Currently browsing: Opinion

‘Old Dogs’ can teach us new tricks

By Charles Moreland | May 7, 2008 |

Is it in the U.S. Constitution that “old dogs can’t learn new tricks?” Such platitudes were part of our upbringing, but this is one is particularly misleading. My experience with an old dog is teaching me.

Cassie, our healthy 15-year-old Pug, is a supportive companion and she is challenging this ancient and trite platitude. Cassie, even though she has exceeded the age expectancy for her breed, is either an exception or the disproving of the trite saying.

Cassie, in the human equivalent of 105 years of age, is more mentally active than ever. Even in her senior years she is demonstrating an alertness, a “brain receptiveness” to new tricks, many of which are beneficial to the household. She is more effective than ever in communicating her needs to us with a bark, or by sitting in front of us and staring us in the eyes. For 14 years, she never barked except when visitors arrived at our door. Now she barks like clockwork at 10 p.m. or 2 a.m., whenever she need to go out and relieve herself. At this stage, she may have a gland problem that pushes her to more frequent needs to relieve her kidneys. Just like many of us senior citizens. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Spirituality | No Comments

Suffering the unknown in silence

By Charles Moreland | May 5, 2008 |

Our imaginations perform with clarity when we have an unknown disease or injury, or a sudden ache or pain as we exercise on the treadmill. There’s a pain in the chest — what is it? That thought will trouble us and motivate us to seek medical advice. Anxiety precipitated by an undiagnosed injury or pain will run rampant and frighten us.

Recently I had such an experience with an unknown, unfamiliar chronic pain in my right side. After two weeks of this nagging pain, I went to my doctor. Two referrals and various tests later, Dr. Patel in five minutes not only identified the problem but prescribed a medication that brought immediate relief. Before his treatment, my imagination had conjured up thoughts of a gall bladder attack or kidney stones or even cancer.

It’s one thing to suffer from an unknown ailment; it’s another to suffer in silence. In II Corinthians 8-11, the Apostle Paul is described with an illness which he kept to himself. I recommend that this testimonial and self-revelation be read. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Spirituality, Technology | No Comments

A plea for Planet Earth

May 3, 2008 |

On April 14, 2008, James Hansen of NASA Goddard Institute and Columbia University Earth Institute wrote the following letter to Governor Jim Gibbons (Nevada) as a “Plea for Leadership” in the battle against global warming, a battle to save Planet Earth. We thought this “plea,” this request for stewardship, was worth repeating. For the complete document (including “Fossil Fuel Facts” referenced within) and supportive documentation on this issue, please check out http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/20080414_GovernorGibbons.pdf

Dear Governor Gibbons,

I hope that I may communicate with you as a fellow parent and grandparent about a matter that will have great effects upon the lives of our loved ones. I refer to climate change, specifically global warming in response to human-made carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants.

Governor Gibbons, the scientific advances in just the past few years, paradoxically, carry both bad news and good news. We have already passed the threshold of atmospheric CO2 levels that we can allow to exist over the long-term. Mother Nature, as a friend of mine has noted, is wagging her finger at us, saying “Now you have gone too far!” Consequences of ignoring this admonishment would be dire. The Earth is nearing climate “tipping points” with potentially irreversible effects, including extermination of countless species, ice sheet disintegration and sea-level rise, and mass dislocation of populations. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Opinion | 1 Comment »

Succulent berries, fresh veggies and fruit in abundance at roadside stand

By Christine Anne Piesyk | May 3, 2008 |

On our way from point A to point B, riding along Madison Street this afternoon, I did a double take at the sight of a roadside vegetable stand. Basically, a small table laden with okra, beans, strawberries and succulent tomatoes. We continued on to our destination, but hurried back to check it out.

I’ve suffered roadside fruit stand deprivation since I left New England, where it seems we could buy garden fresh produce on every other corner in town, walk or take a bus to the farmers markets, and never have to buy produce from a grocery store in summer. My favorite was fresh still-damp-with-dew butter and sugar corn (bi-colored corn), driven to the stand straight from the field. And yellow beans (which barely seem to exist here in the south). «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Business, Opinion | No Comments

‘Iron Man’ a well-oiled machine

By David W. Shelton | May 2, 2008 |

Iron Man is a film that had everything going against it. It languished for years in development hell, went through no less than three potential directors, at least two other title stars (including Tom Cruise - yikes!), and eventually became the first film financed by a new film studio division of Marvel Comics. Even when director Jon Favreau signed on as director, the sparks of doom didn’t stop flying. Robert Downey, Jr. was announced to fill the title role, and immediately tongues wagged. “Downey? he’s one messed up guy!”

Then I realized that so was Downey’s character, Tony Stark. This began a glimmer of hope. Gwyneth Paltrow was cast as Stark’s executive assistant Pepper Potts. Thus another twinkle. With Jeff Bridges added to the principle cast, there was finally something that wasn’t in the mix before: hope that it just might not suck!

Iron Man, like all of the other superhero films of late have three standards it must meet before it will be accepted in the realm of great movies. The question isn’t whether it would be good; instead, it was a question of whether it would reach the level of quality that was seen with 2002’s Spider-Man, 2005’s Batman Begins, and the ultimate superhero film standard, 1978’s Superman: The Movie. To date, only one comic book film has surpassed all of these standards, and that was Spider-Man 2, released in 2004. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Opinion | No Comments

City fields 14 ‘representatives’ to Vegas for shopping center convention

By Christine Anne Piesyk | May 1, 2008 |

Clarksvegas. Clarksville to Vegas. Fourteen people traveling on the city’s dime. Make that dollars. Just how many people does it take to represent Clarksville as Tennessee’s Top Spot? And whose money is it anyway? Oh yes, taxpayer money.

A 14-member city delegation headed by Mayor Johny Piper is heading to Las Vegas May 18-21 to represent the city at RECon, a real estate trade fair (read “convention”) sponsored by the International Council of Shopping Centers that attracts an estimated 50,000 visitors each year. According to the RECon website, the convention “has been renamed and branded as ReCon, emphasizing the R-E-tail, R-eal E-state, Con-gress, Con-vention, Con-ference, aspects of the program.”

The last convention attended by Clarksville officials was in Atlanta, Georgia, which saw the Clarksville delegation ill-prepared (or rather, not prepared at all) to professionally market itself. Things have changed, have run the gamut from no kill to overkill. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business, News, Opinion | 1 Comment »

Global ghost town: Oil crisis requires new vision, global action

By Chris Lugo | April 30, 2008 |

There is a crisis happening on a global scale, and we here in the United States of America have a moral responsibility to take action to help alleviate global food prices and ensure that millions of people do not suffer the ill effects of hunger and possibly even starvation. We are all complaining about the high cost of oil these days and how it is impinging on our budget, but in the developing world this is having extreme consequences.

The stark reality is that three billion people on the planet earth live on less than $2 a day, and a good portion of that money goes specifically to the purchase of basic food grains to survive. As a result of the skyrocketing price of oil, the price of food grains has risen due to commercial production costs and transportation to as much as $800 a ton for rice which has led to food riots in the developing world.

The reasons for high oil prices are complex, and due to many factors, but we can take steps now to deal with the global oil crisis and help people in the developing world avoid a worsening food crisis. One of the principal factors in the current oil crisis is directly related to the US invasion of Iraq. The war in Iraq, which administration officials believed would lead to democracy and stability has instead resulted in civil war and prolonged military expenditures. The financial uncertainty in the marketplace regarding the instability in the middle east has driven oil prices even higher and the worsening Federal debt, greatly impacted by the hundreds of billions of unpaid dollars committed to the war effort has made the dollar less attractive to global investors, driving down the value of the dollar in relation to global currencies and discouraging investment. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion | No Comments

Racial profiling prevention goes before Senate Judiciary Committee

By Turner McCullough Jr. | April 28, 2008 |

Tennessee is One of Few States Lacking Racial Profiling Definition. A prayer vigil in support of families being torn apart by deportation is planned.

In the last days of our state’s legislative session, a bill has been passed to the Senate Judiciary Committee that would address law enforcement’s lack of a definition of racial profiling. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider SB 3459, a bill that, “Prohibits racial profiling by law enforcement; establishes a cause of action for aggrieved persons; makes violation a Class C misdemeanor.” The bill is characterized as human rights legislation.

There are several bills that bear direct impact on the immigrant communities in our state. Legal status is something that cannot be determined by merely looking at a person. Lack of a proficient command of English should not be grounds for scrutiny by law enforcement. Nor should having an accent! The tenor of several of these bills should make the average person’s blood run cold. One bill would actually have the effect of fostering the hiring of undocumented immigrants, only to see them denied payment of their wages. Under its provisions, the employer would not obligated to pay the employee for his or her labor. Even the indentured servant of colonial days received some compensation in the contract.

Sections: News, Opinion | No Comments

Write for us!

Feeds

• Full
• Comments