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Massive Spending Bills Are Not Stimulus

Your representatives in Washington have decided to spend an extra 2.2 trillion dollars of your money. Since many millions of people are pretty much forced to stay home and businesses shuttered, some portion of it actually makes sense. If you are going to take people’s money, at least provide them with sustenance during this difficult time. That is something that can be done in a very short time without much extra bureaucracy. Every state has an unemployment insurance system in place already, and unemployment is a stopgap measure to get families through a difficult time after being ...

Passion For The Gridiron Part II

Last week, the VFTB presented an idea that a local NFL team fan club threw around their meeting room, almost like tossing spaghetti at a wall to see if it would stick. It was an idea about having a dinner which would include two former players, and one current player, from the Cleveland Browns, Dave Graf, George Lilja and Jamestown native, Stephen Carlson. At last look Graf and Lilja had accepted the invitation and the group was waiting to hear from Stephen. Part II Stephen couldn’t commit right away, as he needed to make sure the date didn’t conflict with his team or workout ...

A ‘Game Changer’ For Coronavirus

When Detroit State Rep. Karen Whitsett and her husband began feeling ill on March 17, alarm bells went off. The United States, after all, was far enough into the pandemic when just a sneeze was enough to scare the most stoic American. But the representative’s symptoms were much more than a sneeze. She told the Free Press in an interview on Monday that in March, she was experiencing shortness of breath, swollen lymph nodes, a headache and what felt like a sinus infection. What we are learning about the coronavirus since it’s arrival in the U.S. is that symptoms can be relatively ...

Do You Remember When Things Were Different?

When all of this craziness is over, remember how things used to be. I will never take for granted the fact that I can give someone a hug or greet them with a handshake. I will never take for granted a kiss from a family member who does not live with me. I will never take for granted going to the store and finding the shelves full. I will never take for granted being able to meet a friend for coffee or lunch. I will never take for granted that I can purchase toilet paper whenever I need it. I have to say here that I never understood the fact the toilet paper flew off the shelves and ...

Spring Finery And Enjoying The Musings Of Bird Pairings

I recently mused on sexual selection as pertaining to birds. Going from Charles Darwin to the most contemporary studies, all research seemed to contradict the earlier theory that males sprouted bright feathers and sang gorgeous songs to win the female birds. Now, the thinking goes, it’s exactly the opposite: it’s those little dull-colored girls who have the final say. What exactly are those studies saying? If he’s strutting and she’s admiring, does it really matter who’s doing the choosing? I figure it’s a matter of mutual attraction but can one truly tell? As that old ...

Bankrupting America

Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump signed the largest stimulus bill in U.S. history: more than $2 trillion. For once, both Republicans and Democrats agreed. The Senate voted 96-0. The House didn’t even bother with a formal vote. At the White House, a reporter asked the president, pointing out that the bill includes $25 million for the Kennedy Center, “Shouldn’t that money be going to masks?” “The Kennedy Center has suffered greatly because nobody can go there,” Trump responded. “They do need some funding. And look — that was a Democrat request. That was not my ...