Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • Small World: Liberals have their say

      By Henry Precht BN Columnist We were a gathering of five certified liberals at dinner in Washington, D.C. Not an unusual assembly, given that only four percent of voters in the District cast ballots for Mr. Trump. And perhaps typical in another way: none of our antecedents were liberal Democrats — they were Irish […]

  • Small World: Ranking the rank

      By Henry Precht BN Columnist A historian friend of mine has listed the men he deems the ten worse American presidents. He didn’t leave a vacant slot for the incumbent, but I wonder whether Mr. Trump might not soon fit in based on this country’s experience of the past two and a half months […]

  • Uppermost house: Emergence of the 17-year handyman

      By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist It began innocently enough, taking the initial form of a short twig of errant wire sticking up out of the corner of the dining room floor. It had been poking up thusly since we bought this old house almost two decades earlier, and I don’t know why it […]

  • Small World: Middle Easternizing American politics

      By Henry Precht BN Columnist For the past several months the national media, many Democrats, Republican hawks, and some aged cold warriors have been busting out with charges of semi-treason in the Trump camp for having talked to (perhaps they really meant plotted with) officials from the Russian embassy, especially the ambassador. As an […]

  • It Dawned on Me: You can stare at the moon, but not the sun

      By Dawn De Busk BN Columnist I missed three supermoons in a row. I had planned to be waiting the very moment that the full moon popped into the horizon. I wanted to be there to witness the celestial phenomenon. The word supermoon was coined to describe the moon during the times of the […]

  • Small World: Getting Russia right

      By Henry Precht BN Columnist Get a grip on your rocking chairs — brace yourselves — steady on: I, a certified liberal, am going to write something positive about President Trump. You might say that a leader dedicated to sweeping changes in policy and style is bound to be on target once in awhile. […]

  • Small World: A fable of our times

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist It all started with what seemed a small, albeit unusual, event. It seemed more like an old-fashioned fairy tale than a modern-day happening. Certainly the way the tale developed made it seem more like the creation of the brothers Grimm than a reputable newspaper. But let’s get to the facts: […]

  • Reasons to care about, abhor the executive order on immigration

    By Melinda Holmes Guest Column Last week, the country faced tremendous fallout from the Executive Order on Immigration, and its hasty implementation. Yet, in our rural northern towns the chaos and bustle of airport terminals full of civil rights lawyers and activists can easily feel a world apart. As an international relations expert with experience […]

  • Small World: Unintended or intended? Consequences.

      By Henry Precht BN Columnist In rapid fire order President Trump has issued a batch of directives affecting the nation’s foreign relations and future. Here follows a quick summary of some of the dangers the author apparently did not take into account: The Mexican wall and deportation of illegal aliens: These two items will […]

  • It Dawned on Me: Long lives, big contributions

    Writer’s preface: This column is dedicated to my grandmother, Virginia Marie Matney Paulk, who died Dec. 23, 2016. She was 99 years old. Grandma Virginia was selfless and giving with a wonderful sense of humor and very little patience for tears and feeling sorry for oneself.   By Dawn De Busk BN Columnist Charles M. Schultz […]