Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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Socialism is back in vogue in some quarters. According to the website of dictionary maker Merriam-Webster, socialism is a political theory that advocates "governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." The concept is that government central planners can make really smart decisions to distribute our collective wealth in a manner that benefits all. But socialism never works, because nobody is smart enough to make such incredibly complex decisions....
While organizing my home office a few weeks ago, I came across a letter my grandfather wrote back in 1924. He wrote that eloquent letter to his best friend’s wife, consoling her on the loss of her mother. His cursive handwriting was artful - perfect penmanship. He wrote the letter when he was 21. Since he died at 34, when my father was only 3, it is among the most cherished items I have from a grandfather I never got to meet. Such is the power of the handwritten letter, an art that has died a...
We're celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and legacy this week. In these angry and divisive times, we all could benefit by reminding ourselves of his words' truth, civility and wisdom. Too many of us are consumed with hatred and anger, which have reared their ugly heads in our public discourse lately. Dr. King, who endured hatred so ugly and excessive that it led to his assassination, spoke often of the futility of hating anyone or anything— of how hating harms the hater than t...
Is technology innovation doing us more harm than good? My family offers proof that it is. My parents recently got Amazon's supposedly "intelligent" personal assistant, Alexa. Ask Alexa to play a song and she will (through her speaker). Ask her to turn the lights on or off, and, if they're plugged into a "smart" device, she'll do that, too. Ask her about the weather, news, traffic or sports and she'll search the internet for answers. But Alexa is causing incredible turmoil at my parents' house. "...
Merry debt-fueled Christmas, America! According to a recent NerdWallet study, nearly 40 million Americans are still struggling to pay off credit-card debts from last Christmas. Here's what's worse: NerdWallet finds that this Christmas, "American consumers plan to spend more, charge more to credit, and take a longer time to pay it all off." The grand irony is that the gifts we go in hock to give our kids and each other are often forgotten before the debt is paid off. I was a kid in the '70s. But...
Good grief! With everything in everyday American life politicized, count on someone, somewhere, being offended by something, anything— even classic Christmas TV specials. A recent “Huffington Post” tweet promoting a video about a holiday classic says "'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' is seriously problematic." Why? Because Rudolph's father, Donner, verbally abuses him for being different; because Santa is a bigot who mocks Donner for having an odd son; because the school coach encourages the o...
Maybe a new Utah law will revive the lost art of parents calling their children home for dinner. Utah recently passed the nation’s first “free-range parenting” law to protect parents from prosecution for allowing their children to play in nearby parks, walk to school, go to the store or rumble through a neighborhood creek - without adult supervision. It’s a shame that it now takes passing laws to allow kids to enjoy childhood activities without adult supervision, but we must. We must because...
When I was a 19-year-old college sophomore in 1982, my father gave me advice that makes even more sense for 19-year-olds today. Despite his protestations, you see, I chose English as my major at Penn State. Worried about my ability to land a job, he begged me to at least minor in something practical. I’m still the only person ever to graduate from Penn State with a major in English and a minor in air conditioning/heating. I joke, of course, but if I were 19 now, I don’t think I’d go thous...
In my experience, the study’s findings are true. According to The Washington Post, the Vancouver School of Economics and McGill University have determined that people who live in rural areas and small towns are happier than those who live in congested urban and large metro areas. McGill’s happiness researchers have found that the happiest communities have shorter commute times, less expensive housing, less transience and people who have a greater “sense of belonging” in their communities. In 201...
“The lousy Republicans are supposed to decrease federal spending and get our deficit under control, not blow the budget even more!” “Ah, yes, you speak of the massive $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill President Trump just signed into law. Members of Congress were only given 24 hours to read the 2,232-page monstrosity, which nobody did before voting for it.” “What the heck is an omnibus bill, anyhow?” “It combines 13 separate appropriation bills, which Congress otherwise must pass and the...
The Wall Street Journal article made me both hungry and wistful. According to The Journal, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, Campbell’s Soup, Kellogg’s cereals and many other “big-food” staples of the ‘70s are in trouble. “High-end consumers are shifting toward fresher items with fewer processed ingredients, while cost-conscious shoppers are buying inexpensive store brands,” reports The Journal. Processed foods were all the rage in the ‘70s. With big families to feed in a down economy, parents were lo...
My back is sore from shoveling snow - and it’s the federal government’s fault. Maybe I’d better explain. We’ve been getting lots of snow in Pittsburgh of late. When it snows, I need to clear two driveways: mine, which is 50 yards long, and my father’s, which is almost as big. Since my father is having trouble with his knees, I gave him my magnificent new Toro snowblower; it’s a convenience for me to have it in his garage, so I can clear his driveway in fewer than 15 minutes. I purchased a...
Boy, it’s cold across America. It’s so cold, politicians are picking their own pockets, people are flocking inside the U.S. Capitol just for the hot air, and the outlook for anti-Trumpers has been downgraded from miserable and bewildered to hopelessly depressed. Here’s one reason anti-Trumpers are especially down this winter: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). According to About.com , this woeful malady is triggered by overcast winter weather. Lack of exposure to sunlight can cause low level...
My father is behind the curve on social media, but I think he is onto something. You see, my father was born in 1933. He was a paperboy in the days when paperboys stood on city corners and shouted “Extra!” In his home, the newspaper still is king. He has two delivered daily. He reads every inch of both. He does the crossword puzzles in both, too - with a pencil. (Note to people under 30: A pencil is a small, yellow stick that leaves a mark when its tip is pressed against paper.) My father kn...
If only tax simplification were true. You see, one of the promises of the Republican tax-reform bill was that taxes would become way simpler for the majority of Americans to file - that we'd be able to file our taxes on a form the size of a postcard - but that isn't entirely so. Sure, the standard deduction will almost double, from $6,350 to $12,000 for single filers, from $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples who file jointly. That means many lower- and middle-income taxpayers will be ab...
