IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The day’s twilight came with September at its best. My wife urged me to take Sailor, our rescue dog, on a walk around the block. So away we went, thankful for a cool breeze, gorgeous sunset and sidewalks. We chanced to walk alongside a next-block neighbor who posed a random-as-it-gets question: “Do you remember anything
Read moreFETZER INSTITUTE NEWS RELEASE The likelihood that Americans will vote or otherwise engage in civic and political life is informed by their spiritual identity, according to a new two-year study released less than two months before the 2020 elections. People who identify themselves as “highly spiritual” are more likely to say that it is important to make a difference in
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK September is National Suicide Prevention Month. As one of the wealthiest and most powerful countries in the world, America should be one of the happiest places to live. Unfortunately, the rise in American suicides implies the opposite. A couple of years ago, the suicides of 55-year-old fashion designer Kate Spade and internationally popular chef and food techy
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS There is a subtitle for today’s contribution and that is “Avoiding a Place of Fear.” Once again, two back-to-back items appeared in my reading. One involved Dr. Francis Collins. Dr. Collins is what in the academic world is referred to as a “physician-scientist.” He has both an M.D. degree (qualifying him in the medical doctor world) and
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By Dr. PAUL FABRIZIO The death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has seemingly upended the 2020 presidential election. For much of this election cycle the focus of the candidates and voters seems to have been on the coronavirus pandemic and the effect that it had on the economy. Justice Ginsburg’s death and the looming fight over her
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By LORETTA FULTON “if we want peace, we must begin with justice.” Those words are more than a slogan to Jessica Goudeau, they are a universal truth. Goudeau was convinced of that after getting to know a former refugee from Myanmar, Dr. Salai Tun Than, who spent 18 months of a seven-year sentence in a military prison for protesting the
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By LORETTA FULTON The Jewish High Holy Days are being observed online in Abilene this year, with in-person services being another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. Monica J. O’Desky, cantor at Abilene’s Temple Mizpah, said in an email that she prepared recordings of both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services for members to watch. They were filmed inside the sanctuary
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Editor’s Note: The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St., is hosting Wednesday night sessions every two weeks on being “faithly political” as a lead up to the Nov. 3 general election. All presentations will be streamed via Facebook Live. All but one, on Sept. 30, also will be held on-site in the church courtyard. People who plan
Read moreHOWARD PAYNE UNIVERSITYOffice of Marketing and Communications The Howard Payne University Women’s Club honored Brenda Newbury and Amaya Marshall at the organization’s Yellow Rose Scholarship Luncheon. Newbury, former HPU first lady who currently resides in Burleson, received the prestigious Yellow Rose Award. Marshall, a junior biology major from McKinney, was the recipient of this year’s Yellow Rose Scholarship. Newbury is
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