Opinion Forum

Would JFK Be a Democrat?

August 31st, 2009

I’ve always considered myself a Democrat in terms of party preference. I came to that position in the context of the ideas and policies of people like John F. Kennedy and other liberals and Democrats of that era (such as Daniel Patrick Moynihan). But when I think about today’s Democratic Party, including many of the people [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Democratic Party, Democrats, JFK, John F. Kennedy, Moynihan
Categories: History, Politics | Comments (10) | Home

Interrogation Success

August 30th, 2009

In How a Detainee Became An Asset, The Washington Post provided objective information on the success achieved using enhanced interrogation techniques in the case of Khalid Sheik Mohammed. This captured terrorist was the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was involved in many other terrorist attacks, was close to Osama bin Laden, and had a wealth [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: 9/11, interrogation, Khalid Sheik Mohammed
Categories: Media, News, Politics | Comments (7) | Home

A Husband’s Punishment

August 29th, 2009

William Taylor of Centreville, VA was caught cheating on his wife. Seems he left the evidence on his cell phone. Big mistake! His wife’s punishment was to make him stand on a busy street corner during rush hour for a week with a sign hung around his neck confessing his sin. I wonder what his other [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: infidelity, punishment, superglue
Categories: Humor, Life, News | Comments (7) | Home

God and Kentucky’s Security

August 29th, 2009

Personally I believe that in most cases, atheists misuse the key phrase in the First Ammendment to the Constitution that calls for what most people refer to as the separation of church and state, (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”) — but in this case, it appears to me that they were exactly right.

Articles written by Harvey Grund
Tags: First Amendment, homeland security, Kentucky, religion
Categories: Life, News, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

It Was Worth It?

August 28th, 2009

From The Footnote Speaks: What Would Mary Jo Kopechne Have Thought of Ted’s Career? by Melissa Lafsky at The Huffington Post: We don’t know how much Kennedy was affected by her death, or what she’d have thought about arguably being a catalyst for the most successful Senate career in history. … Still, ignorance doesn’t preclude a right to [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Chappaquiddick, Kennedy, Kopechne
Categories: Media, Politics | Comments (7) | Home

Turn Your Radio On

August 28th, 2009

Apparently many of you remember things from your childhood that are very similar to what I experienced. It might be fun to stir your memories some more. I’ve mentioned already the fact that electric power was slow getting to our neck of the woods. The house where my family lived was hooked up in the [...]

Articles written by Larry Ennis
Tags: electric power, radio, shortwave
Categories: History, Life | Comments (0) | Home

Equal Justice Under Law

August 27th, 2009

In 1974, when President Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, Senator Ted Kennedy said: Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law? Or is there one system for the average citizen, and another for the high and mighty?

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Ford, justice, Kennedy, Law, Nixon, pardon
Categories: History, Politics | Comments (7) | Home

The Legacy of Ted Kennedy

August 26th, 2009

The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy is a sad event. It should make us all reflect on the reality that no matter how far we go in life, no matter what we may accomplish, in the end we all face the same fate. There can be no doubt that Ted Kennedy was a giant of [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Chappaquiddick, justice, Kennedy, Kopechne, legacy
Categories: History, News, Politics | Comments (6) | Home

Madonna in Belgrade

August 25th, 2009

Madonna brought her “Sticky and Sweet” tour to Belgrade last night. According to local press reports (here and here), there were about 30,000 people in attendance. I was there, too, along with Andrea, a close friend of Cat and an occasional contributor to Opinion Forum. The concert venue was in a park beside the Danube [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Belgrade, Madonna, Sweet and Sticky
Categories: Arts, Humor, Life, News | Comments (7) | Home

Out-of-Focus Healthcare

August 25th, 2009

Up until now, our healthcare has been a matter of individual choice. If you want health insurance you can have it — if you don’t you can opt out. If you like HMOs or public clinics or private doctors or faith healers or any other type of healthcare provider, its your choice.

Articles written by Harvey Grund
Tags: choice, freedom, health care, Obama
Categories: Economics, News, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

Beating a Woman in Malaysia

August 24th, 2009

Anyone following the news lately has heard of the case of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a young woman in Malaysia who has been sentenced under Sharia law to be “caned” for having a beer. This is a young woman, 32 years old, with two young children. She will be punished in prison, away from public [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: caning, Islam, Malaysia, Muslim, Sharia law, Shukarno
Categories: Life, News, Politics | Comments (5) | Home

Palestinian Moderation

August 22nd, 2009

What Palestinian Moderation Looks Like by David Feith in The Wall Street Journal presents yet more evidence of the real nature and objectives of the Palestinians, even the so-called moderates: …the message last week from the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, where the “moderate” Fatah party held its first general congress since 1989. Fatah — founded by Yasser [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Israel, Obama, Palestinians
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (6) | Home

Crossroads Stores

August 22nd, 2009

These are probably things that applied to everyone in my age group. Actually I’m a pre-boomer, having been born before the start of World War II. Didn’t much matter where you were, everything was moving into a totally different world. In rural Alabama, electric power and all its advantages was still new. Many houses still [...]

Articles written by Larry Ennis
Tags: country store, crossroads store, general store
Categories: Humor, Life | Comments (3) | Home

Politics and Packin’ Heat

August 21st, 2009

Just about 10 percent of our presidents have been assassinated while in office. Of those four, three were shot with handguns and one with a rifle (or rifles, depending on which conspiracy theory you prefer). You’d think we might be a little sensitive to people carrying firearms at presidential events — or political events of any [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: armed protesters, gun control, threat
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (6) | Home

What a Day!

August 21st, 2009

August 20, 2009 – some highlights of a very newsy day! Cash 4 clunkers ran out of gas! Reverend Obama is preaching to the public: larger government is now the “moral” option. Ted Kennedy is, sadly, dying of brain cancer and as a last wish he wants to undo the law in Massachusetts so that the [...]

Articles written by Harvey Grund
Tags: economy, health care, Libya, Lockerbie, press
Categories: Economics, News, Politics | Comments (5) | Home

Artis Warren’s Mule

August 20th, 2009

I need to get away from politics and write more about things that make people laugh. Lord knows, though, I worry about the future of my loved ones and my country. Who will be left to remember what a great country we lived in? Artis Warren was, for a while at least, our neighbor. He was [...]

Articles written by Larry Ennis
Tags: mule
Categories: Humor, Life | Comments (0) | Home

Slow Boat to Anywhere

August 19th, 2009

Ever had the feeling you’d like to get away for a while, enjoy some peace and quiet where no one can find you or bother you? One way is to take a cruise. No, not the kind of cruise where there are a thousand passengers on a fancy ship with shuffleboard games, casinos, floor shows, fancy [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: cruise, freighter, vacation
Categories: Life | Comments (3) | Home

National Defense: Saving the Environment

August 18th, 2009

One of the biggest forces of destruction of the natural world are military actions in wars and training exercises, such as extensive explosions at bombing ranges and pollution of groundwater from leaking gasoline storage tanks, chemical and nuclear wastes. Imagine if “national defense” missions were reconfigured to fully focus on saving the environment that sustains [...]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: conservation, ecology, environment, national defense
Categories: Life, Military, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

Pushing Back

August 18th, 2009

How much power are you willing to give your government? It’s obvious that not all of us are in agreement with legislation proposed by our President and the Democratic lawmakers. After seeing how they work, we have ample reason to worry about what will be next. Health care is only one of several bills that [...]

Articles written by Larry Ennis
Tags: Democrats, dissent, Obama
Categories: Life, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

Ashley’s Birthday Party

August 17th, 2009

My sister, Ashley, turned eight on August 16th. Since her birthday was on Sunday, we had her party the day before. The night before her party she had two of her friends spend the night. We all watched movies and had a big sleepover in the living room. The morning of her party we had what we [...]

Articles written by Amber
Tags: birthday, party
Categories: Life, News | Comments (3) | Home

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