Staff & Contributors

George Washington, Ignored Father of his Country

Melvyn Magree

Washington wrote a section on the need for public credit and to use it sparingly by “cultivating peace”.  If war is necessary, the burden should not be put on future generations. 

Muslims do speak out; are you listening?

Melvyn Magree

Many Christians didn’t speak out about slavery or lynchings out of fear for themselves and their families.  Many Christians didn’t speak out because they were far removed from where these crimes were being committed.  Many Christians didn’t speak out

Petting someone else’s pets

Melvyn Magree

One day somebody opened a door at the wrong time, and Petey was never seen again.

Horsing around

Melvyn Magree

My first memory of riding a horse was from when I was 10 or 11.  I went to camp where one of the activities was riding in a group.  i was riding at a walking pace in a line of horses and riders. 

People, government, and spending money

Melvyn Magree

“The people know how to spend their money better than the government.”  Really?

Let’s stop it with global warming denial!

Melvyn Magree

Does it really matter if 2014 was the warmest year in recent history or the third warmest year?  The trend is still up even though there may be slightly cooler years or there may be cooler spots that had been warmer.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names cannot hurt me

Melvyn Magree

“A faith that cannot withstand ridicule is no faith at all. And a faith that cannot laugh at itself is a faith that defies human nature.” - “Your Free Speech, and Mine”, Timothy Egan

If we have smaller government...

Melvyn Magree

..will smaller corporations follow?

The many flavors of favors

Melvyn Magree

I had started my column for this week on politics and was trying to figure out how to use a U.S. Court of Appeals opinion.  As I tried to find a good summary of the case, there was a knock on our front door.

January 1 is just another day

Melvyn Magree

On December 31 many people will be staying up until midnight to welcome in 2015, hoping for a new beginning. But will it be all a change for the better?

Ghosts of Christmases Past

Melvyn Magree

We had a Luciafest at work in Stockholm. One year I was appointed Stjärnpojke (Star Boy), the guy with the pointed hat who was an attendant to Sankta Lucia. After singing a round of Sankta Lucia, we had glögg and princess torta.

Don’t listen to your parents!

Melvyn Magree

This is probably not the best advice at this time of year, but I assume most of my readers are not expecting fantabulous gifts under the tree from Santa or their parents.

Would wood that could become the lost cord?

Melvyn Magree

I did have what I thought was a better title for this article, but, as too often happens, I didn’t write it down. Like the lost chord, it disappeared.

Playing God

Melvyn Magree

If “Allahu akbar” (God is great) means anything, then shouldn’t Allah be the one deciding who should live or die?  If God is so dissatisfied with those who don’t believe as ISIS does, then shouldn’t God be the one sending a great flood to punish all

I give thanks for trees

Melvyn Magree

The chainsaw ran out of gas just about the time I ran out of gas.  Time for lunch!

I like trees, dead or alive

Melvyn Magree

For as long as I can remember, I have been near trees or wood products.  If trees were not on the block I lived on, there were some just a minute or two away.  Probably every building I’ve lived in was wood framed, and each had wooden door and window

We the People lost; they the corporations won

Melvyn Magree

Too many claim they don’t like to choose the lesser of two evils.  Well, guess what.  If you don’t choose the lesser of two evils, you might get the “worser” of two evils.

So you wanna a be a writer!

Melvyn Magree

If you want to be a writer, you have to write.  If you don’t write, then being a writer will only remain a dream. 

Be counted; We the People are counting on you!

Melvyn Magree

Election day is next Tuesday.  Are you registered?  Have you made your picks?  Please remember to show up.  Without your vote, the candidates you favor least have a better chance of winning.

Technology is great, technology grates

Melvyn Magree

Whenever a smoke detector ceases to work properly, I try to buy the same model again.  Because there is no standardization for mounting that I know of, I buy the same model again so I don’t have to drill more holes in the ceiling. 

Hunter, know your ground!

Melvyn Magree

“On another person’s private land or a public right-of-way, a person may not discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a building occupied by humans or livestock without permission.”

Programmer, heal thyself

Melvyn Magree

The New York Times recently had a link to the Wired story “Why the New Obamacare Website is Going to Work This Time” by Steven Levy, originally published in the June issue of Wired

Constitution á la Carte

Melvyn Magree

Á la carte” is French for “from the menu.”  It means that one chooses various items from the menu rather than being offered a complete meal chosen by the chef. 

Walk on the random side

Melvyn Magree

“Life is a journey, not a destination” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Foreign relations foreign to Founders

Melvyn Magree

“Hence likewise they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which under any form of government are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.”

Riding a rocket to a standstill

Melvyn Magree

Our son and his four-year-old son were coming from Japan to the Twin Cities in the last week of August.  My wife planned to stay in the Twin Cities until Labor Day and then bring our grandson back to Duluth with her. 

Is ISIS Islam’s Ku Klux Klan?

Melvyn Magree

Some are calling on President Obama to do something about ISIS and do it yesterday.  But what can the United States do other than make matters worse?

Sprechen vous svenska?

Melvyn Magree

Let me guess.  You may be one of those who claim to never have been good at foreign languages, but I bet you know the meaning of each of the words in the title of this article.

What did I learn outside school?

Melvyn Magree

Last week I asked, “What did I learn in school?” with an emphasis on how much I had forgotten of what I supposedly learned. 

What did I learn in school?

Melvyn Magree

I learned a lot but I’ve forgotten most of it. I find I remember the classroom setting more than I do what was actually taught. 

Why?

Melvyn Magree

“Why don’t they …” is one of the persistent questions of adults who absolve themselves of any responsibility for actions of governments and corporations.

Big critters vs. little critters

Melvyn Magree

Few of us would go so far as to only walk and only on swept paths.  In fact, many of us think nothing of the killing of other critters, willingly or accidentally.

When the big boys play, the little kids get hurt

Melvyn Magree

Whatever Putin’s game is with Ukraine, let’s hope that he takes to heart that his big-boy play has really hurt lots of “little kids” who have nothing to do with his game.

Good Service

Melvyn Magree

Good service is something we often take for granted.  If we get bad service we often don’t return.  If we get good service, if convenient, we return again and again.

Summer idyll or sweat farm

Melvyn Magree

The weather forecast gave a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms, but I am going by my own weather “advisory.” If bad weather is predicted, there is often a bigger chance that the weather will be just fine.  This is one of those “just fine” days.

The Meaning of Meaningless Words and Phrases

Melvyn Magree

So how does “As seen on TV” make any product better than any other product, whether seen on TV or not seen on TV. 

Bear with me as I am mad and sad

Melvyn Magree

Then a black shape came from the right.  It was a black bear that walked right into my car, which slammed into its head.  I stopped as quickly as I could. 

Corporations, persons, tools, and fools

Melvyn Magree

How did we get to this situation where corporations have “freedom of speech” and many other freedoms granted to actual living individual persons?

Cars vs transit: apples and oranges or dollars and cents?

Melvyn Magree

It wasn’t “government that took our buses away,” but land speculators and corporations.  In the 19th and early 20th centuries, railroads and land speculators encouraged people to move to the suburbs to get away from “those people”

Censuring Project Censored

Melvyn Magree

nd if they were censored, how did they get public coverage through Project Censored?  Wouldn’t the “censors” have closed Project Censored’ offices?

Reading, writing, and coding?

Melvyn Magree

“The real skill people need is problem solving, whether its why their computer doesn’t behave as it did yesterday or why the answering machine message disappeared.

Saints to emulate

Melvyn Magree

What is a saint?  Many individuals and institutions have their definitions: exemplary behavior, martyrdom, and performing miracles.  I define a saint as one who strives to help others, whether spiritually or physically.

Criminals hiding behind religion

Melvyn Magree

If God is so powerful, why does He use so many different intermediaries to make His will known?  Few of these intermediaries even agree on what God revealed to them.  Too many of these “intermediaries” have their own agendas. 

Equal pay for equal work; will it work?

Melvyn Magree

Equal pay for equal work is a great idea if all other things are equal.  If all other things were equal, we would be robots or bees in a hive.

Second Amendment against Article I, Section 8

Melvyn Magree

A Tea Party member stated on a “To the Best of Our Knowledge” broadcast that she could determine the writers’ intent by reading the Constitution. She must be more knowledgeable than the justices of the Supreme Court.

World peace in four easy steps

Melvyn Magree

OK! Maybe the following aren’t easy steps, but compared to the money and effort that have gone into weapons, wars, and stock market manipulation, these should be child’s play.

Rural broadband – where’s the truth?

Melvyn Magree

ung ho that rural areas are underserved by broadband access, and the other was that government should not be involved in providing a frill. The latter indicated that people should move into town if they need Internet access.

Up To No Good About Public Goods

Melvyn Magree

In many ways, taxes are a good bargain.  If we didn’t pay taxes for fire departments, we would be paying a lot more for fire insurance.  If we didn’t pay taxes for an extensive sewer system, we would be paying a lot more for hospital bills. 

Too soon old! Too late smart!

Melvyn Magree

A smart person would keep a desk neatly ordered instead of spending lots of time looking in every stack and every file drawer.

Minimum Wage, Inflation, and Personal Experience

Melvyn Magree

Using the U.S. Inflation Calculator, anything I bought for fifty cents would now cost $4.50. (Note: The figures in this column were requested on March 16, 2014. A week later, many were a few cents higher.)