By Mavis Bates I recently presented a workshop at a youth conference on the climate crisis. One of the handmade posters in the hallway read, “My therapist told me to speak my truth: I’m scared.” Yes, our young people are scared about the future and they want us grown-ups to
Grandpa,My son was born with a third arm. It was a tiny growth of a limb coming out at his shoulder, on his back. It was surgically removed at birth. He has a scar from the surgery, and we told him he just needed an operation at birth. We have
By John W. Whitehead Twenty years ago, a newspaper headline asked the question: “What’s the difference between a politician and a psychopath?” The answer, then and now, remains the same: None. There is no difference between psychopaths and politicians. Nor is there much of a difference between the havoc wreaked
October 20, 2019Dear editor; The League of Women Voters of Central Kane County opposes the arming of teachers and other staff members in all of our community schools. In November, the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) annual conference will consider two recommended Resolutions: Resolution No. 1 would provide school
October 19, 2019Dear editor; I am so tired of Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durban, and others harping on president Donald Trump. There they are digging for the least thing to try and get rid of him. Talk about sore losers! If Trump went to China or wherever, to get
More chickens have come home to roost. In a previous essay, I stated that the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which ended World War I, had unintentional consequences and that those consequences were the massive conflicts currently embroiling all of Southwest Asia. Among other things, the Treaty called for the
Grandpa,I had ordered some merchandise on (a well-known merchandising site). Two days later I got an E-mail from (a different well-known merchandising site). It told me that my order was being delayed because of a problem with my credit/debit card. I was to call their shipping department and give them
By John W. Whitehead “Am I going to get shot again.” —Two-year-old survivor of a police shooting that left his three siblings, ages one, four, and five, with a bullet in the brain, a fractured skull, and gun wounds to the face. Children learn what they live. Family counselor Dorothy
October 10, 2019Dear editor; When Fido wags his tail happily at the check-up by veterinarians, they’re the first to give a treat and a hi-five. When he isn’t feeling well, they check his vitals and help the doctor find the right solution. Good or bad, in laughter or tears, they’re
The Muslim Educational Cultural Center of America (MECCA) claims its goals are “to guide young Muslims” and “build bridges of understanding with other cultures and faiths.” Yet, the Chicago area mosque’s willingness to promote hate preachers and anti-Semitic demagogues, reflects the continued influence of its Islamists founders and leaders. The
It appears Fall officially has arrived and soon Halloween will be upon us. There will be blood-curdling shrieks, moans, eerie, and unearthly sounds from all manner of creeps and goblins to send us searching for safe hiding places. But once you ignore Congress, it will be much more peaceful. One
Grandpa,I have been incarcerated for almost 30 years. During my early years when I was in a maximum-security prison, I noticed how badly homosexuals and transgender individuals were treated. Either they were forced to cell with one other man and considered to be his property, sex slave, or wife, as
By John W. Whitehead “You gotta remember, establishment, it’s just a name for evil. The monster doesn’t care whether it kills all the students or whether there’s a revolution. It’s not thinking logically, it’s out of control.” —John Lennon (1969) John Lennon, was born 79 years ago October 9, 1940,
October 4, 2019Dear editor; Dear Friends of Hesed House: Even with the poor weather, it was amazing to see how many of you showed up to support our 15th Annual Hike for Hesed September 21. This event raised more than $76,000 for Hesed House! This record-breaking hike would not have
To impeach, or not to impeach that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The rantings and ravings of an accidental president, Or to take up an inquiry against a sea of scandals, And by impeaching end them? To inquire to learn; Much more; and by
Grandpa,I am very glad that the noise about the pride events has quieted down for a while. I get so tired of everyone ranting about what others do. Recently, I was confronted by a group of co-workers who happen to believe that I need to follow their religious precepts about
By John W. Whitehead “Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” — James Madison Eventually, all military empires fall and
By Jim Nowlan For millennia, war was how groups did economic development. Today, economic and technical dominance are how groups do war, and right now we’re losing something akin to a modern war with China. When I first arrived in Shanghai 15 years ago, to serve as a “foreign expert”
