�Now is the winter of our discontent ...� � William Shakespeare in Richard III.
The Bard penned those words in 1594, long before the winter of 2009-10, which is certainly the winter of our discontent.
Except for those people who might enjoy skiing or sledding, this winter has been a miserable stretch of days that never seems to end. We�ve been hit with one snowy blast after another.
Of course we�re not alone. The eastern seaboard has been rocked harder than ever before. In fact, 49 states have recorded appreciable snow this season. Only Hawaii has been spared.
Still, people have been heading for Florida and warmer climates in droves. Then again, my son Joel, who lives in Florida, flew home this weekend to go skiing. I guess what can be fun for two or three days, isn�t so much fun when it lasts for months on end.
On Friday, thousands of people were affected when the heavy snows north of us forced postponement of basketball and wrestling tournament action. It brought about rare Sunday tournament play. That hasn�t happened too many times in the past.
On an artistic note, the winter provided us with some scenic beauty. Snow covers a lot of sins. And how about those icicles. Some on my house extended from the gutters above the second floor almost to the ground.
In 1961, the great American author John Steinbeck wrote his final novel, The Winter of Our Discontent. With the weather as it is, it would be a good time to stay indoors and read it.
� How about that Dick Cheney? Like a Timex watch, he �takes a lickin� and keeps on tickin�.�
He recently suffered his fifth heart attack, which certainly is nothing to joke about. But he bounces back quickly and I�m sure he will again pound on President Obama as being �weak on terrorism.�
Of course, Cheney also was critical of his boss George W. Bush for not wanting to use waterboarding and other methods of torture to try and get information out of possible terrorists.
Actually, it�s a tough call. Are we too easy on terrorist suspects? Yeah, maybe we are. But you can�t say you believe in liberty and laws unless you follow them in all instances. Then again, what the American people don�t know, can�t hurt them!
I believe it was John F. Kennedy who put an end to the CIA being involved in assassinations of foreigners to help preserve our freedom. I hate to say it, but that might not have been such a good idea. If ever there was a time when we needed the phrase, �Don�t ask, don�t tell,� that might have been it.
Think of the thousands of lives and tens of thousands of injuries that might have been saved by removal of a few Middle East problem people years ago. Osama bin Laden? Saddam Hussein?
It�s a tough call. But these are the kind of quandries they deal with on the TV show �24� or the Jason Bourne movies.
Ironically, we are still trying to figure out who was behind the assassination of JFK. On one hand you have those who believe there were other forces involved besides a �lone gunman� Lee Harvey Oswald.
On the other hand you have idiots!
The Herald�s Lynn Saternow writes this column each week for the Opinion Page. He can be reached at lsaternow@sharonherald.com
Opinion
Lingering winter gives rise to storm of dark thoughts
- Opinion
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Juicy tips will be far fewer without ‘Scoop’ on the phone
I enjoyed calling him Scoop. I was the newspaper guy, but for more years than I can remember, Gary Douglas was at the other end of phone calls on a regular basis.
“Did you hear about this? Did you hear about that? Did you hear about so-and-so? Better check this out. I’ll bet you haven’t heard about this.”
That usually was the flow of the conversation. Most of the time he was right. Some of the tips turned into stories that were fit to print, and others not so much.
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The only thing we have to fear is fear-mongering
To hear some folks tell it, it’s no longer morning in America, it’s five minutes to midnight. They say the United States, once the greatest nation on Earth, is today on a glide path to the ash heap of history.
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Super Bowl Sunday brings a super boost for the local economy
The game is more than a glitzy international event. It serves as a one-day boon to local economies like ours here at home.
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Punxsutawney Phil, Mitt and a litany of bad GOP hopefuls
Here are some thoughts from a guy who doesn’t put a whole lot of stock in rascally rodents that make weather forecasts.
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In Ed Likovich’s yard, apples don’t fall very far from the tree
Adage tells us that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It really applies to the Likovich family of Hermitage, specifically Ed the father and teacher and Ed the son and student.
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A smaller state legislature? Don’t hold your breath
Don't tell me that our state General Assembly is finally going to do what should have been done many years ago – cut the size of the Legislature.
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A sad end to life: History will determine JoePa’s legacy
I had the privilege, yes privilege and honor, of meeting Joe Paterno several times in my life, both as a student at Penn State and in my role as editor of The Herald. It was with a heavy heart when I learned that he was near death during the Mercer County Hall of Fame’s annual dinner at the Park Inn by Radisson Saturday, and that he had died Sunday.
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OUR VIEW: Dearth of candidate interest defies worth of legislative races
In case you hadn’t noticed, this is an election year. Actually every year is, but this is one of the big ones. Sure, there’s some sort of presidential race going on, but that’s just a sideshow to where the real action in this year’s election is – or at least should be.
Voters across the country will be electing every member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and here in Mercer County voters will help decide who represents three state House districts. -
Hall of Fame weekend stirs memories of ‘good old days’
Is there anything better than reminiscing about the “good old days”? That’s why I love the Mercer County Hall of Fame’s annual induction weekend.
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We couldn’t fool anyone - the neighborhood always snitched
An old African proverb tells us that it takes a village to raise a child. At least two books drawing lessons from the proverb have been written, including the most famous in 1996 by Hilary Clinton, “It Takes A Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us.”
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