I recently tossed the old gooseneck desk lamp next to my computer desk, albeit reluctantly. It was a forced decision. A kitchen light had blown and our efforts to restore power by flipping the circuit breaker failed. But by a quirk of jury-rigged home design, that also knocked out power to part of my office…
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Thanks to the normal April 15 deadline falling on a Sunday and Emancipation Day (a legal holiday in Washington, D.C.) on a Monday, beleaguered taxpayers have two extra days this year to file their latest federal tax return. I’m not sure how much help that will offer. This time of year generally induces panic among…
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The recent news that Best Buy will pull CDs from its shelves come July is a sad development, yet one that doesn’t surprise me. I had already encountered the inevitable decline of “media,” as one of our grandsons called it when he gave us the DVD player that came with his TV. It had been…
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This year’s Winter Olympics are quickly fading into memory as sports fans turn their focus to the 2020 summer version in Tokyo. Still, I think it’s worth calling attention to a story that wound up in the backdrop of the recent gold medal hysteria. The Associated Press feature appeared just before the Games in South…
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When it comes to our coarsening culture, many folks would trot out President Trump’s alleged intemperate remarks about s-hole countries during a recent discussion on immigration as exhibit A. The only trouble with convenient whipping boys is they too often overlook a larger truth. To isolate our president as the example of everything wrong with…
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I still remember where I was when the news came over the PA system about John F. Kennedy’s assassination: in seventh-grade English class. For whatever years I have left on this earth, I will also remember where I was when I learned that legendary evangelist Billy Graham had died: walking into concussion therapy early in…
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The Great British Baking Show has been around since 2010. However, judging by a mid-February article in World magazine, my wife and I are not alone in only recently discovering this delightful series. The story led off the magazine’s “Culture” section in the Feb. 17 issue. It talked about the legion of fans surrounding judges…
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Amid last month’s media frenzy over the latest government shutdown, you may have missed the launching of the newest volley in the burger wars: Burger King’s Double Quarter Pound King Sandwich. Designed to compete with McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder, the “gut bomb” contains two beef patties with American cheese, sliced onions, pickles and ketchup on…
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The National Retail Federations says Americans will spend more than $18 billion this week on Valentine’s Day candy. Nor will the observances stop just because it’s past Feb. 14. My wife and I generally avoid restaurants the weekend before or after this made-for-merchants holiday. We don’t want to encounter all the SRO lovey-dovey crowds. The…
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Hurricanes, fires, and mudslides are among the destructive forces that have struck the nation in recent months, leaving billions of dollars in damage and rebuilding work in their wake. The question that presents for people of faith is whether they should look to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help them recover. A recent…
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