‘Guest column’ Archives
Heaven and Hell
By Dr. Gary Scott Smith Heaven and hell are in the news and on Americans’ minds a lot lately. “Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back” is currently number one on The New York Times Best Seller List for nonfiction. It details a four-year-old’s near-death experience as told to his pastor father. “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life beyond This World” describes the similar ... Full Story
Cow Psychology 101
By Daris Howard It was springtime, and we were reaching the end of our winter’s hay supply. The pastures were not yet dry enough for the cows to graze, so we hoped that what we had would hold out until they were. Hay prices had nearly doubled during the winter, and if we had to buy more hay, our costs would exceed our income from the milk. At this critical time, we made a terrible discovery. The tarps that had been covering the last portion of the hay had frayed, ... Full Story
Slices of Life: Hairballs and terrorists – pains in
By: Jill Pertler I was all set to write this week’s column about hairballs. You, know, the gut-wrenching bane of fastidiously clean cats. I came up with the topic out of guilt. I should have written about it last week, but the royal hullabaloo distracted me and I missed National Hairball Awareness Day – a blip on the calendar I think we all agree is worthy of our attention. Even if you are not a cat. So I figured hairballs would get their time in the spotlight this week. Then another ... Full Story
Slices of Life: Kindness worth a tail wag
By: Jill Pertler I love kind-hearted friends. You know, the type of person who brings a stray dog home from the park and gives him food and water and never once says, “If we feed him he’ll never leave.” Those kind of friends. After the dog’s belly is full, a kind-hearted person will comb the tangled mats out of his hair and give him a warm bath, during which she will discover that his fur is creamy white and not dark brown after all. When a kind-hearted ... Full Story
One Happy Moment
By J. Scott Crossen March, 2011 It happened, again. This morning I began my usual semi-conscious wobble through the kitchen turning on the coffee maker, television, and plopping my butt on a chair at the table. While leaning on my elbows, rubbing my eyes and running my hands through my hair, my brain eventually caught up to the TV monologue: Murders, robberies, rapes, natural disasters, animal cruelty, and, of course, war. The bulk of this ... Full Story
Slices of Life: Countdown to royal love
By: Jill Pertler I don’t give a shilling about the Royal Wedding. There, I said it out loud and lightning didn’t strike me down. Bloody well thought it might. Perhaps such a lack of imperial interest warrants an apology. I am not intrigued, excited, anticipatory or enthralled. Am I the only one? I am not anti-royalty. I am sure I would consider Kate and William just smashing if we met up over a couple of pints or perchance a spot of tea. They’ll make a great prince and ... Full Story
War Hawk or Deficit Hawk?
You cannot be both By Michael True “If voting made any difference, it would be illegal,” according the late Philip Berrigan. This satiric comment seems especially relevant during our present military and economic crisis President Obama proposes reasonable remedies, but fails to follow through on them, while Republicans issue counter proposals that are bound to make things worse. “If it was not clear before, it is obvious now,” according to the New York Times editorial (April 19), that ... Full Story
The taxing of my fragile sanity
Rev. James L. Snyder I'm fine now, but such was not the case this past week. Normally, I am not given to procrastination, except when it comes to giving my money away. I am not Mr. Scrooge but I am Mr. Fugal. I always pay my income tax but I also wait until the last minute to write that check and autograph it for good old Uncle Sam. I was thankful to have several extra days to do it this year. Instead of April 15, the government extended to April 18. I am not sure the reason nor do I care to ... Full Story
Slices of Life – Now Hiring
By: Jill Pertler Help wanted: Must be available nights, weekends, legal holidays, as well as any and all odd hours on days ending with the letter Y. Early morning work slots expected and required. Vacation not guaranteed. Sick time unavailable. Both male and female applicants are encouraged to apply. Terms of employment: Tenure of position will be measured in 18-year increments, renewable without prior notice or approval. Job duties and responsibilities may double or triple (or even quadruple) ... Full Story
Limit Direct Payments in 2012 Farm Bill
By Brian Depew briand@cfra.org Center for Rural Affairs With Congress hammering out budget cutting legislation and preparing to take up the 2012 farm bill, the next two years emerge as a crucial time for making commonsense cuts to agriculture spending. For federal farm programs, that means placing hard caps on payments made to the nation’s largest farms, subsidies those operations use to drive their smaller neighbors out of business. First, Congress should place a hard limit of $40,000 ... Full Story
