Anger is unlikely to resolve problems
The Free Press
Mankato, Minn.

Economic stress, politics devoid of hope and the dangers of taking an airplane on vacation have acted to push the thermometer of the American psyche into a pan of boiling water.

More Americans are angry, and like Howard Beale in the 1976 movie Network, “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.”

Unfortunately, this trend of public affairs-induced anger comes at a time when reasoned solutions to the country’s daunting problems are needed more than ever.

An employee of Zoo Creatures, Brittany O'Connor, 20, holds the 6-foot boa constrictor that was removed by Salem, N.H., police Sgt. Mike Wagner from the grass outside some condominiums in Salem last week.
Jan Seeger/The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.

By Tim Kolodziej
CNHI News Service

“If you don’t invest very much, then defeat doesn’t hurt very much and winning isn’t very exciting.” — Dick Vermeil

You have to swing the bat.
It’s why you play the game.
When you’re at the plate with two men on base, the pitcher staring you down and the umpire calling out, “3-and-2!”, all eyes are now on you.
You don’t have to hit a home run. You don’t have to crack a double off the fence.
But if the pitch is anywhere near your sweet spot, just swing the bat.

CNHI News Service

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Nearly half of Michiganians see homelessness as a serious and growing problem in their own community, according to a new statewide survey.

Yet few Michigan residents are aware of the scope of the problem.

The poll, commissioned in June by the 4-year-old Michigan Campaign to End Homelessness, found that 47 percent of likely voters agree that “homelessness or the risk of homelessness is a serious problem in my community.” Some 85 percent believe that the problem has gotten worse or stayed the same in the past six months.

By Dave Zuchowski
CNHI News Service

In the 1930s, Ireland is thought to have reached its peak population of 8.5 million inhabitants.
Over the centuries, however, countless Irish emigrated to destinations the world over.
Between 1830 and 1914, nearly 5 million Irish emigrated to the United States alone. Today, an estimated 70 million people the world over claim some Irish ancestry, and an estimated 41 million Americans claim Irish as part of their ancestral background.