The Keizer Rapids Off-Leash Dog Park is celebrating its fifth anniversary this season. And what a success it has been and continues to be. Before Keizer Rapids Park was created there was no place in the city to let your dog run leash-free except your backyard. When planning for the park was underway the idea [...]

We’ve recently heard reports that a variation on an old scam is making the rounds. It sounds like this: (Ring, ring) Unsuspecting person who answers the phone:  Hello? Scammer who is calling:  Ma’am, I’m calling from Medicare. We’re about to send out national medical cards for the new Affordable Care Act.  So I just need to confirm [...]

By GENE H. McINTYRE Last week I wrote an article about what’s known to be our nation’s longest war (August, 1996 to the present time and counting), inviting, thereby, anyone interested to Name that War.  As a suggestion, I offered “Eternal War” as possibly the most appropriate label for that interminable conflict. On the lighter [...]

By LYNDON A. ZAITZ When you are young, say in your early teens, 5 o’clock in the morning seems mighty unGodly. Heck, the sun hasn’t even risen. Countless summer mornings my brothers and I would be rousted out of bed by my parents. It was the time of year to head out into the fields [...]

By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS Last week, Fox News’ Chris Wallace spoon-fed former GOP Sen. Bob Dole one of the media’s favorite questions: Could Ronald Reagan—or Dole—make it in today’s Republican Party? “I doubt it,” Dole answered. “Reagan wouldn’t have made it. Certainly, (Richard) Nixon couldn’t have made it, because he had ideas. We might have [...]

By GENE H. McINTYRE What’s timely about now?  Would that be the call for a contest?   A contest to Name that War! Back in 2001, after 9/11, George W. Bush announced that the U.S. was engaged in a “Global War on Terrorism.”  That was Bush’s contribution to Name that War! Upon taking over the [...]

A Box of Soap By DON VOWELL You may be wondering how to tell if you are a corporation or a person.  Mitt Romney’s early campaign statement that “Corporations are people, my friend” blurred the dividing lines a little.  The Supreme Court decision that money spent on elections is free speech whether it comes from [...]

By SUSAN ESTRICH Some years ago, I was invited to speak at the graduation ceremonies of a liberal arts college. Later, many in the audience told me they expected a very political speech. Some of them were relieved; others were disappointed. I don’t do politics at graduation. Graduation is about life. My high school graduation [...]

By GENE H. McINTYRE Is it not a matter of whose time has come?  It’s argued that the time has come to elect a woman to be president of the United States of America. We must wait upon the completion of Barack Obama’s second term, ending January 20, 2017. So if the prospect of a woman [...]

By ROLAND MARTIN When you win the White House, you get to pick the team you want. Sure, that sounds simple and doesn’t need any clarification, but it’s clear that simplicity and clarity is lacking in Washington, D.C. A Republican wins the White House and Democrats do all they can to muck up the waters [...]