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Brenda J. Linert

Difficulty that comes with ‘selling memories’

My husband, the self-proclaimed minimalist, is a pro at finding things in the shed or the basement or the garage or even my home’s mud room closet to toss out. Problem is, those things usually belong to me or our kids — but rarely to him. When I suggested earlier this spring that we should have a garage sale, he was highly supportive. After all, it was like his dream opportunity to de-clutter — and maybe even make a few bucks in the process! After months of discussion, I finally took a week off work. It wasn’t to visit the Caribbean or go on an Alaskan cruise or even take a ...

Don’t believe everything on social media

Been dizzy lately? Some naysayers and social media surfers might argue there’s good reason for that. You see, the Earth is spinning faster, and the days are getting shorter. Multiple reports from reputable media outlets quoting legitimate news sources indicate that, indeed, the Earth is spinning faster. On June 29, in fact, the Earth recorded its shortest day ever — a full 1.59 millisecond less than the average day. A millisecond is one-thousandth of a second. For comparison, normal length of a day on Earth is 86,400 seconds. However, since 2016, Earth’s rotation has ...

Newspapering as I can only imagine

With the assistance of a clattering contraption rarely still found, a small-town Colorado newspaper, the Saguache Crescent, produces its weekly publication for its handful of readers. The newspaper has been in business since 1867, but has been using its current method of typesetting — the ...

Retiring reporter’s work ethic hard to replace

After nearly 40 years in the business, writing and journalism is the only line of work reporter Raymond Smith says he really has known. It all started when he wrote for his high school yearbook. It further developed during the five years he served in the U.S. Army. Afterwards, he went on to ...

Free-thinking politicians? Crazy, I know

What do U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and Sen. Rob Portman all have in common? If you said each has sufficiently ticked off their respective political parties, you’d be correct. To be clear, each has made members of their parties no less than crazy with preposterous ideas that — brace yourself — involved actual free thinking. Democrats, of course, are furious with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Amid last week’s continued horrible inflation numbers, Manchin made clear that any support of President Biden’s climate, energy and tax package was not coming ...

Government overreach needs to end

Most Americans probably want less government intrusion in their lives. Many government officials, particularly Republicans, campaign on such freedoms. Why, then, are so many elected leaders suddenly moving in the opposite direction, attempting to gain control of our lives? Let’s start with the hot topic of the day. Americans opposing abortion were thrilled when the U.S. Supreme Court last month issued a landmark decision overruling Roe v. Wade, which had established a nationwide right to abortion in every state. Multiple explanations — many from conservatives — on what the ...