Straight From The Hart

This year is not starting out the best for me!  Last week I had to confess to making several mistakes in my accounting of Lebanon history, and this week I am “eating crow”.  Yes, I was one of those Republicans who didn’t think Donald Trump could ever be nominated, let alone elected.  And I had grave doubts about his qualifications and ability. I was really in a quandary. I knew the Democratic candidates were absolutely not an option, for many reasons, including but not limited to the need to preserve the integrity of the Supreme Court and the sanctity of human life.  There were several  to choose from on the Republican ticket.  Donald Trump was not one of them. Then came the convention, and I was trapped.   I hasten to clarify here that I had no problem with any of Trump’s stated policy positions. I knew he didn’t have a racist bone in his body.  There was too much evidence out there to the contrary.  I knew he wasn’t a misogyn...

"Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter,  President Clinton , President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you. We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people. Together we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come. We will face challenges. We will confront hardships, but we will get the job done. Every four years we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady  Michelle Obama  for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you. Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning because, today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from  Washington, D.C ., and giving it back to you,...

It was Christmas Day 1987 - 29 years ago.     I don’t remember that we had a lot of warning about an impending ice storm but weather predictions were different back then.  Most local people were sitting down to their Christmas dinner with family when the power to their homes went off. My turkey was not quite done but we finished cooking it on a wood heating stove we had in my office so we could eat.  Then we prepared for bed early.  We only had a few oil lamps back then and the house was getting cold.   Our daughter was in high school and recovering from surgery, so the three of us bedded down in the living room because it was warmer there. Then the phone rang.  Our next door neighbor, Harry Hatten, was on the line with the alarming news that  downtown Lebanon was on fire! Lebanon lost at least 4 businesses in the 100 block of W. Commercial on the south side of the street that night, including Mayfield Abstract, Ted’s Jewe...

“If you think Russian President Vladimir Putin is nothing more than a ruthless thug who relishes political power and personal preening on the world’s stage — he’s got you right where he wants you.”  These chilling words of warning were written just last year by Maureen Mackey, managing editor of The Fiscal Times. Marin Katusa, who has studied Russian politics and Putin for years, is the author of a new book, “The Colder War: How the Energy Trade Slipped from America’s Grasp”, in which she wrote “Putin is not a regular politician like we are used to in the West - he believes his mission is to steer Russia toward its past glory as a global superpower...he is far more dangerous than politicians and the media would lead you to believe.” One website describes him in this language:  “Putin has positioned himself as heroic defender of Russia’s sovereignty. He has labeled the ostentatious West as the imperialistic villain keen on toying with the Third World. At the UN, Russia rout...

For several weeks I have been attempting to find a way to address the current United Nations issue with regard to Israel and Palestine.  As you might guess, there is a plethora of information available online, about 50% of it contradicting the other 50%.  Not only are there conflicting reports, but it is difficult to know which of the many sites are legitimate news sources. I have decided to use as the basis for this column today an article by Edward Bernard Glick, a professor emeritus of political science at Temple University in Philadelphia and the author of  several books, including “Peaceful Conflict” and “Soldiers, Scholars, and Society.”  He wrote this article in 2006 and it is an excellent overview of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian problem. The history of the Jews in the Holy Land goes back long before the Babylonians and later when the Romans expelled Jews from the area.  You don’t have to be a learned Biblical  scholar or even a stud...

Sixty-six years ago this week, a drastic change occurred in my life.  At least that’s how it seemed to me then.  Over the Christmas holidays in 1950, my family, consisting of myself and two younger sisters, my mother, and my maternal grandparents moved from a farmhouse out in the country into  a two story white stucco house in Old Town at the corner of Wood and Apple Streets.   I was seven years old and I didn’t know whether to be scared or excited about changing to a new school. I had started school in a one room country school in the Washington School District with Ruth Garrett as my teacher.  I loved her and also Thelma Prescott who taught second grade. My grandfather walked with me to that school the first couple of days and then I was left on my own to walk through a wooded area to a gravel road which took me to the school.   The biggest obstacle was getting over the fence that ran between our property and a ditch that bordered a gravel ...

Today is my mother’s 90th birthday.  Christmas Eve birthdays sometimes get lost in the holiday rush but she never lets us forget! She is housebound and is confined to her wheelchair but she enjoys life,  and treasures every day she can be in her own home.  Her house is small and well guarded by two large attack cats, but all her children and as many of her stepchildren and grandchildren as possible will be stopping by to visit with her sometime this weekend. She asked me this week what kind of “spiel” I would be putting in the paper for her.  She is just now learning about the picture and request for a card shower I had published last Saturday.  All week she has been calling and asking why she is getting birthday cards from people she doesn’t know or remember! We have talked in recent months more about her childhood and days gone by.  She was born and raised on a farm in Laclede County.  She loved to read and on rainy days she would climb up int...