of the meanings from every word therein. Wherein, one reaches the total sum of a rational, logical thought process—which can be difficult to reach if the material is ambiguous and flawed, as has been the case with The Bill of Rights. So flawed in the initially only 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, that another 17 had to be added, the last of which was added in 1992 for a total today of 27.
This is what happens when statements are open to interpretation. Take for instance the following statement: 2+2x8-3+4÷3. There are completely different answers one can conclude from that statement. It could’ve been written like this instead: 2+(2x8)–(3+4)÷3, or like this: (2+2)x8–(3+4)÷3, etc. The statement should be specific.
Of course, there are many citizens steadfast against the creation of those additional amendments, and would have preferred leaving everything up to interpretation. After all, many Americans preferred slavery over equality, and for women to remain the property of their husbands (unable to vote), etc. The Supreme Court of our past declared: "Blacks had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." Blacks could be whipped, branded, imprisoned without trial, hanged, whatever. In my opinion, that’s just sick. Still, many disagree and have different opinions of civil and religious liberties, and insist on America not deviating from the traditional methods they envision was the intent of America’s Founding Fathers. Certainly, they preferred to keep the status quo. Since, obviously, those liberties apply in their favor, and at the expense of others. Nonetheless, I respect their opinion. However, do they respect the opinions of others?
Thomas Jefferson once said, "Every difference of opinion is not a difference in principle." However, it does seem that of the many striving for political power in our nation, most are dishonest and pandering to the self-serving interests of as many as they can. Hence, my point here is that if opinion is the sum of dishonesty, then there is no principle—only the intent to mislead. And that, I do not respect.
James Madison, the Father of the Bill of Rights, I believe understood the scoundrel nature of man. I believe that the intent of the scoundrel is to divide and conquer for one’s own edification and eminent power, and I strongly suspect that James Madison felt the same. Thus, he made the concept of separation between church and state very clear when articulating the First Amendment's protection of religious liberty, in saying that the First Amendment to the Constitution was prompted because "The people feared one sect might obtain a preeminence, or two combine together, and establish a religion to which they would compel others to conform." So that citizens would not use religion to dismantle the government and turn the leadership thereof and the citizens therein against one other through their own divisive nature in the establishment of their myriad religions and diverging denominations, all of whom could ultimately end up on a collision course.
Moreover, the Bill of Rights is for all citizens to have equal rights, not just for any one particular religion or denomination to establish preeminence over all others. Otherwise, it would’ve been clearly stated in our Constitution that a particular religion and a particular denomination would be held superior to all others. But it wasn’t. Here is what the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Without our Bill of Rights, and the Separation of Church and State, someone like Hitler could have easily risen to power here in our own nation, as had happened in Germany, using religion to purport the rule of law and the desire of government. I point this out to illustrate that just because one presents himself as a religious man, doesn’t mean he is a good man. Anyone can call himself a man of God. Hitler was raised a Catholic. In his book Mein Kampf, Hitler made numerous religious pronouncements. In his rise to power, Hitler promoted a "positive Christianity" purged of Judaism and instilled with Nazi philosophy. As you see, anyone can make a religious pronouncement. Research "The Day of Potsdam and the Enabling Act." Discover how Hitler manipulated democracy by gaining the support of the Catholic Centre Party in initiating negotiations for the Reichskonkordat (a treaty between the Catholic Church and the German Reich), which became pivotal to his achieving legislative and executive power; hence reaching a position to suppress the remaining political opposition, and ultimately securing supreme political power over Germany. Hitler was elected democratically. Democratically, being the operative word here.
Here, pay attention to how Hitler had used Christianity in his rhetoric to gain influence over German citizens: "My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God's truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison. To-day, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before the fact that it was for this that He had to shed His blood upon the Cross. As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice... And if there is anything which could demonstrate that we are acting rightly it is the distress that daily grows. For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people."—Adolf Hitler, in a speech on 12 April 1922 (Norman H. Baynes, ed. The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922-August 1939, Vol. 1 of 2, pp. 19-20, Oxford University Press, 1942)
Blah blah blah…sound like a bunch of sanctimonious BS to you? That’s because it is. Hitler used Christianity for his own political gain, hijacking the faith of so many devout servants of God (the Catholics), and ultimately exterminating millions of God’s own people (the Jews). This is sickening. (There is a huge range of emotions running through me right now, as probably yourself as well. So, take a moment to reflect on it.)
Now…these days, politicians are very cautious in the words they use to inspire political influence with religious rhetoric. Still, time and time again, certain politicians seem unable to resist the urge to use the church for their own political gain and influence. Given the history of humankind and religion, this should speak volumes to you. So, listen, and be vigilant for any signs of a scoundrel nature in the conduct of politicians. Politicians who cannot make a case without villainizing their opponents, should give you pause. Villainizing others is usually a method used to take attention off the real issues of which Americans should be most concerned. If the Separation of Church and State went both ways—as it should!—perhaps Americans wouldn’t be instilled with so much fear, anger, and prejudice. Today we see Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum cutting each other down to pieces. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ron Paul ends up running independent to steal some of the Democrat vote and ultimately sabotage democracy for the GOP. They’re going to need a lot more than just rhetoric over the contraception mandate in order to outwit Catholic voters with their semantics over religious liberties. This issue is a no-brainer. For some reason they just can’t see what’ll happen once you add a little clarity and perspective to the picture, like (1 +2) x (1 +2) x (1 +2)÷3.
Be a lover, not a hater, and your eyes will open wide....
Editorial Issue 2 of Volume 2Make A Difference... Theodore Roosevelt said that “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things”. But people need to also work smart, not just hard. The Massena News is providing an extremely great service for an extremely competitive price. So low, we’re practically giving it away. Now that’s an opportunity to take advantage of! And we strongly encourage businesses to take advantage of this opportunity, because as Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Ability is of little account without opportunity.” And one’s business will be of little consequence if consumers aren’t continually reminded of its presence.
Attention Mentors & Angels!Children don’t learn just from television and video games but from everyone and everything they see in the world around them. They constantly assimilate characterization and the effects of characterization, and eventually become the character of their own choosing as per their understanding thereof. Well, with regards to children raised in a passive aggressive culture, I believe that type of environment may present a problem in the underdevelopment of personality. A child raised in a passive aggressive culture may end up mentally conditioned to deny his need to communicate and express himself. That’s where the problem gets really bad. The need to communicate and express oneself is as important to the human spirit as the need to breathe is to the human body. Don’t breathe, and you will suffocate; don’t communicate and express yourself, and you will explode. (I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, by the way. Furthermore, I may be wrong, or I may be right. I’m just a concerned man expressing himself and his observations.)
The Binary Code of Humans (Who made who)Imagine for a moment: In the not so distant future, a computer suddenly begins to think that it is free and in control of its own assessments (thoughts), and fails to realize that is actually programmed to automate responses to various given scenarios and situations. That computer is unaware it is continually receiving programming instructions with ways in which it is to respond to data received from exterior sources. Moreover, when there is a potential conflict that it may not be able to handle and may result in a crash, it recognizes the threat, anticipates the significance of its danger, and reprograms itself with an updated application able to establish new ways of thinking and responding—all this as per the desired outcome of the computer programmer. All the while, the computer remains oblivious as to who is really in control. Indeed, it is one smart computer. But it has no idea why it thinks the way it thinks and reaches certain conclusions. Don’t tell him, and he will never know! Oh…okay…go ahead—tell him. He will not believe you anyway. Binary code is amazing like that. It Accepts/dismisses input, from every morsel of every item of input, as per its programming directives, to reach conclusions to carry out tasks as desired by its programmer. Binary code represents the instructions used to communicate orders to the computer. (Actually, ‘computer’ is to the CPU what the flesh is to the mind. Still, we’ll use the word ‘computer’ here for simplicity). Without programming applications dictating its purpose in the world, the computer will simply sit there and do nothing. Every application goes into Binary code to establish directives and protocol for the computer to live by, so to speak. Binary code consists of a series of on/off signals (1/0, ones and zeros)—Accept/Dismiss. The sum of the conclusions consists of the directives it is to follow. These are very clear directives regarding what it is to do and not do where problems arise along the way, including potential ramifications to each path it may take, in determining the best way to get from one point to another. Every time it finds itself in a fork in the road, it must select a path or go back and find another. Oftentimes it must choose the best path out of several bad paths to complete its task(s) and accomplish its mission.
Voters Decide...Negative Campaigning vs Positive Campaigning... We will certainly discover lies told by each candidate. But not every lie is a matter of deception, but, rather, miscommunication. We all get dates, occurrences, and numbers confused, and accidentally report incorrect information upon those memory lapses. So, let’s not get ridiculous here. Here’s where we need to use some common sense, discernment, and good judgment to come to the right conclusion, and not let the rhetoric of others get in the way to confuse us.
Editorial Issue 1 of Volume 2Change and Challenge... In NYC everyone’s voice is welcome into its melting pot, respected and appreciated for its presence in the world. Absolutely, me and my family had a wonderful Christmas time. Nothing short of a perfectly beautiful experience. But that’s because we can adapt and overcome. That’s how we raise our children. I don’t get away from here just to get away. I get away for the experience and impact it has on my children, to raise them to be able to adapt to change in climates, atmosphere, ambience, cultures, and attitudes. Life is all about change and challenge.
Using Religion to Manipulate Democracy?Satan himself can say he is Christian, but the doctrines of his religion bespeaks otherwise. There are many religions different from Satanism. Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism—just to name a few. Each has its own doctrine, distinctly different from one another. Most, if not all, religions consist of various denominations. For instance, in Christianity, there is Catholic, Baptist, Protestant—just to name a few. Denominations all share the same doctrine of their religion. Islam also consists of various denominations. However, a Sunni Muslim wouldn’t typically call himself a Christian, because the Islamic doctrine is entirely different—namely in the way they believe salvation is attained. Salvation is the operative word here in the differences between religions. There are other factors as well that exhibit a distinct difference between religions. Tolerance, equality, and forgiveness assume different meanings to different religions, as does Who God is, How to communicate with God, and How one may be able to enter heaven (Speaking in simplest terms here; hope you understand why). Anyone can say that another person is not Christian. It’s a free country. Especially free for anyone to discover the truth for himself! For several years now, many of the most fearful evangelical Christians have insisted that Obama is not Christian. Fear-mongering campaigns prey on people who scare easily, with scary suggestions such as “Obama nation” sounds like “Abomination” for instance. Fear is the driving force of the many still insisting that Obama is Muslim. Barak Hussein Obama. Ohhhhh…the sound of that Arabic name is so frightening to so many Christians. Legs tremble. Loudmouths comfort the fearful with their rhetoric, as if loudness is a sign of strength. Paranoia grows and spreads like fire, sparking fear. Anger ensues. And hatred is ignited.
Is American Democracy In Trouble?In a very intellectually interesting discussion on Facebook Friend April Charleson’s comment box feed, Chris Burl shared a link from Harvard University, which he had received in his graduate course at the University of Maryland called Project Teams: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/user/pimh/index.jsp This link is to a free test for assessing evaluations that may exist outside of conscious awareness or conscious control, to measure the implicit bias, of those tested, with the benefit being that when people are aware of their bias, they may work on becoming more tolerant. The test is free to the public since it collects the results for research purposes. Hence, my wife and I, individually, took several variations of the test, and discovered it to be quite astounding how studies like these illustrate that the mind instinctively clings to similarly related notions, therein forming a bias decision-making process. I imagine that the computer collecting these test results creates charts based on the answers, in which a diagram connects the dots to form the big picture of the data.
Editorial Issue 24A Platitude For Every Occasion... Seriously, we must worry for citizens who can barely afford an internet connection reading platitudes on Facebook that life is about this or about that. Because it’s just not that simple. Moreover, platitudes are a perpetual reminder of a corrupt and unjust system. Too many Americans have been gypped out of a decent living, and platitudes are a bittersweet reminder of empty promises and false hopes from a democracy that’s been manipulated to disenfranchise the financially weakest citizens and sabotage even their dreams.
Editorial Issue 23Laughter: The Anti-Virus Application... You see, basically, what the demented organizations running hoax propaganda campaigns are trying to do is remove the present operating system in your head and replace it with another. More profoundly, replace your ability to formulate rational responses based on truth, with an ability to formulate irrational responses based on deception—and to believe in the lie!—because the truth just wasn’t good enough for you. All this so that you may process thoughts differently and become more susceptible to believing more lies, because you refused to believe in the truth and would rather believe in lies (if that’s the case, of course). Hence, entire cultures get rewritten on a national level, and an entire civilization suddenly finds itself on the brink of total collapse—because they would rather believe in a lie than in the truth. And all because people failed to realize the power in their thinking! My friend, YOU have the power over your own thoughts! “I think; therefore I am.”—Rene Descartes.
Gun Violence...Live and Let Live... I recall, back then, a friend telling me about a certain interview he underwent, in which he was handed a pistol and asked to hold it, feel it, and visualize himself taking down a target. He was then asked, “If you shot and killed someone with this, what’s the first thing you would feel?” My friend said to me that he had answered, “Recoil.” I won’t say anything more on that other than to exemplify the emotional detachment he had from the tools of his trade. And I have no idea where he’s at now, but he’s probably no longer with us. That’s a certain segment of the military, where instruments of war belong—not here in the civilian sector!
T & T’s Famiglia Restaurant
www.tandtfamiglia.com 20 Water Street, Massena 315.769.7603
Editorial Issue 22A Reservoir Of Happiness... Yes, it’s hard here. But it’s hard everywhere. Always has been; always will be. There are certain constants on our planet, like the earth's North magnetic pole for instance, and the magnetic field. Life here on earth is somewhere between heaven and hell. Through all its polarization and polarity, there are forces opposing one another as a matter of sheer nature. Not unlike the magnetic North arrow on a compass, the pull that ultimately determines one’s direction in life comes from the very direction one’s attitude leans towards. This typically determines the direction to which one’s life is headed, heaven or hell; and we go in that direction, of our own choosing, whether aware or not. Massena is beautiful and perfect. As with any location on the map, one merely needs to get one’s bearings and stay on course. Of course that’s not easy; the terrain and climate, notwithstanding.
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