THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury    Column deadlines often are near enough to nudge before first paragraphs are actually written.    Some might think such to be sheer procrastination. I prefer to consider my “delays” to be viewed as being more akin to prolonged  research. Pretend that I am hacking through the vines of a word jungle with a machete, searching

Tears of millions of Americans have scarcely dried since the tragic mid-air collision of a passenger airliner with a military helicopter on January 29 in the icy waters of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. A total of 70 victims–64 passengers, a crew of three and three in the helicopter–lost their lives a handful of seconds and a few hundred

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My aged Uncle Mort admitted the other day that he feels like it’s time for him to re-enter the stock market, and this time, “brimming with confidence.” He swore off trying to out-guess the market in the late 1990s. Mort said he lumped all of his investments into “sweet chariot stocks.” I’d never heard

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Relax. This is NOT going to be another one of those “promise pieces” about helpful resolutions that might elevate life for me in 2025. I leave that to others. In fact, were I to make a New Year’s resolution, it would be the determination to avoid making annual resolutions in the future. My aged

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury To most Texans, the name “Rambo” may mean little, but to Todd Compton it evokes memories from his childhood, when kinfolk spoke of 17th century ancestors who lived in what is now Philadelphia.  Peter Gunnarson Rambo (1611-1698) was most discussed, and Compton, now 52, remembers the accounts he heard in his grandmother’s kitchen. His genealogical

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury “Spell Check” — first thought to be a handy computer feature to help us use the correct letters in the proper order for word formation–often goes haywire. Like oft-discussed Artificial Intelligence (AI is the abbreviation, despite my thinking it to be short for “Alfred” in the early going), it can be dead wrong, redden

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury I have never been a superstitious person—not until the recent Friday the Thirteenth. Truth is, I’ve chuckled at others who won’t walk under ladders, change routes when black cats crossed their trails or wear the same unwashed “lucky” garments to extend sports victory strings. Sad memories of my mid-morning calamity remain tender. But, tears

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The song has been a staple in Christian hymnals for more than a century, underscoring deeply held beliefs. “The Way of the Cross Leads Home”–written in 1906–might be in the running for Christians’ national anthem if it ever came to a vote.   Until here lately, the “way” to Branson, Missouri, has not been quite so