Archive By Section - Columnists
Peter Funt: Americans’ pressing questions need answers
For some reason - be it post-election syndrome, pre-holiday jitters, or maybe climate change - the nation has been hit by a tsunami of Pressing Questions. Among them:
Michael Stafford: Progressive-conservatism best forward option
The great American conservative thinker Russell Kirk once observed that some disasters are so catastrophic they require a re-examination of first principles. On Election Day, the Republican Party suffered such an existential shock.
Steve Lunetta: It’s time for a change conservatives
I respectfully request that all liberals and Democrats skip this column and read the political cartoon at the top of this page. Or flip over to the next page and read the story about the latest problems at Whittaker-Bermite.
David Hegg: Shakespeare gives voice to ethical living
In Act 1 Scene 3 of "Hamlet," Lord Polonius delivers one of the more memorable lines in the history of theater: "This above all: to thine ownself be true." This Shakesperean sentiment has traveled through the years to the point where few actually realize it came from the bard. We simply know it because it has been so widely used and believed. But what does it mean?
Richard Hood: Presidents remark on Thanksgiving
Editor's note: With Thanksgiving nearly upon us, columnist Richard Hood searched through presidential Thanksgiving proclamations to share these quotes with our readers.
Marsha McLean: City transit adopts ‘on-the-go’ technologies
Times are changing and so has technology. When using public transportation, we want to know where to board the bus or when the next one will arrive. The city of Santa Clarita has invested in a variety of new, high-tech tools to reduce waiting and boarding times and help passengers get to where they need to go.
Tim Myers: SCV schools outnumber students
In 2011, I appreciated it a great deal when Heather Davis, an earnest charter school math teacher from Canyon Country, ran for the William S. Hart Union High School District board against the two incumbents.
Susan Stamper Brown: Military scandals may have bigger impact
Everyone is preoccupied with the events surrounding the juicy sex scandal involving now-former CIA Director David Petraeus to the point they may not have noticed a pattern - a shake-down - that is taking place in our military top brass, much like the one currently happening in Russia under President Vladimir Putin.
Alice Khosravy: State taxes increase: Now what?
As California voters surface from the frenzied atmosphere of the recent election cycle, the ramifications of our choices are already beginning to prove that we will not escape the consequences of ignoring the simple truths of basic economics.
David M. Shribman: Obama win not the same this election
More than a half century ago, after he defeated Richard M. Nixon in one of the closest presidential races of all time, John F. Kennedy was persuaded to fly from his Palm Beach retreat to the vice president's Key Biscayne redoubt as a symbol of national unity. The two men were far closer than Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are, but still there was some awkwardness in the gesture, which had been cooked up by former Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy and former President Herbert Hoover.
Jim Mullen: The first family feud on Thanksgiving Day
Historians agree that the Pilgrims really did celebrate a first Thanksgiving. But it wasn't turned into a regular yearly celebration until Abraham Lincoln made it official during the middle of the Civil War, some 250 years later.
Donna Brazile: What this election shows about the GOP
Election night was a good night for moderates. It was a bad night for conservatives. It was the worst night for partisanship.
Tom Purcell: More dependence? C’est la vie, America!
Bonjour, America! It was a great week last week, no? President Barack Obama won a second term. The transformation into a French-style democratic model shall commence! Comment allez-vous? You are not doing so well? Be happy, my friends! It is true that America was founded on a very simple idea: liberty! Liberal thinkers of that time distrusted government and saw its expansion as an encroachment on freedom. When America's founders declared their independence from Britain, ...
Stop and say ‘thanks’ even after Veterans Day
Citizens of Santa Clarita Valley, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help ...
Charles Vignola: Republicans and diving off the fiscal cliff
Now that the 2012 election is over, the biggest challenge facing America is the upcoming "fiscal cliff." What this means is that the U.S. is facing three huge fiscal crises before the end of this year: the dreaded sequestration, the need to raise the debt ceiling, and the expiring of the Bush tax cuts.
Articles by Section - Columnists
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.
Doug Patton: Red states should be careful what they wish for
Recently, Republican Governors Rick Perry of Texas and Terry Branstad of Iowa appealed to those wanting to flee liberal California.
Kevin Bayona: North Korea is a dangerous nuclear power
Many Americans may find it difficult to believe, but North Korea and its imperious leader, Kim Jong-un, have yet again hurled a threat to wipe South Korea and the United States off the face of the Earth with a nuclear strike.
Tom Purcell: Income Tax 101
Ah, the income tax preparation season is upon us.
David M. Shribman: On the lost art of letter-writing
He was getting older, he worried about losing his balance fishing on the end rocks, and his hearing was failing him. So was his short-term memory.
Gary Horton: More residents should find the Master Chorale
Think "inspiration." Think "spiritually beautiful." Think "melodically breathtaking."
