Lessons of History & Life – Thanks David McCullough

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David McCullough at Boston College

by Marion Marks

Grit, determination and stick-to-itiveness in spite of obstacles, that’s living. Or, it’s not the days in your life, it’s the life in your days. There is so much to gain from study, and lessons of history have been enriched by the life of David McCullough. It seems obvious that any who want to make points should use quotes of accepted sources. I will use the greatest history authority I have experienced, because we appear to only accept history lessons from those who parrot our beliefs or interpretations.

McCullough’s commencement speech at Boston College in 2008 casts calm for the brash, crude political noise that surrounds us. We would benefit by reflecting on these words:

“It’s said ad infinitum: ours is the Information Age. There’s never been anything like it since the dawn of creation. We glory in the Information Highway as other eras gloried in railroads. Information for all! Information night and day!

President Taft

… A column of air a mile square, starting 50 feet from the ground and extending to 14,000 feet contains an average of 25,000,000 insects…. James Madison weighed less than a hundred pounds, William Howard Taft, 332 pounds, a presidential record (at the time) …. According to the World Almanac, the length of the index finger on the Statue of Liberty is 8 feet…. The elevation of the highest mountain in Massachusetts, Mount Greylock, is 3,487 feet…. The most ancient living tree in America, a bristlecone pine in California, is 4,700 years old … Read more

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2017 Resolution: a Better Free Press

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 by Marion Marks

“Surprises” in presidential, as well as other, elections are the norm, and 2016 was no exception. The spaceship did not come down from Mars and impregnate Nancy Reagan! But, WHOPPERS this year were really not difficult to clarify so we could focus on facts, even if the facts didn’t support our desires.

The issue of these fake stories, and the Russian hacking was that too many people spent too much time and resources away from the central issues of the democratic election process. It should be as simple as teaching a child to bat in baseball or  softball: Keep your eye on the ball! Read more

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Drawing the Red Line

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by Marion Marks

Mobile, AL – The city cuts an historic cedar tree from a public park for a Trump rally backdrop, and citizens and the media denounce the action. The outcry appears to be quite partisan, as Trump supporters don’t see any issue with using a tree in this manner, “after all it’s only a tree and it’s a renewable resource.” Yet the logic defies any appreciation that Trump backers fought so hard to denounce Clinton for supporting. Just who’s tree is it anyway, and why would people get so upset about something so simple?

We need to be clear that trees, animals and people are all part of the balance of our lives. It’s not about any single tree. The case is about respect for those things that make our society, cities, states, America a civil society — It’s that thing that recognizes the “whim to please” or the “casual twitter” should not promote Read more

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Ongoing investigation of drug task force capped by today’s FBI raid playing out like Denzel Washington’s ‘Training Day’

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by Tom Aswell

  • Theft of seized drugs and cash.
  • Shakedowns of drug dealers.
  • Selling confiscated drugs.
  • Witness tampering.
  • And just for good measure, sex and violence.

Plot lines out of the Denzel Washington movie Training Day or Martin Scorese’s movie The Departed?

Nope and nope. Some or all of the above are possible reasons behind a massive RAID on the Hammond Police Department and the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Hammond substation by upwards of 100 FBI agents on Thursday.

The raid was conducted as part of an ongoing—and widening—investigation of members of the joint Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office and Read more

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What you See & Say – Your Options

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by Marion MarksUnderwood-Typewriter

A person who spends time observing what others say and how they project themselves works within personal bias and limited confines. Every person will see issues based on what is important at the time of their observation. None of us make judgements in a vacuum.

A barber will notice the style and quality of a person’s haircut, a clothing merchant will notice the clothes worn by each person as they pass thru the day and a salesman will see people as if each is a potential customer. This is basic human nature, and there is nothing wrong or anything to be ashamed for having a discerning eye. It’s the responses you make from your judgment that may require some modification.

A person with an overly critical eye always seems to notice what is wrong with others rather than how Read more

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Coming Full Circle in America

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by Marion Marks

Christmas, for young and old as well as Americans of every faith, is a time of change in many aspects of life. It’s a transformation for people who discover new values and capabilities as they observe changes that surround them. To many the season is about personal change, but to others it may simply be a time when change surrounds others – inertia and fear restrict them from participating in the spiritual evolution.

Sesame Street’s Elmo embodies doubts and fears like children everywhere at Christmas. But, in 2007, Elmo has help coming to terms with his fears when Alicia Keys emboldens his confidence to appreciate the seasonal Do You Hear What I Hear. Repeating the message is a way many of us discover a new appreciation for childhood lessons we need to repeat as well as relearn, even those who think they know it all.

This song, written in 1962 was intended as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis, very much like the shadows and fears of today as we approach the same holiday with Read more

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Is a 2-story 90000′² Storage Facility Headed for Madison Park?

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madison-park-site_plan_frontby John E. Settle, Jr.

The Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission[Staff Report – Site Plan Supplied] will review an application by Ricky Lennard to build this massive facility that will, in effect, occupy the parking lot north of Marilyn’s Restaurant to the Madison Park Exxon station on Wednesday at 3pm. This facility will have 400 to 450 storage units that will be available for customers 7 days a week, and Lennard estimates that 30 customers a day will visit the facility. If constructed as planned, access to the Campbell’s Television Shop and the old El Chico’s may be limited to Greg Street.

madison-park-site_plan_overheadlimitedLennard has a high dollar option to Read more

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