Thumbs up to the anonymous source who spoke to The Evening Sun about her experiences as a member of the Word of Life Church in New Hartford. The church attracted national headlines this week after one boy was fatally beaten and another put in serious condition during a spiritual ritual. The boys – brothers – were severely abused by four members of the church, including their parents. Both parents were arrested for manslaughter on Wednesday. While I consider myself an advocate of religious freedom, I can’t stress enough the difference between being religious and being weird. Nobody can deny that the acts of these people was deplorable; so I wholeheartedly applaud our unnamed friend’s willingness to speak against what’s clearly an unstable group of religious zealots, despite her own fears of persecution.

– SM

Thumbs up to the New York Senate debate that took place last night. It was a great platform for each candidate to speak their mind and talk about the issues. This race has gotten a lot of media attention since Senator Libous stepped down and the need for a new senator arose. Both candidates, Democrat Barbara Fiala and Republican Fred Ashkar, spoke about the issues and why they think that they are the best choice for this district. I think that this was a great opportunity for voters to get all the facts and be well informed and make the right choice.

-JT

Thumbs up to the weekend finally arriving. After a long week with many stories, a nice relaxing weekend should really hit the spot. With the possibility of going to Turning Stone Casino this weekend, for surprisingly my first time, I find myself looking forward to the possibility of raking in a little extra cash. Also tonight their will be a casino night at the Chenango County Car Museum from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. I once again find myself learning about new small events which happen right here in Norwich, which I knew nothing about before. With the intrigue of winning money, but most likely just having some fun and losing some money, therefore, thumbs up to a weekend filled with blackjack.

-CT

I really wanted to write a thumbs up this week since I've been on a bender of “thumbs downs” lately, but much to my chagrin this is not the week. Following Tuesday's Democratic Debate it was immediately decided that Hillary Clinton was the clear “winner” – if there even is such a thing. But I didn't agree. I really thought that Sanders spoke – even if not so eloquently – to the real social and economic problems facing our nation. For me, income inequality and education are both near and dear to my heart, so naturally I believed Sanders would fair well post-debate. And so began my self-doubt as I began questioning myself: “Was I listening to the same debate? Was I really that far out of line? Is my objectivity really that askew?” Turns out the answer to those questions were “yes, probably not and no.” After some digging, it became pretty obvious that corporations who sponsored the “debate” had the final say when tabulating which candidate “won” – in addition to who would get to speak the most based on their poll rating prior to the televised event. And they seemed to favor Clinton. So congratulations on your “win,” Mrs. Clinton, and rest assured knowing that you have the unwaivering support of typical, predictable, cyclical mainstream media at your side.

—MSW