IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Mike Wilson, editor of the Dallas Morning News since 2015, has resigned the position, and the almost six-year tenure probably has seemed much longer. He was charged with what likely is an inevitability, that of converting most delivery of news from “the printed page” to digital transmission. Somehow, he has maintained excellence in both. There’s no

IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury At the time of year when parents, children and teachers were committing to take on a new school year, our son-in-law Bryan Choate and our grandchildren Ben, 19, and Brittin, 16, were dealing with the sudden death of Julie (Mrs. Bryan) Choate. Bryan’s wife and the children’s mother, she died of a pulmonary embolism at

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

IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury It quickly became the perfect storm, powerful enough to make strong men cry. The same goes for strong women, too, but Kim Peacock, president of GNS Foods in Arlington, is doing her best to keep her family-owned specialty premium nut company afloat despite “blows to the bow” that might cause others to jump ship. Consider this:

  IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Wedged in my mind’s recesses are these eight simple words: “If you can make it there, go back.” They’re easy enough to understand, but application is a whole ‘nuther thing. These words captioned a cartoon a while back. It was drawn to warn folks relocating to New York City. Though probably not intended, the cartoon

IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury They tried ever so hard to make Major League Baseball’s opening day seem as normal as possible, for the radio listener or TV viewer anyway. Globe Life Field in Arlington–the $1.2 billion enclosed structure barely completed for the scheduled home opener in March–languished for almost four months. When it finally opened, fans were denied admission.

IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Until mid-twentieth century, most American women had every right to sing “washday blues,” because one day of the week–for most, the longest day–was committed to washing, hanging out, ironing and folding the family duds. The day started with a trip to the laundromat, since most homes at the time were lucky to have indoor plumbing,