.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Columns

  • Cap and trade means lights out for small businesses

    Get ready to pay a whole lot more to keep the lights on.

    Congress currently is working to pass a huge energy bill. The centerpiece is a system to force energy utilities to purchase government credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. This would in effect be an energy tax on the American people as the utilities pass the increased costs along to consumers and small business owners.

    Click here to read more...
  • It's the trivial things that count

    Thursday's front page coverage of local Cub Scouts' rain gutter regatta brought back some good memories for me.

    When I was a mere 9 years old, I competed in the rain gutter regatta as a cub scout in Ohio. I blew on that plastic sail until I was light-headed. I didn't win, but it remains one of the fondest memories of my childhood.

    Click here to read more...
  • Have you checked out the Bookmarks?

    From mischievous dogs, circuses and vampires to questions about God and death row miracles … there has literally been something to interest everyone at the CKNJ Bookmarks reading group meetings.

    And if you haven’t joined us yet, you’re missing something.

    Our first book choice more than a year ago was “Marley and Me” by John Grogran. The story of a family and its neurotic dog, the book was fun read and was followed by the release of a movie based on the book.

    Click here to read more...
  • Health plan will increase costs for families and kill jobs

    During a recent telephone town hall, a constituent from Bowling Green told me, "Being a two-time cancer survivor, and possibly having it for a third time, I'm very concerned about health care reform. I know money is tight for everyone right now, but I'm worried about new taxes and being forced to accept government-run health care. I just really think if we have less government in health care, we would be better off."

    Click here to read more...
  • One dress, 365 days ... hmmm

    I stand in front of the open doors of my closet every morning, taking inventory of what's clean, what still needs ironing, what matches. Or doesn't.

    It really is a pain.

    But when Sheena Matheiken of Brooklyn, N.Y. gets up in the morning, she already knows what she'll be wearing: the same thing as the day before. And the day before ... and the day before.

    Click here to read more...
  • Public records can turn up amazing things

    In Kentucky, it's presumed that government documents are open unless there's a good reason to keep them secret.

    Until July 1, people in South Dakota had to prove documents were open as they sought information. A new law shifts the burden to government to show why it has the right to withhold information.

    Officials think it will have a "long-term positive impact on government," according to a news account. It's a long overdue development.

    Click here to read more...
  • Just for the record

    From time to time, I visit the Topix message board to read what posters are writing about what's going on in Taylor County.

    Most (if not all, really) of what is posted is pure garbage, written only to hurt and embarrass people. The other part is completely incorrect information that further confuses people as to what is really going on in our community.

    Lately, however, I have seen so much misinformation posted that it seemed only proper that I set a few issues correct.

    Click here to read more...
  • Home is where the kittens are

    I just couldn't resist those big blue eyes. Her small, frail, shaking body that yearned for human touch. The rough and tiny "meow" that sounded (at least to me) like she was really saying, "Calen, come rescue me."

    Yes, I have adopted another cat. And, by the time you read this, she's been with us (my other cats, Jacob and Julie, and I that is) for six days now. I hope it's still going well.

    Click here to read more...
  • Sounds in the night

    "Carol, there is someone outside your bathroom window."

    "What?"

    "I heard a woman's voice outside your bathroom window," my good friend Connie said as she whispered down the hallway to the den.

    "What did you hear?"

    "Kind of a cry-like voice."

    She was visiting from Louisville and, being from the big city, she has the mindset that if a noise is heard outside a window, it is not a good thing. I, on the other hand, find plausible excuses.

    "Are you sure you didn't hear the wind?"

    Click here to read more...
  • Let Jackson rest in peace

    I took great offense to a guest editorial by Daniel B. Kline published on Monday's Central Kentucky News-Journal Opinion Page. But that's the problem with opinions. Everybody's got the right to share theirs, whether we like what they say or not.

    Kline was angry with the attention the death of Michael Jackson has gotten. He was even more angry that news coverage seemed to focus on his accomplishments rather than the controversy that has marred his career during the last few decades.

    Click here to read more...