February 1, 2026 I was recently saddened to read that the National Park Service is dismantling “Inappropriate disparage” exhibits about slavery from the President’s House at Independence Park in Philadelphia. The Washington Post first reported the orders handed down by the President to require the Interior Department to identify and change any “memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties that were…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Presidential projecting of liars and pigs
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Freelance reporter Don Lemon, two weeks after having covered a rally in a Minneapolis church, was arrested and indicted in Los Angeles for being at that protest. It is illegal to arrest a reporter for being a reporter. What they do for a living – report – is protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution,…
Read MoreStupid is as stupid does?
Times like this cause me to examine the picture of my cultural experience. While consuming newsworthy events in these United States I am oft-distant and dependent on the news media to paint a picture of what is happening. But is the picture I am receiving a Rembrandt or a Picasso? Words are written, interviews enacted, and cellphone videos captured but…
Read MoreThe List from just one city
~by Colleen O’Brien Trump is untruthful, and so he and his administration need show no interest in investigating I.C.E. actions in Minneapolis because it’s the Democrats’ fault there is ‘chaos.’ Minnesota governor Walz, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frye and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar have asked the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, headed by another person who plays with the truth, Pam…
Read MoreBits and pieces and a dash of Amendments
~a column by Colleen O’Brien A new US Postal Service rule, which I just discovered became effective on Christmas Eve, 2025, is cunning: it changes postmarks to regional processing centers, not my local post office. The date stamped on the outside of the envelope might be days after I actually put it in my own mailbox to be picked up, impacting deadlines for…
Read MoreView from my window: Dog days of winter, 2026
JAN. 18, 2026 My heart and my brain are filled with concern and anguish about the events occurring in neighboring Minnesota and other points in the country, so we are going to be more relaxed this week. My husband and I are both very fond and spoil our 4-year-old dog, Bella. She is a Maremma, which means she looks very…
Read MoreWinners told in 5th grade flag essay contest
The American Legion Floyd W. Brown Post #11 of Jefferson offers the annual statewide flag essay contest to the fifth grade students as an opportunity to increase their knowledge and appreciation of our national flag. This year was unique in that the money awarded to the students was increased to $100, $75, and $50. Labate said, “The students see the…
Read MoreSen Jesse Green, Jan. 16, 2026
Greetings from the Golden Dome. Week 1 of the session has wrapped up. Many bills have been filed, the Governor has laid out her agenda, and each legislator is preparing themselves for what may come. For this week’s Roundup, I will lay out what is on my mind legislatively. Landowner rights: The House is making it very clear that property rights are their top priority. They…
Read MoreTo buy or not to buy
President Trump is interested in owning Greenland for defensive purposes against Russia and China. He also knows the country has rare earth minerals and oil. The county is controlled by Denmark and only has a population of 56,000. Beck in 1867 Secretary of State Seward bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. (Today’s value would be $132 million.) Cost was…
Read MoreHomage to an old friend
~Colleen O’Brien Frank McNulty, a classmate of mine in Jefferson, died last week – January 6, 2026. My sis called to tell me, and I’ve been crying since. I think he was, as I wrote in my journal, the case of “One more bites the dust.” Frank and I are of an age when people die. We graduated from Jefferson…
Read MoreNature in feathers and celestial light
Nature in feathers and celestial light ~a column by Colleen O’Brien Seven small birds perch on two wires beyond my window . . . like this: w w w w w w w They are a choir in matching robes with a chubby little choirmaster, baton at the ready. I’m spying on sparrows, called spatzi around this heavily German-settled town I live…
Read MoreView from my window – Deportation made personal
This is the most heart rendering column I have written and shared with you. It will be shocking to read, as it was for me to research and document. Deportation is occurring with frequency, but this became a personal look. Walter W. Babb, Bill, is the son of my late high school classmate Sam Babb, who many from Greene County…
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