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Category: Opinion

What does the word ‘inherent’ mean?

~a column by Colleen O’Brien Inherent:  a natural part of something that cannot be separated from it. –Meriam Webster Dictionary The Republican presumptive presidential nominee said recently that the U.S. is not an inherently racist or evil country or that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil. That’s true. But he is a little confused because no one…

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View from My Window: Cows and Daisy Dairy

~by Mary Weaver “Hey diddle diddle, the cat, and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon.” I remember my mom reading that nursery rhyme to me, and there was a drawing of the cow jumping over the moon. It seemed unrealistic, but it rhymed, and the sing song drone of words lulled me into my afternoon nap as a…

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Life gets stupider

~a column by Colleen O’Brien Living in Florida has become precarious unless one is not pregnant or likely to be so. My granddaughter flew into Florida to visit me, her Gramma Collie. Impressed and delighted was I, looking forward to my little girl/grown woman at four months pregnant and 30 years old, healthy and eager for parenthood. But when she…

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Penance? Patience? Pitifulness?

~a column by Colleen O’Brien Most of my life I’ve not been a name-caller, either by nature or nurture. But about eight years ago, I realized my Irish was rising steadily as I fell under the malice of a spiteful fellow and have been aping him ever since: if he’s getting away with it and  making my blood boil, I’m…

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Boulders and straw

~a column by Colleen O’Brien June 27 is the date set for what I expect the history books to label “The Stupid Debate of 2024.” Or, with more accuracy, “Virtue v. Vice.” “He Who Pretended to Know How to Be a United States President and Thinks He Can Pull It Off Again So He Won’t Have to Go to Prison”…

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View from my window: Government representation

~by Mary Weaver We are familiar with  the adages, “All politics is local,” from former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill;  from Benjamin Franklin in 1867, “ A republic, if you can keep it”; and “Democracy is not a spectator sport”,  from Michael Moore. I used my voice last week by calling a Greene County Community Schools board member. I…

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View from my window – People, friends, volunteers

TOGETHER – The more we get together, together, together, The more we get together, the happier we’ll be. ‘Cause your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends. The more we get together, the happier we’ll be. PEOPLE – People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world. We’re children, needing other children, and yet…

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Homeless Coalition now under Clergy Association

June 1, 2024 To the editor, After several years of volunteer service, we have made the decision to hand over day-to-day operation of the Greene County Homeless Coalition to the Greene County Clergy Association. We got involved in this work before the pandemic, when Andy was editor of The Jefferson Herald. With the retirement soon after of Pastor Julie Poulsen…

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Bait and switch

~a column by Colleen O’Brien Have you ever had a “friend” who gave you really good street drugs for three or four months, and about the time you were asking him to hurry up and get back to you with more, he started charging you for the drugs? It’s a bait and switch game that leads to things lethal. I…

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View from my window – Due dates

~a column by Mary Weaver Memorial Day weekend will soon arrive. A time when families gather to remember loved ones and kick off the summer season. Graduations  are past, final grades issued, the corn and beans are in the ground, and in general life seems less regimented.  As an aging parent, adult children become overly protective. Just as when they…

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