Measuring America

Measuring America: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise of Democracy by Linklater Andro My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was one of those books that added much to my understanding of America. Every time I look at a map of the U.S., I marvel at the number of…
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Book Review

Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy by David O. Stewart My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book gave me all the information I wanted on a subject that I knew little about but that I suspected had more importance than normally is accorded it. Suffice it to…
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The Real Issue

Let’s just admit it: the gun control debate is depressingly familiar. One side says add more laws. The other side says the laws restrict legitimate gun owners’ rights. Well, both sides are missing the boat. Gun control

I don’t think so.

Pat Robertson, you have a message…it’s from Timbuktu. Some Islamic rebel says you’d love it there. Hold on…okay, he says you would love it there but only for a moment, because they’d have to kill you as an infidel. Th— wait a sec, Pat…okay, but you can kill them as infidels in your own country….
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Creeping insincerity.

Have you noticed the creeping insincerity in President Obama’s speech patterns? When he said, during his inauguration speech, “These things don’t weaken us, they strengthen us!” I could hear the falseness in his voice. The way he emphasized strengthen. It just didn’t come off as real, no matter how much he meant it. I hear this in…
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