Playa lakes - part 4 - photo by Russell A Graves

In 1985, the United States Congress passed the Farm Bill, which in-turn created the Beef Promotion and Research Act. Creation of this Act gave American beef producers the ability to create a mandatory “National Beef Checkoff” program if they so desired.

In November President Obama announced a series of executive actions to fix the broken immigration system in this country. In December, the President announced that the United States government will begin a process of normalizing relations with Cuba. Both these actions are bold and historic changes to U.S. government policy. However, neither means a change in this government’s policy toward illegal migration. It is still the case that our borders are not open to illegal migration. In fact, we are taking additional measures to prevent illegal migration, now and in the future.

Five years after the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Citizens United v. FEC, the United States is still feeling its ill effects. The 2012 election cycle proved to be the most expensive cycle in history, with an estimated $6 billion in spending on federal races; 2014, meanwhile, was the most expensive midterm election cycle in history. In all likelihood, future election cycles will eclipse those marks.

Years ago, a news story told of a body that was believed to be dead when authorities removed it from Lake Michigan. When it warmed up considerably, thaw set in and the person was alive.

The word "genericize" entered my vocabulary recently, courtesy of BBC radio. It refers to a term that originally designated a brand name but has since become generic, such as Xerox, as in "I'll xerox that handout for my class." Folks of my generation probably remember when the Frigidaire brand was so well known in the refrigeration field that many Americans called any refrigerator, whatever its brand, a "Frigidaire." The slang term "fridge" was also derived from the brand name.

Lanny just turned 70---an age that used to be considered old. Not middle-aged, like Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore in The Dick Van Dyke Show but actually old, like Walter Brennan as Grandpappy Amos in The Real McCoys, gimping around cluelessly in a pair of bib overalls and saying things like “Con-SARN it!”

Living in a rural community shouldn’t have to come with a hefty price tag for healthcare.

Having said goodbye to 2014, let’s look back a hundred years to 1914, to see how much difference a century has made.

Playa lakes - part 3 photo by Russell A. Graves

As I get older, I base my fashion taste on what doesn't itch.

In more than two decades of listening to elderwriters sharing reminiscences, I have noticed that the Christmas season has often been the setting for unforgettable childhood memories. They are as precious as gold nuggets or polished gems.