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There Must Be Judicial Reform Of FISA Soon

Not a single member of Congress should reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act program that’s coming up for a vote mid-March unless significant reforms are made that protect Americans’ civil liberties and privacy. This includes protections for the current president of the United States, and future administrations and their associates, who should never be spied on for illegitimate and political purposes like we saw during the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane operation against Donald Trump and his campaign in the lead up to the 2016 election. “They spied on the Trump ...

The Good Life: Leave Counties, Guns To Feds

Litmus tests belong in chemistry labs, not in county commissioners’ resolutions. That was my “on second thought” reaction to last week’s request of the Jefferson County Commissioners, made by Dale Woods of Punxsutawney. Woods had asked the commissioners to enact a “sanctuary ordinance” regarding our gun rights. The ordinance would presumably suggest that Jefferson County’s government, sheriff and jail would not cooperate with the federal government if it tried to limit our current rights with respect to firearms. My first reaction was, “Well, sure; let’s do ...

Canine Companion: Try Not To Expose Your Dog To Pesticides

Hey, guys. As I sit here and write, my heart is mourning for a reader who messaged me telling her story about how she lost three dogs in one year due to pesticide use. I have written about this in the past, but in her honor, I would like to discuss this a bit further with all of you today. I can’t imagine what she has gone through. You might be thinking that pesticides don’t affect anything. And, I don’t blame you for thinking that way at all. As humans, we are inclined to view the immediate result rather than results over time. Sometimes there are immediate results. I’ll be ...

FSCR: Mindfulness Contributes To Your Life

At one point or another, we all encounter difficult situations throughout our lifetime. The experiences we go through all seem to come together and can truly affect our overall wellbeing. So, when we are placed back into a similar environment or situation, what can we do about it? Perhaps this is where we discuss mindfulness. What is mindfulness? How do you be mindful? Mindfulness is the awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations as they occur. This is an exercise that does not require any kind of equipment. All that is needed is your full participation and an ...

And His Activist Wife

At one point during Donald Trump’s impeachment trial last month, I ended up sitting in the family gallery next to Jane Sullivan Roberts, wife of Chief Justice Roberts. Her husband was presiding over the trial. My husband, Sherrod Brown, was one of the 100 senators who would cast a vote in the final verdict. Follow me, please, down the rabbit hole: This is not the first time I’ve disclosed my marriage of 16 years. Whenever my role as a columnist intersects with Sherrod’s job as a senator, I disclose our relationship. In 2007, Random House published my memoir “...and His ...

Another African Tragedy

Here are a few headlines about an African tragedy: “Africa’s Worst Locust Plague in Decades Threatens Millions” (The Wall Street Journal), “‘Unprecedented’ Locust Invasion Approaches Full-Blown Crisis” (Scientific American), “Somalia Declares Locust Outbreak a ‘National Emergency’” (The National) and “UN Calls for International Action on East Africa Locust Outbreak” (Bloomberg Green). This ongoing tragedy is mostly man-made, according to an analysis by Paul Driessen, who is a senior policy adviser with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and the ...