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No one is accountable,
By Dugan Barr

What do we need to do to get our country back on track economically?

The first thing we need to do is to recognize that we have a willful family member with an unlimited credit card who is entirely out of control. That family member is the Pentagon. In the guise of protecting the country, it is undermining the very basis of our economic freedom by throwing money away.
If our economy collapses, we are at the mercy of people who do not have the milk of human kindness in any vein. Continue Reading

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Speaking of Dogs: Make food work for you

Developing the Skills of a Benevolent Leader – Part 1: FOOD

Last month we featured a dog that was adored and spoiled by his owner, yet died in an animal shelter.
This month we’ll begin to explore how the sad scenario might have been prevented through simple leadership and training.
In our story, the owner of the dog wanted so desperately to make him happy that she treated him like an exalted guest in her home.

Continue Reading

Right tool for the job, By Steve Brewer

Nature abhors a vacuum, and so do I.
Vacuum cleaners may be the efficient way to remove dust and grime from your floors, but I prefer the physical labor and shush-shush resonance of a broom on hardwood. Plus, I can listen to Muddy Waters while I clean rather than wincing the whole time against the roar of forced air.

I feel the same way about lawn mowers. I use an old push mower than barely whispers when I give the grass a haircut. Continue Reading

6

Writings from a Wanderer –
A journey to the heart of Death Valley, by Lauren Brooks


I stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets as the wind blew my curly hair in all directions. Sand seeped into my boots as my boyfriend and I hiked across serene sand dunes in Death Valley National Park on the first day of April. The sun had yet to rise over the mountains Continue Reading

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Right price plus exposure sells houses,
By Lara Wells Osborn

Q: I’ve had my house listed for six months and it has only been shown twice. I have a beautiful home and I just don’t understand why no one is interested. Do you have any thoughts of why there is no activity?

A: There are a lot of factors that could play into this, and without knowing everything about your personal situation I cannot give a specific answer. In my opinion, though, a lack of activity on a listing is usually a result of one (or both) of two things: price and/or exposure (marketing).
Continue Reading

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Parental prattle
By Steve Brewer

Parents are easy to spot, and not just because they usually look frazzled and sleep-deprived. Their speech patterns give them away.

Even when their children aren’t around, parents talk like parents. They say things that childless adults never utter.

Parentspeak is largely a product of fatigue and distraction. For parents, life is one big conversation, a constant barrage of prodding and permission-seeking and Pokemon. Continue Reading

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Le Sot l’y Laisse, by Doug Cushman

It took me the better part of six or seven months to finally learn the pronunciation of my favorite neighborhood bistro, Le Sot l’y Laisse (luh sew-lee-less). Sot in French means “silly” or “foolish,” laisse is from the verb to leave, as in “leave it alone” or “leave it there.”

A loose translation would be, “It would be silly/foolish to leave it.” The sot-l’y-laisse is also the “oyster” of a roast chicken, that soft, tender part just above the tail. The story goes that a fat, wealthy Continue Reading