“The opposite of pro is con; That fact is clearly seen; If progress means move forward; Then what does Congress mean?” — Nipsey Russell That’s an old joke that has been told many different ways, but it still has a ring of truth that is hard to deny. The problems with the imperial Congress in [...]

Local government is a participatory process. That means local taxing entities, by law, take certain steps to keep the public informed; and citizens then have the duty to learn from that information, add input when they feel led to do so, and vote when the time comes. Or at least that’s the way it is [...]

Streets have been a problem for Clarendon for decades; and although the Board of Aldermen has tried to tackle the issue many times, it continues to plague the city. We have a great community, but many of our streets are frankly an embarrassment and a disgrace. A typical example of this is the streets around [...]

Uncle Sam wants to know how fat you are, and he’s going to make your doctor report your tonnage. Reports are now circulating that new federal guidelines have been issued that will make it mandatory for health care providers to include your Body Mass Index in electronic records that all Americans will have to have [...]

By Roger Estlack I’m glad I grew up in the 1970s. Sure America was getting infected with a bunch of liberal nonsense, but most people still had some common sense, particularly when it came to raising kids. Today it seems, America is so committed to reducing risks to the children that it’s becoming ridiculous. Several [...]

President Obama is getting frustrated, and he’s ready to kick someone’s fanny. He just doesn’t know whose tush to put his boot in; and frankly, it probably wouldn’t do any good if he did. Since the April 20 explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, millions of barrels of crude have spewed [...]

Holidays are difficult after you’ve lost someone you love, and so it comes as no surprise that I have a certain amount of dread for this coming Sunday… my first Mother’s Day with no mother. As I struggled with that realization this week and grasped for the best way pay tribute to Mom, my wife, [...]

Two statewide candidates for office impressed the members of the Panhandle Press Association last week at the group’s 100th annual convention in Canadian. Attorney General Greg Abbott addressed newspaper men and women on Thursday night, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White spoke at the Friday Luncheon. A third statewide candidate, Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who [...]

The forced departure of City Administrator John Webb provides Clarendon with a chance to chart a new course and make plans for the future… as soon as it gets over the past. The Board of Aldermen fired Webb on March 23 with a 3-2 vote at a called meeting, and those in favor of giving [...]

President Bill Clinton once declared, “The Era of Big Government is over!” And it now appears that he was right. We will soon be longing for the days of “big government” now that the “Era of Gargantuan Government” – or possibly the “Era of Omnipotent Government” – is upon us. The Imperial Congress narrowly approved [...]