Straight From The Hart

I have attended church Christmas programs for nigh on to sixty-five years. I”m older than that but wasn’t taken to church until I was in grade school. However, once I started the habit of attending church every week, I never stopped until my health issues became so bad I couldn’t go. Christmas programs were always pretty much the same, because the churches we attended were fairly small congregations. There were no fancy choirs with satiny robes, no magnificent organs, no brass ensembles. But there was always a piano and sometimes a guitar. The program usually started with everybody singing “Joy To The World” and very few singers would have known who Handel was even if they had noticed his name at the top of the music in the hymn book. Throughout the program we would sing “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” and “O Come Let Us Adore Him” and other favorite carols. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” was usually used as the call to prayer because of the beautiful lyric “O Holy C

My column from today's paper. President Obama’s speech on Sunday night elicited a plethora of responses running the gamut from highly critical to enthusiastic approval. We are a nation in crisis, and Presidents have historically called forth the best from the citizenry in times like these. A crisis is an event that occurs suddenly, heightens tensions, induces stress, and when occuring in a political environment where stakes are high, there may be little time to decide, with decision-makers under intense pressure to perform in an atmosphere of uncertainty. According to U.S. History.org, “The Constitutional power as "Commander in Chief" has evolved into the very important modern role of "crisis manager." In the 20th century, as the United States gained world leadership powers, the President has become a key player in international crises. In the case of war or even regional conflicts, the President must go into "emergency mode" and concentrate on