It’s likely many Americans would answer “no” to this question, despite the fact that the author of “Adios, America,” Ann Coulter, has published more than 10 books on the New York Times best-seller list, including such attention-grabbing titles as “Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama” (September 2012) and “High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The […]
Notes from 30,000 Feet: Comparisons and contrasts from Puerto Rico to Bakersfield and Egypt
Recent travels presented several opportunities for comparing today’s issues from differing perspectives. To some of our fellow citizens life in America reflects a lack of appreciation for the unacknowledged good, while the bad is either blown out of proportion or simply completely made up. ‘Never let a crisis go to waste’ So spoke Chicago Mayor […]
Bruce Robinson: The president knows how to ‘Git-R-Done!’
Almost immediately after Donald Trump won the presidential election last year, “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe posted these comments on his Facebook page: “The people did not want a politician. The people wanted to be seen. Donald Trump convinced those people that he could see them. Hillary Clinton did not.…the world is full of very […]
William S. Emes: In tribute to Lieutenant Col. Joseph Bruggman, a Benicia resident
By William S. Emes, Jr. Special to the Herald As we know, on Aug. 6, 1945 at 8:15 – 43 seconds a.m. local time, an atomic bomb was detonated in the atmosphere as a weapon. Hiroshima, a city in the Imperial Nation of Japan, was destroyed at the command of an American president. In truth, […]
Bob Livesay: Is Benicia becoming an old-school political factory?
By Bob Livesay Special to the Herald Why would I say that? Very simple: it is the new organization in Benicia to get Progressives elected. They call themselves Benicia Progressive Democrats. All are backed by the Solano County Central Democratic Committee. We must remember both Vice Mayor Steve Young and Planning Commission Chair– and possible […]
Ramon Castellblanch: Nation’s opioid epidemic hitting Benicia, East Vallejo hard
By Ramon Castellblanch Special to the Herald For years, the opioid epidemic has been raging across the U.S. and it’s hitting Benicia and east Vallejo particularly hard. Our state public health department has found that both Benicia and East Vallejo have opioid overdose rates above the state average. Opioid overdoses are life-threatening. From 1999 to […]
Bruce Robinson: Straining the swamp
“Draining the swamp” has become the slogan du jour for just about anybody who wants to fix what’s been happening in our nation’s capital. It’s a catchy metaphor, but taken literally such a swamp-draining would not only be prohibitively costly to the taxpayer but would eliminate virtually every bureaucrat in the federal government. If we […]
Dennis Lowry: Further research needed on cannabis in Benicia
This is written to provide some input on the question of marijuana. I want to preface my comments with the fact that my granddaughter is a cancer survivor at the tender age of 15. Her treatment involved significant levels of chemotherapy and radiation. There were ongoing complications, including severe nausea. The treatment was a liquid […]
Joyce Middlebrooke: Musings of a Benicia newbie
By Joyce Middlebrooke Special to the Herald “You and Dad are too old to be living in the sticks,” my daughter, Karen, had insisted many times the past five years. It’s true that since 1970 we had lived in a tiny community of about 800 in the Sierra Foothills. It consisted of two-hour round trips […]
Dennis Lund: Considering the People’s Budget by the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Occasional forays to the dark side of progressive thought can serve to remind us of how invidiously damaging their proposals can be. Such trips serve to reinforce the importance of keeping such political elements at bay. This past weekend such a trip was undertaken; it was not a pretty sight. Recently the Congressional Progressive Caucus […]