As the nation prepares to cope with a Donald Trump administration that’s nominating a Ku Klux Klan sympathizer as Attorney General (Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions), it’s wise to recall recent history so that it’s not repeated – and to…
After Community Word editor Clare Howard wrote about Enbridge’s oil pipeline through Tazewell and Woodford Counties almost two years ago, the issue has continued to percolate, like tar pits belching bubbles of air, from the cancelled Keystone XL Pipeline to…
Nutty nattering about a “War on Christmas” should emerge anytime, the argument that everyday greetings such as “Happy holidays!” somehow diminish Christmas (implying it’s acceptable to ignore December’s holidays of Hanukkah (Judaism), Mawlid (Islam), Omisoka (Japanese New Year’s Eve), Kwanzaa…
Evangelicals haven’t really rallied around Trump In the next few weeks, many Americans will give thanks, and the fact that the election will be over will be a blessing to most of us – few more so than Evangelical Christians,…
Since the 1950s Cold War era, when “duck and cover” drills were common in schools, nuclear weaponry has become abstract, if not ignored outright by most Americans. But with belligerent rhetoric – whether Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump or North…
The popularity of “Sesame Street” isn’t debatable. Still, when Bradley University’s former debate coach writes about the long-running program, one might expect persuasion, syllogistic reasoning, and rhetoric. Instead, Gary Dreibelbis in the new “Gospel According to Sesame Street” focuses on…
Justice delayed can be justice denied, and words matter As the Illinois State Fair wound down on Aug. 18, a libel suit linked to the fair and Central Illinois’ current and former Congressmen was about as active as a beer…
Beyond a grassy ridge from a tree-covered bandshell, carnival rides twinkle and sparkle in the humid evening, calliope music tinkling softly. It could be almost any year in the last century. The louder music exploding from six Marshall amps…
“Sticks and stones will break your bones, but names will never hurt you,” goes the children’s rhyme. In Canton, some 40 miles southwest of Peoria, it might be said, “Names will never hurt you, but fists can.” And hate. On…
As Major League Baseball’s top players compete in July 12’s annual All-Star Game in San Diego, fans are sure to marvel at the talent on display, and might reminisce about pickup games on city sandlots or rural pastures in their…
