Beech Tree News Network

Governing through COVID-19: Sledgehammer or scalpel?

An economic crisis such as the one dragging behind this quarantine like a heavy, unbreakable chain squeezes an entire state, revealing or magnifying the true condition of its economy along with the competency – or lack thereof – of its political leadership.

Will 2021 mark the rising of state legislatures as lawmakers look to curb the aggressive actions by governors across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic?  Gosh, I sure hope so.  

Whenever we finish a television series, we are usually left with a sense of “now what”.

For the last two weeks my nephew, Ryan Craig (publisher of the Todd County Standard), has written articles about “what we should do first when we get out of here. Travel stories for the mind, if you will….” His articles caused me to think about what I want to do after the pandemic guidelines are no longer needed.

As Paul Harvey used to say, “a potpourri of today’s news,” pronounced po-po-ree. I think that means a bunch of stuff, a lot of which is unconnected... (French, maybe.)

I don’t go out a lot. When I do, I am very often reminded by my kids that I “need a mask.” To the older generation, that means you might say something that is derogatory or that offends somebody. Or, that I’m too opinionated.

Last week, I listened to an interview with Brian Melican on NPR.  Later I went to the suggested link to read the article that was referenced.  The name of the article is: “A tale of three cities: the places transformed by pandemics across history.  You can find it online at the New Statesman website.  The following information is taken from newstatesmen.com.

Pride touched Naaman, the Syrian general, and made him revolt at Elisha’s command to dip seven times in the Jordan River (II Kings 5:11-12).

Beware of the virus of mistrust

Unfortunately it rears its ugly head periodically in society.  The “it” to which I’m referring is shame, guilt by another word.  With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen instances of it in our community and across the state as some folks seem intent on “shaming” others who may not be following certain aspects of the government’s directives relative to social distancing.  Perhaps you and a buddy broke the

Phrase origins can be interesting.  For example, “clog up the works” is a phrase that could’ve derived from the Luddite Dutch workers throwing their clogs in the machinery to wreck it.  Therefore, it would appear the phrase “clog up” is of Dutch origi