Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Several weeks ago, during the Olympic Games, a Facebook friend weighed in on the flap over Gabby Douglas’ mistake of not putting her hand over her heart during the playing of the National Anthem. He saw it as a “WAH!” lament for some unspoken reason. She’d already apologized and said she’d thought she was showing respect by standing at attention. That apology was rejected by this friend. He still saw her lapse as a whiny, poor-me statement. I innocently commented, amongst all the others scorning her, that I hadn’t seen what they saw. I went... Full story
I’m going to go all feminist here, and complain about people who are super critical of a certain presidential hopeful for her clothing choices. I’ve seen too many memes jumping on Hillary for her clothing. The color isn’t right. It isn’t flattering. The cut is wrong. It costs too much. It looks cheap. Where are the memes jumping on Donald for his suits? Oh, wait, there were those way back about his hair and his skin color. People, including other women, think that because a woman chooses to be in the public eye (politically, athleti... Full story
With the All-School Reunion having occurred in Opheim this past weekend, it must be time for some reminiscing. I confess I’m not a Montana native. I didn’t grow up in Opheim, nor in any one place. I was a military dependent. We moved every few years as my father was stationed at various Air Force bases. I had just completed my sophomore year in Wiesbaden, Germany, at the General H. H. Arnold High School, when dad was reassigned as commander of the 779th Radar Squadron just outside Opheim. We were flown back to the states, to the D.C. area. Dad...
I have gone back and retread my last sewing notions column. I fail to see where I was promulgating the “Absolute Relativism” that Mr. DePuydt seems to have read into it. (He also mentions “Natural Law” being thrown out. Apparently I have greater powers than I was aware of. I’m not even sure what he means by this.) I will agree that different people see things differently. What is natural to one is abhorrent to another (and this works both ways). As a friend of mine often said, “You can’t legislate morality.” What is true for one is not necessar...
In response to a post on social media from my sister (she’s such a catalyst), I’ve just finished posting a photo of myself online. In it, I am holding a small sign saying,” The Bible says: “All are created in the image of God,” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Quit mixing Christianity with secular law! “Render unto Caesar...” This was very difficult for me for a couple of reasons. One, I’m very critical of my appearance in photos. I freely admit to vanity, a minor flaw compared to other flaws I have. And two (much more importan...
This past week, while checking out Facebook, where people keep their friends updated on their activities as well as share lame jokes and simplistic ideas, I ran across this meme: “When both the Republican Establishment and the Democratic Establishment attack the same candidate, then you know you’ve found your guy.” The only reason I saw it, having no desire to visit that page, was because a friend shared it, and another friend liked it. My immediate response was, “Seriously? A man who claims to be Christian, yet has commented he’d ‘do’ his...
Spring is right around the corner, it seems. The calendar says the equinox will occur on the twentieth, as it does every year, and for once, up here in northeastern Montana, we have hopes that it actually will mean spring has sprung. We’ve been seeing the signs of spring: a killdeer has been heard; robins are hopping in the yard; skunks have been seen trundling alongside the highways (or have been smelled); the redpolls are frequenting the bird feeders again; and a gopher has been spotted sunning himself beside the road. The snow has mostly m...
Our vacations are over and we are back to the reality of spring [cross that out] winter in Northeast Montana. We only came back because we had dental appointments which had been set a year ago. (That and the whole running out of money thing.) People are always surprised when we say we go to Plentywood for our dental care. We go there out of loyalty to a dentist who had sympathy and who understood what it is to be in pain. Early in our marriage, we went to Dr. Martens in Glasgow. When he retired, he didn’t sell his practice but instead closed h...
We have been lucky enough to have basically skipped the month of February in Montana, shortening our winter by a month. The beginning of the month was spent in Florida, just south of Tampa, visiting our middle daughter and her family. That family includes her husband, a newly teenaged son, a five-and-a-half-year-old son, and a soon to be four-year-old son. We had several side-trips while there, including Dinosaur World, Legoland, the Tampa Aquarium, the Florida State Fair, a trip to view the manatees, and a pro-hockey game, in which the Tampa...
I’ve been gathering some background information on our Constitution as regards the Supreme Court. This was considered so very important by the drafters of the Constitution that it is in the Second Article. It says of the President: “ … he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate … shall appoint Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall also be established by law … “ Since Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedl...
Common courtesy, like common sense, isn't so very common. There seems to be more rudeness than there used to be. The trash talk that athletes throw at each other in sporting events seems to be invading all aspects of life. People in this country revere their sports heroes, so it's really no surprise to find their actions being emulated, but this behavior is not worth emulating. Facebook is rife with rudeness. There are nasty comments galore, usually from total strangers. It's easy to be rude to someone you don't know. It doesn't seem to matter...
Last week a friend asked me what I would write about if there were to be no repercussions. He said he’d choose politics, and confided he didn’t think very highly of the current crop of presidential hopefuls. I’m in agreement with him on that topic. And of course, he got my mind working on this subject. In the past, the general feeling in this country was that campaigning for political office was distasteful and beneath a person of worth. One should sit and wait to be chosen. In 1821, Representative William Lowndes of South Carolina stated, “The...
The news of the death of rocker David Bowie and the listings of all his accomplishments has me thinking of my mortality and what kind of legacy I’m leaving behind. (David was the same age my big brother is now. I admire the both of them.) I’m afraid my obit notice will be very short: she loved to garden and crochet. However, legacies are for famous people such as presidents and rock stars. I’m not in either category, so it’s not really something over which I need to obsess. I will be content with what I’ve accomplished. I hope my daughters...
As I come down to the deadline for getting my opinion piece sent into the Courier (noon on Mondays, in case anyone else needs more pressure to perform in their lives), I’m scrambling for new ideas. As I know I’m expected to fill that space (whether anyone cares to read my offerings or not) what has popped into my mind is this: the difficulties of being both a procrastinator and being reliable. Being a fantastic life-long procrastinator, the first thing I did was look up the definition of that word so I could share it with you, as well as fil...
I keep seeing and getting annoyed by memes on Facebook that want you to “type amen” if you love Jesus, and/or to share that meme to “prove” you are “a Christian.” Jesus already knows this. He doesn’t need you to prove it on Facebook by mindlessly sharing a meme. Rather, he wants your actions to show it. Those actions would include helping others, treating your fellow humans decently, and following the commandments to the best of your ability. (And really, many agnostics and atheists perform these same actions.) There are many other memes a...
I read with interest the opinion last week by Mr. Chris Pippin. I was especially intrigued by his assertion that “No one with any real attachment to an organized Christian religion based on the teaching of Jesus Christ” would not “put value on all human life at all stages, including the people who practice or support abortion." While I am relieved to find that he believes this, I beg to differ. A bit of searching finds numerous attacks upon abortion clinics and providers committed by avowed Christians. The incidents included vandalism, prote...
Some years ago, one of my adult daughters (all of whom then lived away from Montana) had a date with a young man. After the date, when I asked how it had gone, the response I received was, “He was just too/to/two.” Coming from a family of English majors, people who love English, grammar, and learning, I understood her perfectly. He would not remain long in her life. One of my father’s treasures was a huge Oxford English Dictionary. This tome was so large and unwieldy it had its own stand. It stood open, in the living room, in pride of place...
Early this morning, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I noticed a friend had tagged another friend with photo of a billboard. The message on that billboard read, “The X belongs in Texas. Christ belongs in Christmas.” I innocently commented that I hoped my friends realized that “X” stands for Christ, and to look it up. The immediate response was, “ I hope you realize I feel it’s wrong to still not use Christ in Christmas. It’s laziness.” I was prompted by this to do a little research about the use of “X”. It turns out it was first used hund...
I was heartened last week to see two others expressing the same sentiments I expressed over the refugee situation. It gave me hope for America. And then there was another shooting at a Planned Parenthood Clinic. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume it was based on religious objections to abortion. Christian fundamentalists are as extreme in their views and methods as ISIS. They employ terroristic tactics on those with whom they don’t agree. Now, I know that Planned Parenthood offers some abortions, but those are really a small per...
When I wrote my first opinion piece for the Courier, I said we weren’t a Christian nation, as the Constitution may have been based on Biblical values, but it was not based on the life of Jesus Christ. Most of our Founding Fathers were Deists, meaning they did believe in God, but they did not believe in Jesus. They specifically did not want an established national religion, adamantly wanting every citizen to be able to believe and worship as they chose, and to not be punished for their choice of religion (or even no religion). I received some f...
I was going to write more on the abortion issue, to cover more questions and concerns raised by Mr. Chris Pippin, but then Paris happened. I started to hear disturbing reactions to the acts committed by those extremists: comments along the lines of "kill them," "bomb them back to rubble" (déjà vu from the 9-11 events), "close our borders to all refugees," even, God forbid, "a cleansing is needed." Let's please not give in to knee jerk reactions. Let's not lump all Muslims into the same basket, nor be suspicious of everyone who wears a turban or...
Our legislators have worked hard to make it increasingly difficult for any woman to get an abortion. I seriously doubt anyone is using abortion as a form of birth control at this time. And obtaining an abortion is not a cheap solution. In four states (Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming) there is only one clinic serving the entire state. (This information comes from Bloomberg, in Vanishing Abortion Clinics in the U.S., Sept. 14, 2015.) So the woman seeking to end her pregnancy faces the expense of traveling to the clinic as...
The pro-lifers claim those unwanted children could be adopted by others. That’s also not easy to arrange, either by the mother-to-be, nor by those looking to adopt. Here in Montana, lawyers must be involved, and we all know how cheaply they work. If the birth mother is under the age of 18, she must have her own lawyer. She cannot sign a relinquishment and consent to adopt order until at least 72 hours after giving birth. She must also undergo at least three hours of counseling by the Department of Health and Human Services, or the adoption a...
I have been mulling over my thoughts on the topic of abortion rights in the United States. I was never in the forefront of the fight to gain this right, but I silently cheered on my sisters who worked towards this gain for a woman’s control of her own body, and therefore her ability to lead her life as she wanted. There are many reasons a woman might choose to not become a mother. And those reasons may vary greatly at different stages of her life. Some remain constant throughout the years she is fertile. I strongly feel that if a woman does not...
It seems to me that there is a lot more name-calling and mud-slinging done in politics, or at least more people seem to agree with the names being thrown about. Both parties are equally guilty. On one side you have 'cReepublicans' and on the other side you have 'libtards.' (There are a lot of other terms being used as well.) Talk show hosts and TV personalities are also prone to this. Anyone who has watched Bill O’Reilly has heard him denigrating ‘pinheads,' while Rush Limbaugh goes after ‘feminazis.' Who could support anyone so desig...
