Fine changes
Thank you, thank you for expanding the crossword puzzle and including “Pickles”, “For better or for worse” and keeping “Baby Blues” and “Luann”.
I miss “Zits” though. Find a way to bring “Calvin and Hobbes” back and hear my praise!
I look forward to the “What to Watch” column and always read Ask Amy.
The changes made to the Journal are fine with me!
sad changes
We were so sad that the changes you made to the Journal were to eliminate the Cryptoquote and “Lola” in the comics. My husband and I, along with several members of my family, have been doing the Cryptoquote and Jumble for years (25 or more) and it’s one of the main reasons we continue to subscribe to the newspaper. We are over 80 years old and we looked forward every day to receive our paper and solve these puzzles. I would write it and he would do it in the newspaper. We felt it helped keep our minds active and it was fun to do together. We miss it.
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Just so you know, without the Cryptoquote in the Journal, we will not be renewing our annual subscription when it expires.
Bush’s presentation
WS Muse and Face to Face recently collaborated on a presidential portrait and ticket workshop to hear former President George W. Bush speak.
Bush shared the stage with Jon Meacham and often checked his vocabulary to make sure he wasn’t creating a new word like “strategy.” Who knew two old guys in suits would be so funny and entertaining for two hours?
It was a refreshing change to hear Bush tell stories about his presidency and the challenges he faced. What stands out are the qualities he considers important for a president: character and values. He spoke of the wonderful parents who raised him and the support of his wife and family. He humbly shared his problem with alcohol and how Billy Graham gave him a Bible to read that changed his life.
While talking about previous presidents, he was always kind, sharing his father’s experience mentoring Bill Clinton, talking about his respect for the Obamas and his trending moment with Michelle Obama, and mentioning Joe Biden’s love for the formation of committees to study the problems. He never attacked anyone. The only negative thing I heard was when someone protested mentioning weapons of mass destruction.
Although he never delved into immigration issues, Bush’s book of portraits tells stories about the immigrants he respects and the hardships they faced coming to the United States. His portraits reflect his new painting skills polished by good teachers.
The experience made me crave the old Republican Party.
Words and meanings
At the risk of getting lost in the weeds, the author of the September 14 “Regrettable” letter did not criticize the intelligence of the author of the September 8 letter “The Worst Thing Ever” as the author of September 21 letter “No Trade” claimed. He lamented his lack of education, which may have allowed him to develop his considerable intellect. In fact, he was doing her a favor.
Stating that the temporary economic downsides of a short presidential term are worse than slavery, KKK lynchings, the deaths of hundreds of thousands in the Civil War, or the deaths of more than 1.5 million Americans in cause of a pandemic is absurd. If coming to this conclusion is not the result of a lack of education, then it must be the result of a lack of intelligence. What’s worse?
Nor was the “Regrettable” writer “hiding from the truth,” as the “No trade” author claimed. You don’t hide by sending a public letter to the Readers’ Forum.
Education teaches us that, as the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said, words have meaning. Something doesn’t have to be “the worst thing ever” to be bad.
