Benghazi, Watergate and the sword of judgment

Shakespeare said that “what’s past is prologue,” and the older you get the longer your prologue becomes, so you have to forgive me — as I edge inexorably closer to 60 — for seeing portents and omens of our country’…

Senate debate should be a doozy

Packing in many pecks of peppers

Can anyone tell me why my husband planted 120 pepper plants this year?

President's record speaks louder than his confident words

With the murder of U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens, the Arab Spring has now become the Arab Fall, and the Islamic Winter cannot be far behind — yet American politicians (and the American media) continue to cele…

Guns and poses: Schweitzer part of Dems' 'in' crowd

Now I’ve gone and done it. A couple of days ago I “liked” Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s Facebook page and am now privy to what he’s been up to these days, namely, his spirited participation and endless cavorting at last …

Religious freedom is fine as long as it stays in church

I have written before about Freedom Newspapers, the chain founded by R.C. Hoiles, which operated under a set of moral principles espoused by Hoiles and published frequently in his newspapers in the 1950s and ’60s.

Coal, China and tilting at windmills

One thing is certain: Those well-meaning environmentalists who think you can solve global warming by reducing coal emissions haven’t been to China recently.

Cheating crisis a sad sign of times

 As another school year begins, I was interested to learn that scores of teachers across the country are now forced to use what essentially amounts to digital spy programs to catch students who are cheating.

Health care over easy, with fries on the side

People sure are funny.

Will Karl Marx have the last laugh?

1962: Extremists warned in vain against socialism & surrender

One last shot from 1962 and then I am finished.

A miracle drug for what ails us? Maybe, maybe not...

I’m not sure why people insist on thinking that our current political environment is the worst ever, but it isn’t.

Reunion let us remember 'way we were'

 I’ve been awash with nostalgia since returning from the all-school reunion in Hawley, Minn. a few weeks ago. The reunion coincided with the town’s 140th anniversary, so it meant big “doings.”

An American hero from another world - 1962

The past couple of weeks I have been exploring how America in the 1950s and ’60s had a chance to stop the juggernaut of bigger government from crushing the spirit of free enterprise, and for the most part missed th…

Do nation's watchmen now stand guard in vain?

Last week, I mentioned that I had found a column about the “Liberty Amendment” in a newspaper owned by the Freedom Newspapers group, and noted that Freedom Newspapers and its owner R.C. Hoiles were worth a column o…