Local Columnists

Some of my university friends worry that we’re headed back to the bad old days of the Ashcroft administration, when a hostile governor and a politicized Board of Curators thought — or said they thought — that they could achieve greatness by slashing away at the institution.

Attacks on humanism, whether secular or sectarian, is on the rise and we, as Americans of religion or of heresy, should be very angry.

Recently a local newspaper carried a story about theft of Columbia street signs. Vandals (read: thieves) increasingly, says the report, abscond with street signs that make it difficult for emergency vehicles to find addresses. Life and death emergencies result from missing signs.

Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with the death penalty as an appropriate punishment for aggravated murder or other grievous assaults upon humanity, we should applaud the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Missouri’s lethal injection procedure is neither cruel nor unusual punishment.

Building a scrapbook is one way of collecting personal memories. Family photographs and other memorabilia serve as great reminders of times and places that are sometimes lost in the busyness of everyday life.

With the U.S. at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, what are the country’s commitments to traditional values on this July 4th?

When I read the Declaration of Independence in the Missourian on the morning of our 231st birthday, I had to wonder whether ­— amidst parades, cookouts and fireworks — we’ve forgotten something important.

I invited all my readers on June 9 to recommend books for summer and ... one letter poured in.

The U.S. Supreme Court has made its decision. Race cannot be a factor in deciding how schools select which students may or may not attend.

Young people today are bright and energetic. They have fantastic technological abilities, able to handle the Internet with few, if any problems.

The public’s view of the rights to free speech and expression as defined by the First Amendment ranges the entire gamut of beliefs.

It will soon be time to harvest the alliums, particularly onions and garlic. Their storage longevity varies and one is challenged to make use of these food essentials in ways that exploit their goodness.

With the number of foreclosures and the cost of living steadily climbing, some working-class families are finding themselves moving back into their parents’ home or taking up residence with siblings. This is definitely not the lifestyle they had planned for themselves in the process of raising a family.

Tony Blair left office last week after serving 10 years as Britain’s prime minister. As he left office, he said, “I wish everyone, friend or foe, well, and that is that, the end.” Is it really the end? And what did Gordon Brown mean when he mentioned a new government with a new set of priorities?

My brother in ink, John Merrill, declared “I am decisively a dog hater,” on these pages a few days ago. I could understand not caring for dogs. But hating them? How could anyone hate dogs?

Despite the entertainment media’s hyped promise of excitement and mystery in the long awaited finale, I must admit that I did not watch the final episode of “The Sopranos.”

Most of my friends and neighbors have pets. Some of them even manage to have pets and an attractive yard. Others seem to struggle, and in the battle between attractive yard and pet run, often the pet wins and the yard becomes a patchy bit of grass and weeds.

Most of my friends and neighbors have pets. Some of them even manage to have pets and an attractive yard. Others seem to struggle, and in the battle between attractive yard and pet run, often the pet wins and the yard becomes a patchy bit of grass and weeds.

My nephew is a football player. He earned scholarships to a top university after high school and was then drafted by a professional football team. His future looks bright.

It should be considered unpatriotic to look the other way when our values are being stomped into the ground.