South Africa says that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and has asked the International Court of Justice to intervene and stop Israeli military action in Gaza. Israel issued its initial defense to South Africa’s charges on Jan. 12, 2024, at the International Court of Justice — the United Nations’ highest human rights […]

In the summer of 1960, three high school friends and I took a road trip down south. While there, we had a collective “date,” to use the term loosely, with four southern belles. They called us “Yankees,” a term of derision we often encountered on that trip. The topic inevitably came around to the Civil […]

Without much fanfare (okay, I did write and voice a radio commercial noting the milestone), I recently marked 25 years of my “day job” working for a farmers cooperative. I realize lots of other people have spent at least 25 years with a single employer; but given the impact of mergers, layoffs, obsolete professions, mandatory […]

Do you know what “malapropisms” are? They are kind of hard to explain, so I’ve lifted the definition straight from Mr. Google. They are wonderfully hilarious and often kind of right on the mark, but just enough off to cause a double take. Here it is: “Malapropism (also called a Dogberryism) is the use of an incorrect […]

The nations that won the Second World War had a big idea. Having joined together as allies to defeat Nazi Germany, they would try to create international organizations to keep the peace. New aggression would be blocked by these new institutions. Even before World War II ended, the victors created the United Nations, an organization […]

I forgot what it was like to experience a good old common cold. Prior to covid, you see, the cold-getting experience went like this: I’d wake with a stuffy nose and scratchy throat and my only thought was to curse the gods for visiting a new virus cocktail on me that was going to make […]

The excitement and furor has focused on Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to exclude Donald Trump from the Maine ballot – but a step of potentially far more consequence for future presidential elections played out Monday in a small State House committee room. The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee is considering whether Maine should […]

Americans routinely plugged into the news cycle are aware of the fact that much ado was made about something (yes something) when Nikki Haley responded to a question from an audience member at a New Hampshire town about the cause of the Civil War. The Republican presidential candidate awkwardly (arguably intentionally) sidestepped the real issue […]