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Category: Opinion

View from my window: Values

With this November’s presidential election drawing closer, and the recent changes of the players at the national level, I’m thinking about the values these candidates carry. With individuals seeking office at every level – county elections, state representatives, Congressional seats, and of course, the presidential election – I want to vote for someone who will reflect my values. Values defined:…

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What happened to Iowa Nice?

~a column by GCNO publisher Victoria Riley I’ve told people many times that ‘Iowa Nice’ is real, that Iowans are friendly, considerate, respectful people. If I take a cue from those who are ‘in charge’ in Iowa, I need to quit saying that. If Iowa Nice were real, Gov Kim Reynolds and other elected officials would have responded to President…

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Too much of too much

~a column by Colleen O’Brien Had it been a novel instead of real life, this past week would never have made it to the publisher’s desk. As fact of real life, it was also too much of too much, a poorly written novel because it had too many plots for one piece of fiction, let alone fact: we became party…

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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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