Can we just stop all the negativity already? Every day, I trudge to the mailbox in the scorching heat and pull out a handful of political ads. Recently, most of them have been ugly…and I don’t mean the candidate photos. Negative campaign ads are certainly nothing new and they ramp up every election year near the primary and general elections. I rarely watch television, so I miss the negative commercials candidates spend millions to run. But between mailers, social media and ads, they have plenty of opportunities to tell us why we shouldn’t vote for their opponents; I just want … Continue reading Campaign Negativity: Make. It. Stop.

During this unprecedented quarantine, I’ve kept my brain busy with extra reading. I’m a big reader in general, but regular daily life doesn’t always allow enough time for as many books as I’d like. But the last few weeks, I’ve worked my way through my ever-growing “to read” pile and knocked out at least a dozen. In that spirit, I present the inaugural installment of Rebecca’s Book Club: Recent Favorites. First, for the non-fiction winners…  “The Lincoln Conspiracy” by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch. This riveting book details the little-known story of the first plot to assassinate the 16th president … Continue reading Books, books, books everywhere…

It’s time for a little Q & A. Shall we? Q: When a husband cheats on his wife, do we say it’s the wife fault for marrying him in the first place? A: Of course not. In fact, we almost universally take the wife’s side and decide the husband is a worthless schmuck. Q: Is a teacher responsible if one of her students beats up another kid on the playground? A: Unless she explicitly instructed him to do so, definitely not. (And everyone would give her the benefit of the doubt that she did not.) Q: If you voted for … Continue reading Whither thou blamest…

True confessions: I have no idea what day it is. Other than that, I’m doing great. And so begins my update from coronaquarantine land. After my last piece ran a couple of weeks ago, things changed rapidly (as I expected). Our schools were initially closed for an extra two weeks after last week’s spring break; some states have closed schools for the remainder of the school year and as of this week, our schools plan to open at the end of April. Many businesses and stores have shuttered for the time being. Churches are closed indefinitely. Restaurants can only be … Continue reading Coronavirus update, March 26

Please note: The facts, statistics and changes related to COVID-19 are evolving rapidly. Information in this article is accurate at the time of publication but could change as the days pass. Somewhere between a lassiez-faire attitude and unbridled panic, there must be a happy-medium way to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. With one confirmed case in our region now, the virus (officially called COVID-19) has officially hit home. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global pandemic, a couple of weeks after the State Department predicted a pandemic within the month. The economy is bracing for a big hit … Continue reading Let’s talk about the coronavirus…

In the midst of the impeachment circus, President Donald Trump just keeps on working. It’s a good thing he can work through chaos, since our liberal friends have spent the three years since his election creating it. The economy has never been better, unemployment rates are at a record low and two powerful Middle Eastern terrorist leaders have been annihilated in recent months. And today, Mr. Trump will make history as the first sitting president to attend the March for Life. Vice President Mike Pence first spoke at the event in 2017 and President Trump has addressed the crowd via … Continue reading March for Life 2020