Archive By Section - Columnists
Diana West: Why aren't feathers flying over Brennan nomination?
We all know what happens when the fox guards the chicken coop - or do we? Our state of psychological disarmament makes us unable to recognize even such an obvious threat. I can't think of another explanation for why the country hasn't melted down the Capitol switchboard with phone calls to U.S. senators beseeching them not to confirm John Brennan as the next director of the CIA. What's so scary about Brennan, currently President Obama's ...
Marsha McLean: Live from City Hall
One of the comments I often hear from people who visit Santa Clarita for the first time is how beautiful our city looks.
Daryl Cagle: That First Amendment can be soooooo annoying
I syndicate the cartoons of Rick McKee, the brilliant, conservative cartoonist from The Augusta Chronicle, to newspapers around the world.
Tim Myers: Competition is the spice of local life
Our youngest son, a senior at Valencia High School, ain't happy. At least his Twitter feed indicates a certain upset with the sports staff of The Signal. What upset our 6-foot, 2-inch-tall co-captain of the powerful Valencia varsity tennis team, who recently decided to attend the University of Nevada? During the tennis off season, he counts himself a member of Viking Nation, the student athletic rooting section for Valencia High School, along with a trunkful ...
Danny Tyree: Voluntary retirement: Can you take a hint?
With an editorial titled "Pope Sets Example For Other Aging Leaders," USA Today tried laying a major guilt trip on the nation's authority figures.
Rick Jensen: Gun law didn’t stop shooting in Delaware
Welcome to Delaware, reader. While "our own" Joe Biden was promoting government control of your gun accessories in the nearby major media market of Philadelphia, network, local and national press reporters wheeled into "DelaWhere?" to document the horrible carnage of a most violently dysfunctional custody and child support battle.
Dick Polman: Christie’s girth is a truly weighty issue
Chris Christie got laughs on the Letterman show last week when he showed up with a doughnut. I get what he was trying to do. People keep goofing on his girth, and a former White House doctor had just told CNN that if Christie were elected president, "I'm worried about this man dying in office." So he figures that the best way to defuse the issue is to make light of his weight. But this ...
Joe Gandelman: Horsing around with Europe’s beef supply
Beef contaminated with horsemeat has sparked a multi-nation controversy in Europe. It's no secret that the French have long been galloping gourmets. Gobbling horsemeat there dates back to the country's 18th century revolution, when rich folks' horses began to fill food supply gaps. Today horsemeat is still found in many stores there. The French's appetite for it has declined. But partygoers in the United Kingdom would be utterly sickened if they discovered they ate horse ...
Gary Horton: Woeful waste water fees are water torture
Over at the Santa Clarita Economic Development Corporation last week, things got rightfully hot and bothered over ... storm water run-off.
Richard Hood: Want to be a world changer? Be a man
The greatest need the world has is for you to be a man. This is not an easy thing to learn and must be taught. You must put away childish attitudes and learn to do the right thing. You must choose who will be your teacher, your mentor, your counselor, your friend, your father figure. Let others follow the crowd, sports heroes and music idols. They have nothing to say and nothing to offer. ...
Tom Purcell: It's all Nixon's fault
It's Nixon's fault. I speak of the financial woes of the U.S. Postal Service and the news last week that its hopes to cut Saturday mail delivery to save a few billion dollars a year. As it goes, President Nixon, tired of strikes by then-government postal workers, signed the Postal Reorganization Act into law in 1971. It established the Postal Service as a quasi-private organization required to pay its own bills with revenue it earns ...
Charlie Vignola: You built that, but not alone
During the 2012 presidential campaign, Republicans got a lot of mileage from President Obama's famously - and deliberately - misquoted line, "You didn't build that."
Diana West: Another attempt to silence critics of Islam
I may be the only American who has seen both the "panic room" where Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard fled in 2010 as a Somali Muslim man hacked at the door with an ax, and the apartment house where recently Danish journalist Lars Hedegaard, 70, was almost killed by an "Arab"- or "Pakistani"-looking man posing as a postman.
Steve Lunetta: Severe left turn right about now
"Dumb moderates and Republicans never saw it coming. I fooled 'em. Fooled them all! I even hoodwinked liberals along the way. Lincoln was wrong - you can fool all of the people all of the time!"
David Hegg: Why the rule of law?
Since our founding, the United States of America has been committed to the "rule of law." This term, while familiar, is often not understood. We believe in it, but most of us don't really know what it means.
Articles by Section - Columnists
Scott Wilk: Teacher firing reform needed
As a father of two, I believe no one - particularly a child - should live in fear in his or her school or neighborhood. So one of my top priorities as your assemblyman is public safety.
Joe Gandelman: Sample some popular political whines
The phone rings in a big warehouse in Oriskiny Falls, N.Y.
Jason Stanford: Turning Texas into a battleground state
Those of us who worked for the late Ann Richards used to run our plans by her. The former Texas governor did not suffer fools, gladly or otherwise, and if your plan had flaws, she'd let you know in great detail.
Michael Stafford: The Cult of Self
According to the Bible, the ancient Israelites strayed from worship of God into idolatry. Today, America has done the same - except rather than placing a golden calf upon an altar, we have erected a mirror.
Will Durst: The GOP autopsy
Normally you don't expect to see the words "Republicans" and "introspection" right next to each other. Like "supermodel" and "barbecue." "Physicist" and "polka." "Gazelle" and "ophthalmology." You catch my drift.
Jim Mullen: The Museum of Modern Body Art
I was at a doctor's office in a small town recently and overheard one patient in the waiting room talking to another.
Gary Horton: Jesus isn't a Republican or Democrat
Recently, this esteemed journal has spilled much ink debating the withers and thithers as to whether Jesus, should he ever choose to reincarnate himself as an American, would malign himself with the mantle of "conservative Republican" or "liberal Democrat."
Charlie Vignola: Medicare works, no thanks to the GOP
This week I am headed to Florida to deal with a solemn duty that no one looks forward to, but which almost everyone will have to face sooner or later: I am going to deal with the imminent death of my father.
Peter Funt: Injustice in the juvenile justice system
Many of the nation's prosecutors and judges continue to put kids on trial as adults. This, despite declining crime rates among juveniles and growing scientific evidence about the inappropriateness of taking young offenders out of the court system designed specifically to protect them.
Danny Tyree:Why can't every day be like Easter?
Although it usually gets overshadowed by "Blue Christmas" in yuletide radio rotation, I still enjoy the Elvis Presley version of "Why Can't Every Day Be Like Christmas?"
Steve Lunetta: Jesus would be a conservative Christian
"Look at what this feller wrote about Jesus! Its a disgrace!"
Bob Kellar: Live from City Hall
The belief that "what is good for business is good for Santa Clarita" is a mantra that the city of Santa Clarita takes seriously. That's why City Council and staff are dedicated to providing local businesses with the tools and resources necessary to strengthen operations and improve sustainability, especially during difficult economic times.
Tim Myers: City Council candidates declare early
The race for Santa Clarita City Council in 2014 started to clarify over last weekend with two more fully announced candidates, Dante Acosta and Alan Ferdman, joining the four already-announced candidates - Gloria Mercado-Fortine, Maria Gutzeit, and the incumbents Laurene Weste and Marsha McLean - to bring the total fully announced candidates to six with more than one year left until the election.
Jonas Peterson: Environmental reform needed
At a time when California is striving to encourage both sustainable growth and job creation, reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is imperative.
Donna Brazile: Leaned on for leaning in
Cheryl Sandberg's book "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead," has sparked a debate about the role of women in America - and everywhere else.
