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Boston Marathon bombing tweets
When James French became the last person to be executed in 1966 under Oklahoma’s death penalty law, he uttered these famous last words (no joke) that quickly belong to the ages: “Hey fellas,” he shouted to reporters there to witness his electrocution. “How about this …
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Jackie Robinson: An example of ‘Lies They Teach in School’
Being neither a baseball fan nor a movie buff, it may surprise some for me to be writing about both. But my real subject is neither the movie nor baseball — it is the fact that history is so full of, well, as author Herb …
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Still hollering for gladiators
Even before a drop of blood was spilt you could hear the sounds of the crowd growing with anticipation. Shouts, laughter, shrieks and howls could be heard from all corners of the great colosseum. The air was tangible, heavy with expectation and the smell of …
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Letter to the Editor
Dear editor: Wonder of wonders, the age of miracles is not over with. Recently witnessed one on the “Harrison Street Racetrack.” A Batesville Metro Police officer pulled over a speeding motorist. Thank you, officer, for doing your job. A resident of Harrison Street since 1939, …
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Is the public wearing blinders on economic tax?
Isn’t it amazing how some people, many of them in prominent public positions can be so ignorant of what is really going on around them. In particular the number of people/businesses that don’t have a clue what the Independence County Economic Development Commission is all …
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Boots in Boston
Riveted to our screens, we learned last week of the enormous value of social media and surveillance video when tragedy strikes. But — and this second point is as significant as the first — we were also reminded of the importance of established, well-funded, conventional …
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If you Enron-ize public schools, expect cheating to happen
The Ohio state auditor is investigating the practice of “scrubbing,” or dropping students from attendance rolls so they don’t count against test scores. The former El Paso superintendent is in prison for using truant officers to encourage at-risk students to drop out. Other testing scandals …
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That’s America to me
I listened to a Frank Sinatra tune this week — “The House I Live In” — and enjoyed a renewed desire to fight on. Sinatra performed the patriotic song in an 11-minute movie short made in 1945, shortly after the conclusion of the war. In …
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Vicksburg National Military Park
On a recent tour to the Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Miss., two Independence County residents wondered what roles Arkansas Confederate soldiers played in the Vicksburg Campaign, and the 47-day siege of the “Hill City.” In late spring 1862, Vicksburg, Miss., was the only …
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Piece of history coming to Arkansas
It may be a visit worth making, adding the site’s already-notable history. A sapling from the tree that became one of Anne Frank’s only connections to nature while her family hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam will be planted in Arkansas at a high school …
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Arkansas’ Centennial in 1936
The highlight of the state’s 100th birthday celebration, in 1936, came near the start of festivities when President and Mrs. Roosevelt came for an official visit. A special train arrived in Hot Springs in the early hours of June 10, carrying the presidential party and …
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The death of liberty
Benjamin Franklin warned that a people preferring security over liberty deserves neither. In the aftermath of each attack upon our nation, we have seen this maxim play out with growing restrictions on our God-given constitutional freedoms. There was the USA Patriot Act, passed in the …
