Archive By Section - Columnists
J.J. Ladouceur: An open letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein
I'd like to talk to you about consistency in your policies and some contradictions that I find with them. Particularly, I would like to talk about what your opposition to a controversial section of the National Defense Authorization Act and your subsequent support of a ban on assault weapons have in common.
Cher gilmore: A global warming solution
With 2012's record-breaking heat (it was the hottest year our nation has ever experienced) and a resulting series of disasters - wildfires in the West, drought and dust storms across the Great Plains, record ice loss in the Arctic, and Superstorm Sandy, to name a few - Americans are finally waking up to the reality of global warming.
Cher gilmore: A global warming solution
With 2012's record-breaking heat (it was the hottest year our nation has ever experienced) and a resulting series of disasters - wildfires in the West, drought and dust storms across the Great Plains, record ice loss in the Arctic, and Superstorm Sandy, to name a few - Americans are finally waking up to the reality of global warming.
Gary Horton: Understand the limits, frailty of life
A while back I visited a back surgeon to take a gander at my lower back. I'd been experiencing bothersome pain in my lower back and hips and felt that it was about time to face the music. It seemed that every day was just a little more painful than the prior, and, even with all the stretching, exercise, and even hanging upside down on one of those teeter things…
Charlie Vignola: If you can’t beat ‘em, cheat ‘em
Imagine a football team that's made it to the Super Bowl six times in a row but has only won it once.
Jan Ting: Will Joe Biden succeed Obama as next president?
It's less than three years now before the first presidential primary elections of 2016. Anyone who wants to be a serious candidate in those primaries will need to start organizing a campaign soon. My home state of Delaware knows Vice President Joseph Biden well. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware in 1972 when he was only 29 years old. Delaware voters re-elected him six times ...
Will Durst: A parallax view of Obama’s inauguration
Astronomers have a name for the phenomenon of an object appearing to be in different places, depending on the perspective from which it is viewed. It's known as the parallax view, and could be seen on display for the second Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States. Speaking of it, folks described events occurring on different planets. Some called it a disaster, some a triumph. Crime scene in a cave versus ascension on ...
Kathryn Lopez: Commentary
We've been wandering in the desert for 40 years," declared Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley. It was an ever-present reflection during the week that marked four decades of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a woman's right to an abortion. Last week, Cardinal O'Malley led a Mass that began at least 24 hours of prayer and protest for thousands of people gathered at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in our nation's capital.
David Hegg: Find joy, not happiness
One of the essential components of healthy living is knowing how to respond to the circumstances that barge into our lives.
Laurene Weste: Live From City Hall
The recently-released Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, "Library Services in the Digital Age," surveyed 2,252 Americans ages 16 and older between Oct.15 and Nov. 10 of last year, and concluded that even in the digital age, libraries continue to serve a variety of functions, with nearly 60 percent of respondents having had some kind of interaction with a library in the last 12 months, and 91 percent saying that "public libraries ...
Tim Myers: Those thinking to flee California, beware the cold
The three or four regular readers of this column know that I and the rest of the local Myers clan do not originally hail from these parts, spending just under 40 years in the extreme climates of the upper Midwest in Iowa and Nebraska.
Betty Arenson: United we stand, divided we fall
The media is flush with Democrats reminding everyone that they won big last November while ignoring they did not prevail in the House of Representatives.
Kevin Bayona: Deadly civil war continues to rage on in Syria
The civil war in Syria still rages on with approximately 60,000 dead, according to the United Nations. Almost half the dead are civilians, the other half armed rebels and Syrian soldiers.
Peggy Stabile: Dick Bongard was a fierce advocate of PFLAG in SCV
Members of the Santa Clarita chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG, were saddened to learn of the death of Dick Bongard, loyal member since 1992, past treasurer and catalyst behind completing the very complicated paperwork that moved the group from its position as a satellite of PFLAG LA into becoming its own nationally affiliated entity.
Tom Purcell: Can I have a side of flu with that?
"Hi, I'm Stacy, and I'll be your server. Can I get you something to drink while you look at the menu?" she yelled over the high-decibel music. Over Stacy's shoulder I could see seven large-screen TVs, each showing a different sports event - football, basketball, soccer, skiing, snowboarding, hockey and pingpong. Many more were scattered around the restaurant out of my line of sight.
Articles by Section - Columnists
SCV Voices: From SignalSCV.com
Editor's note: On last Tuesday's Kevin Buck column "Straw men live in glass houses," one poster on SignalSCV.com asked the question, "In your opinion, what are the five biggest problems America faces right now?" Here are some responses from his fellow posters.
David Hegg: What makes right, right?
I recently met a man who was the epitome of post-modern thought in that he did not believe in absolute truth.
Tim Myers: No money, no county
I love history. I plan to purchase the Blu-Ray of the recent film "Lincoln" and rewatch certain key scenes 100 times in a row, unapologetically.
Bob Kellar: Live from City Hall
In Santa Clarita, the arts influence our community's quality of life. Without even realizing it, the arts act as an economic driver - creating and supporting jobs, generating revenue and serving as a cornerstone of the tourism industry.
Steven and Cokie Roberts: Voting reform
"Obama's proposed voting commission under partisan fire from both sides."
Alice Khosravy: California is at bottom for business
Just a few short days ago the lanterns fell, bringing an end to Chinese New Year season for 2013.
Joe Gandelman: America’s poop deck politics
It's the ultimate stomach turner: how Carnival's 893-foot-long cruise ship Triumph, along with its 4,200 passengers, was stranded due to a fuel engine leak for five days with no food, little water and few working bathrooms.
Kevin Bayona: China's rise is challenge to U.S.
The start of the 21st century has brought with it an avalanche of international problems such as war, economic recession, nuclear proliferation, and rising global competitors. Although all these issues merit individual attention and consideration, I think the unrelenting rise of China presents the largest and most significant global challenge to the United States.
Gary Horton: Life can be a sound track by the B-52’s
It's sometime in the late 1980s and our family and friends are piled inside our Ford cruiser van heading off to a family ski trip to Lake Tahoe - or to a Boy Scout boating trip at Lake Mead - or some other fun teen-friendly vacation destination.
