I have progressed through chairs, stood on chairs, hidden behind chairs, rocked in chairs, and been where I wish I had a chair. I have sat in desk/chair combinations, library chairs, office chairs, and on a stump in the woods I was pleased to call a chair. I’ve sat in seminar chairs, been ...

The Republican Party died on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, just after the U.S. Senate passed the Big Beautiful Bill. The Party had been in failing health for quite some time, and finally succumbed to a sad and debilitating addiction linked to financial insubordination. Many Americans mourned the loss ...

There are many who will gather this Fourth of July under the guise of celebration — barbecues, fireworks, flag-waving. But how many understand — truly understand — what they are celebrating? In an era where grievance has replaced gratitude, the Fourth of July has become a hollow ritual ...

Here we go again. This week, the Senate unveiled, honed and passed its version of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," and it's a fiscal monstrosity. What was already an oversized mess in the House has been supersized into a $4 trillion ode to unseriousness. This isn't tax reform. It's a ...

In Chief Justice John Roberts's opening statement at his confirmation hearing, he explained that judges are like baseball umpires. "Umpires don't make the rules," he said. Their job is "to call balls and strikes." In the case of Trump v. Casa decided on June 27, it appears a majority of the ...

Having been involved in a career in the Alpena area community for nearly 20 years there is one pattern of comments that shows up repeatedly that I just cannot make sense of. What I’m talking about is the perception that there is not enough for young people and children to do in the ...