The C Word

The "C" in "C word" doesn't stand for "color" — although I have no doubt that there are those among the Obama apologists who wish it did because that would be something their hero could blame that is beyond his control.The "C" doesn't even stand for "conference" — as in "press conference," which is something Obama can control, and it's a good thing he held one on Thursday.I say that not only because it is essential for a president to keep the country...

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A Portal into the Past

These days, millions of people think they know what Americans experienced during the Great Depression three–quarters of a century ago.It is understandable that they should feel that way. This recession has been persistent, stubborn, cruel, painful — choose the adjective you think is most appropriate. Housing foreclosures have been rampant. Job losses have been across the board. They haven't been confined to specific industries. Few have been spared...

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The Things With Feathers

"Hope is the thing with feathersThat perches in the soulAnd sings the tune without the wordsAnd never stops — at all"And sweetest — in the Gale — is heardAnd sore must be the stormThat could abash the little BirdThat kept so many warm"I've heard it in the chillest landAnd on the strangest SeaYet, never, in Extremity,It asked a crumb — of Me."Emily DickinsonI've had many thoughts as the enormity of what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico has become...

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Declaring War on Poverty

If you look at an American history book today, you're likely to see Lyndon Johnson's name prominently linked with the Vietnam War.There is certainly good reason for that. Like the mutually dependent tales of the Nixon presidency and the Watergate scandal, you can't tell the story of the Johnson presidency without telling the story of the Vietnam War — and vice versa.Dig a little deeper in history's account of that administration, and you're likely...

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Lucky Lindy

That's what they were calling Charles Lindbergh 83 years ago today, when Lindbergh departed on what became the world's first transatlantic flight — although, actually, I guess they didn't start calling him that until late the next day when he landed in Paris, more than 33 hours after his departure.Transatlantic flights are commonplace today, but, in 1927, the best and most daring aviators were vying to be the first to accomplish the feat — and, in...

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The Polarization of America

In 2009, Barack Obama made numerous, very public attempts to reach across the aisle and enlist the support of Republicans for his initiatives. His attempts at appeasement were fruitless.At the very least, I think we are seeing that, even if Obama and the Democrats are successful in holding slim majorities in Congress this year, bipartisanship is not going to be a realistic goal for them to pursue in 2011 or 2012. That canyon the parties have created...

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Is It the Real Thing?

Nearly 50 years after his assassination, John F. Kennedy continues to exert his almost mystical grip on us.He certainly has a hold on Texas. Perhaps it's a self–flagellation thing for permitting him to be killed here.Dallas doesn't always seem to give much attention to the anniversary of the assassination, but, otherwise, the Dallas media — and, by extension, the state media — are suckers for anything Kennedy. Dallas' ABC affiliate, WFAA, reported recently that some film of Kennedy at a party in Houston the night before his assassination in 1963...

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Mount St. Helens, Three Decades Later

I have heard relatively little said about the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, perhaps because so much attention is currently being given to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.At the moment, of course, no one knows the dimensions of the catastrophe in the Gulf. When all is said and done, it may well make Mount St. Helens seem tiny, if not completely insignificant, by comparison.But on the Sunday morning 30 years ago today...

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A Dramatic Day

Until recently, if anyone thought of Oct. 15, 1969, it probably was in connection with the World Series, which was known at the time — and is still remembered today — as the triumph of the Miracle Mets, the Amazin' New York Mets, over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles.October 15 wasn't the day that the Mets wrapped up their improbable championship — that happened the next day — but it may have been the day when the Mets' triumph became all but...

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The Quest for the Bottom Line

I guess it is no secret that newspapers are struggling financially these days.The reasons are complex, but one reason seems clear to me. As I wrote a couple of months ago, most newspapers failed to recognize the internet for the threat it posed back in the days when the internet was still emerging and was not yet a fixture in American homes.In fact, I recall a day back in the 1990s. Newspapers still seemed to be healthy, although circulation, as always, was down. I never worked in advertising, either classified or display, so I don't know if a...

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Arkansas Picks Its Senate Candidates

On Tuesday, the voters in my home state of Arkansas will go to the polls.The Democrats and Republicans of Arkansas will decide who their nominees (or the two contestants in decisive runoffs to be held in June) will be for a bunch of offices. Three of the state's four House seats are being vacated. Arkansans also will choose their governor this year, but I don't think there are contests for either party's nomination.Currently, the state's congressional delegation is heavily Democratic, just as it always was when I was growing up there — both senators...

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