I never met Mrs. Doyle Hastings, the long-time community columnist who had readers so interested that they'd have their sister mail them a copy when they were finished reading the Tribune. However, I've come to know others with such a calling at a few other local papers who've been just as dedicated to chronicling their neighborhoods, towns, church life and simple gossip, sometimes, and found it useful for myself... more

Even as the war over health-care reform raged in Washington, the fight was also being waged -- albeit much more quietly -- in Marshall County this week. The contrast was stark and telling. Change That Works, a group fighting for reform, sent a quartet of campaigners on a week-long tour that passed through the county on Wednesday... more

The meeting of the Hysterical Society has begun in Copenhagen. Activists and politicians from around the globe descended upon this Danish capital and something is definitely rotten in Denmark. The Climategate scandal, instead of eroding support for the theory of global warming, has had just the opposite effect with the cultists who cling to its veracity as if their very lives depended on it. Their lives may not depend on it but their livelihoods certainly do... more

God bless the people who have the time, energy, and desire to open their homes to the public for a Christmas Tour of Homes. As economists might say, they're Doing The Job That Normal Americans Just Won't Do. Yes, the majority of us are (a) overworked, (b) packrats or (c) determined to get our money's worth out of that sofa we paid $50 for. ... more

Greetings! The first snow of the season came as a surprise to everyone, even the County Highway Department, I guess. Usually, salt is put on when snow is expected. Our Delina Road was fine, but when we got to the highway and up on the Belfast Hill, our truck began fishtailing and we just couldn't make it and were stranded in the middle of the road. ... more

One of President Obama's best characteristics can often be his most frustrating. Obama has a tendency to split the difference on a lot of things. An obvious case in point would be his lukewarm support for a health-care public option, but there are other instances where the President tries to compromise too much... more

Climategate continues to expose the fallacy of global warming. Scientists at the University of East Anglia, home of the Climate Research Unit, one of four temperature data collection sites worldwide, now admit that they have destroyed raw temperature data that was being sought under Freedom of Information requests. ... more

This is the time to say thank you to our readers, advertisers, co-workers, friends, associates - in other words, all who make this possible, including those who laid the foundation and those who fought to maintain the structure known as the great American experiment... more

If your doctor has recommended a hip or knee replacement or a diagnostic screening, best you get that scheduled in case Congress passes health care reform legislation and before it goes into effect. According to Page 339 of the House Bill (HR 3269) you will be charged an Excise Tax of 2.5% of the cost of any "devices." What is considered a "device?" Page 339 refers to Section 201 (h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (dating back to the early 1960's and amended several times since.) My research of Section 201 (h) provided the following:. ... more

According to the Washington Post and Catholic News Service, our view of the universe as a gated community may be crumbling. The Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences recently held its first major conference on astrobiology, the new science that seeks to find life elsewhere in the cosmos and understand how it began on earth. The attendees primarily focused on the scientific aspect, but it's certainly not too soon to ponder the theological impact of discovering life on other planets... more

Sarah Palin coming to Marshall County? Sure, I could see it. And, no, that's not a punchline. Palin, the former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor who's now getting out and around the lower 48 states promoting a book, might be the Republican Party's best weapon when it comes to raising money. Supporters love what they see as as a combination of common-sense approach to family values, coupled with an awful lot of charisma... more

With apologies to country music singer Billy Currington, a variation on his song lyrics seem appropriate for our tale of Marshall County governance this week. County Commissioner Rocky Bowden, the retired Forrest High School vice principal, was re-elected chairman of the Marshall County Board of Public Utilities on Tuesday morning... more

Today's tale of forgetfulness comes from a new friend, Janie. It seems that one of her long-time friends had a habit of taking a shower when she came home from work. It's a personal experience in which we know we're alone and feel relief as stress washes away from the day that's worn us out, and those cares, they just drain away... more

Events at school headquarters lately reminded me of litigation explained one New Year's Eve over a decade ago at a wedding party when a lawyer married a deputy clerk from another county. They were wed at 12:01 a.m. partly for tax purposes. She became his secretary... more

A wise man once said the last refuge of scoundrels is patriotism. I'll say the last refuge of cowards in the Tenth Amendment. The Tenth has been invoked a lot lately. The Tenth has been mentioned as the reason health-care reform is unconstitutional. It's the way the Speaker of the Tennessee State House says his state can circumvent federal gun laws. It's the states' rights argument carried to the extreme... more

Obamacare may come down to a simple Constitutional question: Can the federal government mandate that you buy insurance? Back in '94 when Hillarycare was all the buzz, the Congressional Budget Office said requiring citizens to buy insurance "would be an unprecedented form of federal action." They went on to say that "the government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States."... more

"Sesame Street," the longest-running American children's TV program and the winner of a record 119 Emmy Awards, turns 40 on November 10. Its success owes much to intensive audience research, the imagination of the late Muppeteer Jim Henson, and a genuine concern for the social skills of youngsters; but mostly it's still around because of the shrewd decision to set it in an integrated inner-city neighborhood... more

On a neighborhood street somewhere north of here on a Halloween night nearly 50 years ago, two boys decided to knock at every door in a dragnet and rather efficient approach to the gathering of candy that would be desert in their school lunch bags for weeks to come... more

There was a terrific editorial cartoon in the Nashville Banner that rang true with me years ago in another town and it seems suitable now that National Newspaper Week is coming to an end. Oct. 4-10 is also National Fire Prevention Week and we'll get to that, as well as point out that news about firefighters and their comrades are a significant part of this edition of the Marshall County Tribune... more

A friend was kind enough to share this historical information with me. Feeling it is so relative to our times, I am sharing it with you. Alexander Tytler (1747-1813,) a Scottish proferssor at University of Edinburgh, Scotland wrote the following : "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. ... more