Archive By Section - Columnists
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.
Kevin Buck: Straw men live in glass houses
Webster's dictionary has several different definitions for the word socialism. The one conservative fear and loathe the most is:
Tom Purcell: A nail in the coffin of Americans' rights
oy, do I feel sorry for smokers these days. Smoking used to be so fashionable and hip in the James Dean and Steve McQueen days. Women who smoked used to be sexy. No sooner did they pull a Virginia Slim out of a cigarette case than men would rush at them with lighters. Even when smoking was cool, people knew it wasn't healthy. Some unhealthy smokers sued tobacco companies for concealing the unhealthful effects of ...
David Hegg: Ethically Speaking
Sometimes it turns out that famous clichés are just plain wrong, or at least wrong in enough important situations to make them suspect. One with which I particularly disagree is "Familiarity breeds contempt." I know what it is supposed to identify, and I flatly disagree. Familiarity, with the right people, in the right way, and for the right reasons, actually breeds contentment.
Steve and Cokie Roberts: Fixing Fox and the GOP
Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News Channel, is a very smart man. And he knows how to count, a skill that has apparently eluded many of his fellow conservatives.
Edward Headington: In honor of Presidents' Day 2013
Presidents' Day is a time set aside to celebrate the legacies of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and also remember all of the Presidents of the United States (POTUS) that have made our nation great.
Steve Lunetta: The case against Democrats
A friend of mine recently sent me one of those political emails that screams for fact-checking. You know the ones I mean - "Obama is really a space alien and we have proof!" or "Hilary Clinton Smokes Pot with Harry Reid."
Michael Reagan: Making Sense
Our failure in chief gave us his annual blurred vision of America again Tuesday night. Based on his State of the Union message, Barack Obama's eyesight is as ideologically impaired as ever. Despite four years of failure, he still sees only one road America can go down to regain its economic health. Not down the capitalist road of free enterprise and liberty that made us the richest country in history. He wants to continue down ...
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 ...
Articles by Section - Columnists
Texas blast exposes disaster relief hypocrites
As of this writing, we know the fertilizer explosion in West, Texas, killed at least 14 residents and injured 200 others with many still missing.
Steve Lunetta: For the true scientist faith is inevitable
A co-worker the other day made an interesting comment. She said "I think its amazing that you are a scientist but still be a Christian. That must be very difficult to do."
Peter Funt: The only way to win is to not give in to fear
A Boston firefighter, one of many who rushed in to aid bomb victims last Monday, told a TV interviewer, "We will win. I promise you, we will win."
Cher Gilmore: Celebrating good news on Earth Day
On this 43rd anniversary of the first Earth Day, several recent good news events for the environment are worth celebrating:
David Hegg: Find grace in tolerance and disagreement
During the recent edition of college basketball's championship tournament I took great pleasure in cheering for my team. And, we did pretty well, but lost in the Elite Eight round.
Phil Kerpen: Sick people versus lobbyists
What if you had to choose between making insurance more affordable for Americans with pre-existing conditions or funding lobbyists and political hacks? That's the decision the House will face when it considers H.R. 1549, the Helping Sick Americans Now Act, sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania. It should be an easy choice.
Tim Myers: Setting a bad example
I often utilize the term "geography" partisan. The definition of a geography partisan? An elected official or someone who aspires to elective office who adopts a party label pretty much solely because that party stands dominant in the particular area where the individual lives.
Dick Cesaroni: Congress, listen to the voters, not the NRA
I am a wavering Republican. By that I mean I am at the crossroads of going to the right, left or just canceling my participation all together.
Frank Ferry: Live from City Hall
In Santa Clarita you know you can shop for the latest styles or eat at a terrific restaurant, but did you also know that you can enjoy some of the best hiking in the region on oak-shaded trails with creeks and waterfalls?
What other abuse can be heaped on Castaic?
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority has plans to place a carpool lane on Interstate 5 northbound from Highway 14 to Parker Road in Castaic. In fact, a Metro committee approved the plan - as a toll road - this week.
Right Here Right Now: Ending bad finance deals in education
In a rare display of solidarity, the California Assembly approved AB 182 by a vote of 73-0.
Kevin Bayona: What happens after Boston?
The bombings in Boston are beyond what I ever thought I would see in an American city.
Jim Mullen: Algebra comes in handy
Pop quiz: How often do you use algebra, trigonometry and calculus as an adult? Most of us would say "never"! The folks who do use advanced math would say that without it, you wouldn't have cellphones and Wi-Fi and TV and weather satellites and GPS and Google and nuclear power and a gazillion other things that make modern life worth living. And for a change, both camps would be right.
Gary Horton: Timeless lessons to be remembered
Last week our Starbucks friend Herman invited Carrie and me to attend a special Holocaust memorial service at Santa Clarita Valley's Congregation Beth Shalom.
Maria Gutzeit: California needs to improve business attitude
My one-word summary of the community lobby day put on by Assemblyman Scott Wilk. R-Santa Clarita, and KHTS radio last month?
