Merry Correctmas Doesn’T Convey Holiday’S Meaning

The three choirs at my daughter’s middle school delivered top-notch Christmas performances last week. As I listened - and enjoyed - a bit of jazz, some modern carols and a song or two that didn’t have anything to do with Christmas, I noticed only one religious favorite among the selections: “Silent Night.” At that point, I damned the grinches from the American (un)Civil Liberties Union. The constant ACLU attacks on public religious expression not only have undermined our Judeo-Christian heritage but stolen Christmas joy from our children.

Spirit, can these things be changed?

First, Washington Water Power Co. forces a meaningless New Age moniker on us, Avista; now, it wants 15 percent more monthly - $9 - from the average Idaho homeowner. In other words, WWP has introduced us to the Ghost of Christmas Rate Hikes Yet to Come … I was among the first wave of Coeur d’Loonians interviewed last week by Walker-Macy, the Portland consulting firm developing a plan for the public waterfront. I’m trying to keep an open mind about possible changes. But it’s hard to do … Idaho may be tough on crime but it’s a patsy when death is on the line. Of the 500 criminals who have been executed since 1976, when the ban on capital punishment was lifted, only one died in Idaho. We can do better than that.

55 percent of America doesn’t have a clue

I finally read a poll that sheds light on polls that showed Bill Clinton’s approval rating edging even higher after he was impeached Saturday. According to the Polling Co., 55 percent of Americans thought impeachment by the U.S. House of Reprehensibles led automatically to removal from office. Of course, it doesn’t - unfortunately … While reading a history of World War II recently, I contemplated several sobering thoughts. What would have happened if Third Wavers Bill Clinton and Tony Blair had been running things back then instead of Roosevelt and Churchill? Could the politically correct forces of the modern U.S. armed forces have stormed Omaha Beach? Beaten Yamamoto at Midway? Rooted out the enemy on Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa? If Axis leaders had matched wits and forces against the current leaders and citizens of the U.S., Britain and Russia, would we be speaking Japanese or German now? … So, you’re tired of the Clinton impeachment imbroglio? Consider U.S. Rep. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and a few other lawmakers who went through the gut-wrenching exercise last week and now are moving to the U.S.Senate to do it again. At least, their minds should be made up.