Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • Uppermost House: All things stepped on

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist A couple of years before I met her, my wife Karen was returning home from a summer evening soiree and took her high heels off so she wouldn’t disturb her family as she walked through the house. Traversing between her sister’s bedroom and her own, with said heels dangling […]

  • Small World: Reflections on the Elections

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist With the midterm elections a week behind us and the insights of pundits exhausted, it seems the time to pose the big questions: Who really won and who lost? First and plainly, Obama and his distant cousin Democrats were shellacked. Voters, hostile to Washington, may not have cared much for […]

  • Small World: An anniversary not to be celebrated

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Thirty-five years ago this week, my wife and I were driving on a highway in Pennsylvania coming from Parents’ Weekend at Colgate. I was in charge of Iranian affairs at the State Department and was passing the time trying to imagine new approaches that might help us normalize relations with […]

  • Small World: Preferred ways to pick a president

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Let’s see a show of hands — How many of you out there are satisfied with any of the potential nominees for president? How many still waiting for the coming of an as yet unknown redeemer? Hmmm. I suspect the three ladies in back are Hillary fans. Right? I knew it. And […]

  • Uppermost House: The three dollar secret

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist My wife Karen and I can’t remember precisely how long we’ve been married. Of course, we remember the year (1982) and the day (the third Saturday), and we well remember the lace and the polyester double-knit suit and the happy words and the moist eyes and the awkward kiss; […]

  • Darkside of the Sun: Amazing facts from around the country

    By Mike Corrigan BN Columnist Ten school districts in Texas have claimed from military surplus 64 M-16 rifles, 18 M-14s (apparently for shooting middle schoolers), 25 automatic pistols (elementary kids?) and magazines, with a total capacity of 4,500 rounds. While some left-wing loonies worry about the continuing militarization of local police departments, and even about […]

  • Darkside of the Sun: Combustion

    By Mike Corrigan BN Columnist Waves of heat. Unlivable conditions. Rapidly fluctuating thermals. Finally, the end comes in a flash. I speak, of course, of spontaneous human combustion, which scientists brush off as fires set accidentally by incapacitated or dying persons, through dropped smoldering cigarettes or other heat sources. Just like scientists, to seek some logical […]

  • Small World: Some facts and thoughts on Ebola

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Three Ebola cases have been reported in the United States:  two nurses and the traveler from Liberia, who infected them. Medical authorities and President Obama repeatedly assure us that there is little danger of a major outbreak in this country. Yet the national press reports “an epidemic of fear and […]

  • Uppermost House: The edge of my world

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist A seven year-old boy knows two things about time: there is now, and there is forever. Now is immediate, and while not always pleasant (“Brush your teeth and go to bed, now!”), at least it can be counted on. A constant presence. Forever is far off and shadowy and […]

  • Darkside of the Sun: Alive and kickin’

    By Mike Corrigan BN Columnist Obituaries used to be dull, reading something like this: “Herbert H. Feldspar, 77, passed away last week after a long illness. For 30 years, he was employed at Sears before forgetting where he worked and reporting for his last seven years to the jewelry counter at J.C. Penney, where he […]