Straight From The Hart

Off we go into the wild blue yonder, Climbing high into the sun; Here they come zooming to meet our thunder, At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun! Down we dive, spouting our flame from under, Off with one heckuva roar! We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey! Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force! Recent news reports reveal the disturbing fact that our U.S. Air Force has lost much of its “thunder” in recent months and is, according to some military experts, not even able to carry on its missions due to our current defense budget cuts which have left the Air Force short on parts and manpower. As far back as November of 2012, Greg Baker, writer for the Associated Press, put it this way. “For decades, the U.S. Air Force has grown accustomed to such superlatives as unrivaled and unbeatable. These days, some of its key combat aircraft are being described with terms like geriatric, or decrepit.” Jennifer Griffin, a Fox News Correspondent, visited the B-1 Bomber squadron a...

WHY WE NEED KATE'S LAW The families of four Kansas City, Kan. men, Mike Capps, Jake Waters, Clint Harter and his brother, Austin Harter, along with Randy Nordman of Montgomery County, Mo, are still trying to put their lives back together after all five men were brutally murdered by a Mexican illegal alien, Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino earlier this month. The Kansas City men were all in their thirties. Nordman was 49 years of age. Clint Harter was the father of two children, with another on the way. All the victims appeared to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time when Serrano-Vitarino went on his crime spree. Vitarino was captured by officers of the Missouri Highway Patrol trying to hide in a ditch alongside I-70 in central Missouri. He had a rifle with him, although he was barred by federal law from legally owning a gun because he is in the country illegally. He was charged in Montgomery County in Nordman’s death, and was charged with four counts of first-degree mur...

SIGNS OF SPRING It won’t be very long now Til winter skies turn blue; Til North winds change direction; And groundhog dreams come true. The days are getting longer; The mercury’s rising higher; Seed catalogs in the mailbox Every gardener to inspire. The purple crocus are pushing Up through cracks in frozen ground, And bird watchers are excited To see robins coming ‘round. But one sure sign of early spring And that the sun is playing for keeps Is a present from my husband - My first box of marshmallow Peeps! He knows they are my favorite- These chicks without a nest, And that of all the pastels I like the yellow ones best. There’s something about that first box When winter turns to spring; My heart melts like the snowy ground And my soul begins to sing. That box of sticky goodies Is such a tasty treat, A token of his love for me A remembrance very sweet That we’ve come through another winter Forty-three since we were wed, And life just keeps getti...

The issue of eminent domain has come into play again among the presidential candidates. As I listen to the various debates and interviews, there seems to be much confusion over the distinction made between whether the property to be taken is to be used for the private benefit of the person taking same, or whether the property under consideration is needed for public use. I have noticed that the Democrat candidates have not mentioned the issue and I have read in my research that controversies over the right of eminent domain seem to be more in the “domain” of the Republican party. Be that as it may, again I am not writing to uphold or put down any candidate, but just to give you some more information as you do your own research to come to your own conclusions. This is the second article I have written on the subject, and I am focusing on the issue of eminent domain as it stands in the State of Missouri. The Castle Coalition, a nationwide grassroots property activism project by the...

Confessions Of A Linguaphile There’s nothing more diverse than people The things they cherish, that turn them on The things they collect and want to “keeple” Their treasure stashed when day is done. Some like their cars, matchbox, antique Old and battered or shiny and sleek. They polish and buff them then drive them around Taking pleasure in gear shift and motors that sound. Some delight in dishes, with patterns that match And vases and pitchers, or just one of a batch. Some collect ducks, or elephants, or pigs Some look for paintings to enhance their “digs”. But for me, I love words, How they sound, how they rhyme, How they roll off my tongue, Absolutely sublime. Like abstruse and duende, oppugn, fancify, Prodigious and resile, cachinnate,and belie, Vademecum and bedizen, coterminous too Fugacious, inexorable, and then derring-do. I could go on forever for there’s no stopping place, Tapetum is a bright spot on a cat’s pretty face. I’m a logolept and prob...

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 ...