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On paper, has there ever been a more qualified candidate for president than Mike Pence? Twelve years in the House of Representatives, four as governor of Indiana and four as vice president of the United States. No president in at least the last 30 years has come to office with that kind of resume.

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Outdoor grilling is a fun way to cook food for family and friends. Although we often think about grilling outdoors as a summertime activity, many people cook outdoors all year. To keep your cookouts safe and fun, follow these simple steps before, during and after grilling to ensure a clean w…

Before we start, please understand that some vegetation is good and even needed in most ponds. Vegetation provides cover for fish and helps add oxygen. But as we can imagine, too much vegetation can lead to problems as well.

A lot of talk these days is dealing with “civil rights.” Black rights, white rights, gender rights, civil rights, legal rights, constitutional rights, social rights, natural rights, sexual rights, economic rights and any number of other rights. There are those who insist they have “lying rig…

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The Supreme Court’s recent decision on the limits of federal authority under the Clean Water Act has been celebrated or condemned, depending on the ideological predilections of the observer. Everyone agrees, however, that the opinions themselves make for rather rough reading. They boil down …

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Of course, if you happened to be in the audience when she delivered her remarks to the graduating class of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, you heard her story — about how her hearing has been fading, how diminished audial ability has shaped her li…

A former 4-Her of Rusk County, Barrett dedicated 10 years of active participation in the program, engaging in various aspects, including leadership, food and nutrition, and livestock. These experiences have instilled in her valuable qualities such as responsibility, dedication and leadership…

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Believe it or not, you can survive for several days without food, but only for a short time without water. Water from streams, lakes and local water systems can become contaminated; therefore, it is best to store a supply of water in the shelter area.

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Road trips! Do you love them? I know I do. I grew up making road trips. Part of that was because my dad was a full-time Baptist evangelist, so we spent a lot of time “on the road.” But my parents would always plan some sort of vacation for us to take as well. Sometimes, it may be driving to …

There’s been a huge amount of commentary on former President Donald Trump’s big lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis in national polls. In the current RealClearPolitics average of polls, Trump has a 30.8-point lead — 53.2 percent to DeSantis’ 22.4 percent. That lead, while enormous, has been shrinkin…

This week, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Joe Biden cut a deal to raise the debt limit. The breakthrough came after three months of Biden pledging not to even negotiate over the debt limit. Instead, Biden was forced to concede to a one percent cap on increases f…

It’s 17 months until the 2024 General Election, and a majority of Americans are already sick of politics in general and pithy pontifications from pre-presidential performers in particular.

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Now that isn’t a bad principle by which to live. There are many who would deceive us. They want us to believe them and their incredible claims. They insist that I do not believe because I question what they say or claim. It isn’t wrong to raise questions, or to ask for confirmation.

Now that we know Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is running for president (along with several others whose names I can’t remember), I have a helpful primer on what NOT to do as president.

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Here we go again. A qualified, conservative, likable Republican gets into the GOP presidential primary against Donald Trump. And then so does another one, and another, and another until eventually, the race becomes a blob of Donald Trump vs. everyone else.

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The summer travel season that gets underway Memorial Day weekend promises to be one of the most challenging ever. As transportation patterns return to pre-pandemic levels, millions of Americans will face the familiar miles-long traffic jams and labyrinthine airport security lines.

For most of us, school is out! YAY! That is my official welcome to summer. Years ago, school used to get out before Memorial Day and wouldn’t start back up until after Labor Day. Now, teachers get two months off. Not as much as it used to be, but I’m grateful, nonetheless.

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Just in case anyone missed the point, NAACP President Derrick Johnson added: “Under the leadership of Gov. DeSantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals that our nation was founded upon.” And then Leon Russell, chair of…

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DeSantis’ decision represents yet another blow to the power of the legacy media. Legacy media outlets have been fighting mad that DeSantis sees no purpose in granting them long-form interviews; while he’s happy to answer their questions — and to aggressively confront them — at press conferen…

This flying insect is most common in May and September and is best known for splattering across your windshield and causing damage to the paint on your vehicle. Mind you, this is an insect that does not bite, does not sting, doesn’t carry disease, won’t harm livestock and doesn’t damage crops.

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When did we start seeing the worst in our fellow man? When did petty, partisan politics start defining the works of individual public elected officials and political parties? Why do we let social media rants and pontifications of slated news reports salted with misrepresentations, half-truth…

Summer is a special time for most people — vacations, trips, postponed chores, family visits and other special activities. One of the very important things in my past summers has been reading. My grade and high school teachers encouraged us to read over the summer. That didn’t change in coll…

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If Congress fails to raise the debt limit, can President Joe Biden somehow borrow more money to save the United States from default? The short answer is no. But that hasn’t stopped a group of Senate Democrats from urging Biden to act unilaterally by invoking the Fourteenth Amendment.

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It is much forgotten in a party that depends so much on minorities and liberals, but the early front-runner for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination was the populist, segregationist and racist governor of Alabama, George Corley Wallace. In early poll soundings, he had the support of a…

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But since 2020, that world has turned upside down. Today, many election workers are the subject of harassment, threats and even acts of violence. Some have had to flee their homes or have been assaulted. One said it’s “like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

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Growing up in Bethany, we knew ALL of our neighbors; some better than others, but we still knew them. When my mom would boil a big pot of beans, she would take some down to the Hortons (who lived about three houses down). When Mrs. Jean Horton would bake a peanut butter pie, she would fix an…

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The PGA Tour has reacted like any other business facing a potentially mortal threat. It has tried to strangle the new tour, known as LIV Golf, by threatening lifetime banishment for any PGA Tour player who defects to the new league. It has carried through on those punishments. It has offered…

This week, Special Counsel John Durham released a 316-page report detailing the origins of Operation Crossfire Hurricane — the FBI’s investigation into supposed connections between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. The report is an astounding expose of corruption and collusion —…

Presently, when someone says they want something to be “organic,” I’ll pause and ask them to define what that means for them. To date, I’ve heard and compiled five different answers for organic control. There is a social-media home-remedy definition, a “my grandparents did it this way” reaso…

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Better Sleep Month is observed during the month of May and aims to encourage healthy patterns of sleep and educate on the benefits of sleeping well. According to Amy Valdez, Texas A&M AgriLife Program Specialist, “sleep is just as important as including a well-balanced eating pattern and…