I know of at least a few people who have been perfectly happy to see at least a semblance of winter shudder its way into the area this week.
When asked if I would be willing to assist on the initiative to pass a tax that would provide our Police Department with the resources to put more officers on the streets in our community, the answer was an unhesitant YES.
The amount of money spent on modern political campaigns, especially for the presidency, is unconscionable and to many immoral. The Mitt Romney Super Pac alone spent $15 million on television and radio ads in just five state contests.
I wait all year for snow. The firewood is stacked, the hot chocolate is ready, and the dogs and I sit watching out the window waiting for snow, but this year – to no avail!
The families of Harry S. Truman and his wife, Bess Wallace, were typical of Missouri’s early 19th century settlers. The Gates, Wallace, Young and Truman families were of British origins, Protestant and middle-class. All arrived looking for better opportunities on the Missouri frontier. They settled in Jackson County prior to the Civil War, and, by the mid 19th century, had all established themselves with some degree of prominence.
When it comes to meaningful adult conversation, parents of small children are usually relegated to discussing whatever we can get in.
A few days ago Arthur Brisbane, former publisher of The Kansas City Star and now public editor of The New York Times, asked readers what he thought was a serious but simple question.
He basically wanted to know if they felt that news reporters should challenge “facts” that are asserted by newsmakers they write about? To his surprise, the question caused quite a stir from those who felt he was attacking the very basics of honest journalism and from those who felt journalists should not be “truth vigilantes.”
Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow this morning to let us know that we still have six more weeks of winter, or did he leave his burrow for good?
OK, let’s regroup. We’re a month into the year, and some of my calculations might have been off, but I’m still saying we’ll make to Jan. 1, 2013, the Mayan death calendar notwithstanding.
First was the Russian satellite splashing into the Pacific rather than Peoria, which would have been messy. I figured that was January’s hurdle. But I didn’t foresee the solar flares, which also failed to kill us, or the fact that winter didn’t show up, which many welcome but, face it, does seem a little ominous.
Most people agree that everyone should pay their “fair” share of taxes. The disagreement starts when we attempt to define “fair."
