Columns – Page 221

Democracy Tree: Are the days numbered for the gun lobby?

October 20, 2015

The National Rifle Association's (NRA’s) new poster children from Michigan may help spell the demise of the gun lobby Prior to Cindy Gamrat’s expulsion in disgrace from the Michigan House, Democracy Tree wrote about the former lawmaker’s package of bills designed to completely do away with registration and licensing of...

Ranger Rick: Facing an economic dilemma for the United States

October 20, 2015

According to the U.S. Debt Clock, at the time I viewed it, the federal debt was $18.47 trillion. To those of you uninterested in economics, quit reading. To those wanting to understand what this means, read on. At the time I looked (10/15), the following figures were displayed: Debt per...

Monday Moanin’: A heartfelt rant from a former state representative

October 18, 2015

By JeffreyLSalisbury@gmail.com GUEST MOAN by LaMar Lemmons III, Detroit Public Schools Trustee BACKGROUND: In 1999, Republican Gov. John Engler signed PA 10 into law, abolishing Detroit Public School’s elected school board and replacing it with a board he and then-Mayor Dennis Archer, which had no operational power except to hire...

Barry Hastings: The Fighting Coo Goo — ‘Semper Paratus’

October 18, 2015

At the end of summer 2015, there were 1.25 million Americans under arms. Many are fighting, or training others to do so, in most of the world’s worst pest-holes and rat warrens, with little hope of success, and no hope for victory (in the old-fashioned sense of the word)....

The awful truth may be that we don’t want to handle the truth

October 18, 2015

“In war, truth is the first casualty.” — Aeschylus, Greek tragic dramatist (525 BC - 456 BC) “In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell I am a seeker of truth. I certainly have fallen short in this search at times,...

Columns

Army Bob: New gun laws will be all symbolism, no substance

October 15, 2015

The call for gun control is once again loud and not so clear. The liberal media has its panties in a bunch once again and is making calls for more laws. The mantra “common sense gun control” is overused every time something like the murders in Oregon happens. Banning all...

Ranger Rick: We need guns in our schools? Tell me it ain’t so!

October 13, 2015

The most recent controversy befalling a Republican candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, concerning his answering a question about the recent slayings in Oregon at Umpqua Community College. Dr. Carson said he would have charged the shooter, knowing he was going to die not resisting. I digress, but have to ask, you...

Columns

Army Bob: So let’s get this nasty business of Bergdahl over with

October 12, 2015

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier who deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held captive by various enemy groups until exchanged for five general-officer level enemy detainees, is back in the news. Will we ever be done with this guy? Referring to this person as a sergeant is...

Monday Moanin’: Some teachers mad as hell, not taking it any more

October 11, 2015

By JeffreyLSalisbury@gmail.com Owing to spending parts of four decades in education, I follow with some interest "VAMboozled!" a blog by Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, notably because she is spot-on when it comes to cover educational issues, specifically teacher evaluation, accountability and something called “value-added modeling,” which is where she derives the moniker...

Barry Hastings: August 1986, and a big wind at Nantucket

October 11, 2015

(Author's note: This true story was originally written on Aug. 20, 1986, less than 24 hours after the event occurred. Every word is fact.) I woke with a start as the boat snubbed up taut to her mooring on a strong gust of wind. A pink glow of early morning...

Category: Columns