Opinion

Go fact yourself

It was Feb. 3 when The City Wire posted the story about the Fort Smith board of directors voting to spend $62,000 to support an “opportunity analysis” of riverfront development….

So Sad

If they ever prove the global-climate-change-warming-apocalypse-crisis is caused by humans, it’s likely one of the top 10 sources will be the electricity consumed by the office of U.S. Sen. Blanche…

Facebook fugitive

Friends and relatives who are old enough to know better are becoming more active on this Facebook thing. One can be guilted into creating a Facebook profile to respond to…

Hoping for a pleasant surprise

Roger Meek says he is pleasantly surprised with the number of people interested in the future of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. Meek, the chairman of the chamber’s…

Sounds of retreat

The Fort Smith Board of Directors held a 2009 planning retreat Jan. 10 that lasted more than seven hours. Such meetings are analogous to buying an impressive arrangement of flowers….

Here we go again with this collective self-loathing about the future of American cultural, military, political and financial prestige and power. This gnashing of east coast educated teeth typically happens…

Media misses

Please indulge, Kind Reader, and read the following list of top 2008 Arkansas news stories from the vaunted news professionals around the state. It goes like this: The Top 10…

Keeping tabs on the SOBs

It’s just another day, really. Another week. Another month. Another year, one hopes, above the daisies and dirt. But this calendar shift comes with an unavoidable remembrance that, honestly, best…

Of chamber coincidences and mayoral musings

Sometime between Christmas and New Year’s Day we should celebrate Roger Meek day. Roger and other members of the Meek family own and operate the Coca-Cola distribution business in the…

Fighting back against the Bah Humbug of job losses

The shame with all these economic troubles is that one doesn’t have to be a skeptical ass like me to find the need to suppress the negative irony when hearing…

Rediscovering previous notes on leadership, country and ideas

Recently rediscovered a few comments from yours truly noted for having received the most feedback from Kind Readers. Am hoping they are suitable for reframing in this space.   • Let’s…

A note on hoping American fundamentals remain fundamental

This thing about us Americans and our belief in the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is innate. Damn strong, I’d like to think. No matter what…

Let’s use the transition time to make a big time transition

Transition time is always a good time to, well, transition. Sometimes it’s the best time to transition in a big way. If you, Kind Reader, need an example then you’re…

This week we remember Raymond and the others

(Editor’s note: This essay was first published in November 2002 when I was business editor of the Times Record. A version of that essay can be found here.) This week…

Reestablishing contact with Kind Readers in the Fort Smith region

On June 27, the fine folks at The Times Record in Fort Smith and The Morning News in Northwest Arkansas ended my almost eight years of employment as their business…