Opinion

Neither of my high school friends let me in on their secret: they planned to commit suicide. They succeeded.

Not at the same time. And by then we were miles and years apart. But it still shook me to the core when I heard the news. “Death by suicide.” My friends, they were, at least for some fun years. Football. Friday night school dances. Parties. Cruising. Hanging out.

We are now halfway through the 2010 General Assembly Session and while the House of Representatives continues to labor, as constitutionally required, on a budget proposal, the Senate’s work, while on a smaller scale, is no less important. Both House and Senate Appropriations and Revenue chairmen are in close consultation so that when the House budget proposal is finalized and moves to the Senate, we can hit the ground running.

“M’Lynn, your husband is the boil on the butt of humanity.”

Ouiser’s line from Steel Maganolias

Hey, Margaret Chelf!  I’ll be waiting in the front row when you belt out that line!

Steel Magnolias is the latest play being performed by the Central Kentucky Community Theatre. It will be playing February 26-28 and March 5-7. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Dear Editor,

What a wonderful and welcoming facility we have in our Washington County Library.

As soon as you enter, people are at the computers, others choosing a video, while some are deciding which book they want, or just sitting at a table reading. If you need help finding anything...no worry...a smiling face will be right there for you. Need a copy or two run, they’ll do that also.

Dear Editor,

Some winter, huh?

Did you ever think about the positive side really bad weather brings?

It’s rest and being with your family.

Sounds funny doesn’t it?  But sometimes the weather gets so bad that life slows down to a crawl.  You can’t go anywhere because the roads are snowed in.  Even if you could go somewhere, everything is pretty much shut down.  

So what happens?

You stay home and bundle up for a day or two.  Maybe play in the snow, watch television, play cards, or get out some old board games.

Over the past couple of years, too many Americans, including officials in high places, have criticized the United States for actions resulting in terrorism.  Blame has been placed at our own feet for heinous attacks visited upon our citizens and soil.  Interpretation of American “transgression” has even been stated as coming from an enemy that lacks acceptance of, and is against our founding principles: liberty and freedom.  An honest review of history argues against that theme.

The earthquake that has devastated the capital city of Haiti is an unbelievably cruel disaster for a country that is already one of the poorest and neglected countries in the world. The thousands of lives that have been lost and the devastation that has been left behind are almost too mind-boggling to comprehend.

But it’s real.

It may be thousands of miles away from us, but there is a simple way we can help the starving people of Haiti who, we might add, have been starving long before this disaster occurred.

During the last nine or 10 years, we as Americans have become victims of political correctness by our government. We have continued to argue about the process of how to handle those that have been captured and where they are to be housed. We have been told that these attacks are nothing more than man caused disasters, and we cannot even use the word terrorist as it may create problems with the culture of hate and those responsible. Apparently we have not learned anything from history. It is important to look at history because it may give us some clues to the future.