Residents irate over quarry blasting

Shouldn't that be "other's mistakes"?

I thought the spelling, grammar, and punctuation Nazi days were over.

June 18, 2013 at 4:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Opinion: U.S. must support Mideast moderates

News from Beirut, Lebanon about the arrival of the Russian warships: <br>
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Midd...

June 17, 2013 at 2:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

A LifeStar helicopter leaves the scene of a multiple-injury accident as emergency response personnel

That bothers me too, but much less now that I have a minivan, one of the longer ones. And, I have the optional 5 mph rear bumper, instead of the Federal standard of 2.5 mph. So, even if there's a car tailgating me, it's a ways back there, there's lots of sheet metal behind me, and quite often I have a massive weight advantage as well.

But about teaching people the mathematics of tailgating, the very small amount of time saved by speeding, and the total waste it is to slam on the brakes for a stop instead of coasting up to it, forget it. Because here in the United States, many people are quite proud of their lack of mathematical ability. Take this problem for example:

You are going on a trip of 93 miles. How much time will you save by driving 73 mph instead of 68 mph?

It would be interesting to see what percentage of drivers would be able to answer it correctly. (Yes, a calculator is required.)

June 17, 2013 at 2:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Opinion: U.S. must support Mideast moderates

To late to correct: For some of Russia's warships, I'm sure it was possible to take a southern route, that is, south of the continent of Eurasia, instead of crossing both oceans. That is still a very long naval voyage, though.

June 17, 2013 at 1:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Opinion: U.S. must support Mideast moderates

The United States getting directly involved in the civil war in Syria on the side of the rebels is a very serious and short sighted mistake. Russia is firmly backing Bashar al-Assad and has no intention of backing down. I think that is mostly because under no circumstances is Russia willing to give up their naval port in Syria, and backing Assad appears to the Russian leadership to be their best chance of holding onto it.

An ominous sign happened just a couple days ago - the warships of Russia's Pacific fleet sailed into the Mediterranean to protect Russia's interests. All of the Atlantic fleet was already there. That is significant because the Pacific fleet is ported at Vladivostok, so for any ship not at sea it was necessary to cross the entire Pacific Ocean, half the globe, and then cross the Atlantic to get there. Never before has Russia had both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets in the Mediterranean. I think this is the first time the Pacific fleet has been there. If the policymakers in Washington D.C. do not recognize the significance of that, we need to get new ones.

So, aiding the rebels will put the United States into direct conflict with Russia. It takes only a minimum reading of history books to be aware that Russia does not play nicely, and has rarely, if ever, used its military for humanitarian purposes. Russia is there for a showdown, and since both their Atlantic and Pacific fleets are so close to the conflict, they are ready for it. There is no doubt that nuclear weapons are aboard.

So, in a way, this appears to be shaping up like Vietnam, except this time we are in opposition to Russia instead of China. Of course, this situation is much more complex than that.

My opinion is that the United States should stay clear of the fighting in Syria, except for humanitarian aid for the refugees that have fled the country. Syria has never been much of an ally to the United States, and if the situation were reversed, we could expect no help from Syria.

It is a terrible thing that is happening, but a dogfight between two pit bulls is also. The United States cannot solve all of the problems in the world, especially when the populations have very little political maturity in the Western sense of the phrase.

June 17, 2013 at 1:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: Sacred wetlands

I have it on good authority from someone that is part Native that there really is one Native American buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the wetlands. He died of a drug overdose, and his grave is unmarked. And to top that off, there were only two people that buried him, and they are both deceased today. So if you want to find his body, good luck.

The story went something like that, anyway.

June 16, 2013 at 4:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Opinion: Sugar subsidies costly to consumers

"But 6,700 generations from now, there will still be today’s web of policies — not a safety net but a hammock — woven for the comfort of sugar producers."

That's insane! The Roman Empire lasted only about 1,000 years, the Jewish culture has lasted about 2,700 years, and the Chinese and Egyptian dynasties lasted perhaps 5,000 years. But Mr. George Will expects that the USA will last 6,700 generations, that is, about 167,500 to 201,000 years. Considering the world's current political climate and our government's rather poor policies, I wonder what drugs he has been taking. He certainly wasn't thinking very critically when he wrote that.

June 11, 2013 at 6:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: Food stamps vital

“Some people are so poor, all they have is money." <br>
- Patrick Meagher

June 10, 2013 at 7:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Opinion: Bringing end to war is an Obama fantasy

Clipped from: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,73...

The majority of Arab-Israeli citizens will tell you they have it pretty good, and would prefer living in Israel than in an Arab country. Moreover, a couple of years ago, when the PA threatened to annex eastern Jerusalem, the Israeli Office of Immigration was flooded with Arabs wanting to apply for Israeli citizenship. What does that tell you?

June 10, 2013 at 7:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Lawhorn's Lawrence: The hidden survivors of Quantrill's Raid

Note definition 3a & 3b. <br>
From Merriam Webster: Definition of DECIMATE

1: to select by lot and kill every tenth man of

2: to exact a tax of 10 percent from (poor as a decimated Cavalier — John Dryden)

3a : to reduce drastically especially in number (cholera decimated the population) <br>
b : to cause great destruction or harm to (firebombs decimated the city) (an industry decimated by recession)

June 9, 2013 at 6:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )