Listen up, letter writers
| Letter to Editor | By: | 11/24/08 | 168 words

As we attempt as a nation to understand and cope with a most difficult time, this exchange of ideas is paramount. Your hiatus on such letters at the end of the election was pleasant; now attempt to follow through with real opinions of our citizens; please toss out the junk mail.

Good news, bad news
| jDevereaux | By: | 11/18/08 | 549 words

It's like election results. The good news is somebody lost. The bad news is somebody won.

Random reminiscing
| jDevereaux | By: | 11/04/08 | 550 words

Years past I never gave much thought about the future. I was too busy dealing with the present. Lately I am beginning to give it more thought as I have time to listen to grandchildren talk about their plans for the future.

Living right
| jDevereaux | By: | 10/21/08 | 558 words

I'll begin with the recent front-page story in The Frederick News-Post about a mother in prison for repeated drug abuse. The mother learned the hard way (and now offers good advice to others) that the way to resist the temptation of drugs is to "Just say no." This is excellent advice for dealing with all temptations, though as evidenced below it is not always easy to apply.

The power of science
| Letter to Editor | By: | 10/08/08 | 680 words

There were some topics discussed in his article that we found unrealistic. He said, “while scientists want to spend millions on an experiment…the obvious answer is that we have to wait and see what that knowledge is. I suppose we are supposed to have faith that something good will come from scientists tinkering needlessly with things they do not understand. The outcome might actually prove to be a detriment to humanity.” Everyone benefits from advances in science because it is meant for the people.

No limits
| jDevereaux | By: | 10/07/08 | 548 words

For a short stint, I was Fulton J. Sheen's altar boy at his daily morning mass before he became a bishop and a well-known author and speaker. I remember how caring he was one morning when I was not feeling well. Years later I remember my mother watching his award-winning "Life is Worth Living" television series. To this day I find his writings inspirational.

Then what?
| jDevereaux | By: | 09/23/08 | 578 words

I'm not opposed to scientific experiments, but I do find the expectations that some scientists offer for conducting experiments to be questionable. I already have a plausible explanation for the Big Bang, but it requires a measure of faith. Besides, I wondered what colliding protons have to do with the Big Bang.

To understand
| jDevereaux | By: | 09/09/08 | 551 words

Toward that end I recently joined with three other Catholics in a friendly and informal discussion with two Muslims, one an Imam and the other a doctor. I look forward to the views of what transpired from others attending. In this column I offer my reflections.

To be or not to be
| jDevereaux | By: | 08/26/08 | 553 words

Some claim the unborn are not real persons and have no right to protection; but there are some who would have us protect yet-to-be-conceived polar bears. They urge us to lessen carbon emissions to prevent the loss of the habitat polar bears need for survival.

Literary stretch
| Letter to Editor | By: | 08/16/08 | 174 words

I wonder who he is describing?

Submission
| jDevereaux | By: | 08/12/08 | 556 words

In 1938 Hilaire Belloc, a now-deceased noteworthy Catholic historian, envisioned the threat in his book, "The Great Heresies." He called the heresy "The Modern Phase." He was of course writing from a Catholic perspective, but his ominous outlook 70 years ago seems even more possible today.

Parenting 101
| jDevereaux | By: | 07/29/08 | 550 words

Actually, Mary and I decided at the outset of our marriage that family was our joint vocation and top priority within the context of our shared faith. Yep, you guessed it. We prayed together and stayed together. I'm not claiming that we did everything right. We made mistakes and even had disagreements. While we didn't always see things the same way, we were at least dreaming the same once-upon-a-time family fairy tale hoping for the same happily-ever-after ending.

A brief lament
| jDevereaux | By: | 07/15/08 | 548 words

We seem to be a nation of Babel in which the meaning of "is" may not be what you think a president means. Even our Constitution does not necessarily mean what our founding fathers meant unless five out of nine black robes confirm what they meant.

Why the hush-hush?
| jDevereaux | By: | 07/01/08 | 547 words

I thought it might be Imam Yahya Hendi speaking but I wasn't sure. If it was I figured his message would be one of mutual respect. He has traveled around with a passion to make Islam known throughout the area and to change negative images that non-Muslims have of Muslims.

Friendly relations
| jDevereaux | By: | 06/17/08 | 550 words

Imam Yahya Hendi is the society's respected promoter of friendly relations. Speaking for Islam and the society, he condemns religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives. I do not doubt his sincerity, but there remains a disconnect between his Islam and events such as 9/11, continued terrorist bombings in Iraq, the ticking of Iran's presidential time bomb, and Muslim persecutions in Syria of Christians who fled from Muslim persecutions in Iraq.

Ultimate
| jDevereaux | By: | 06/03/08 | 545 words

My column this week is about Ultimate — a game that competing teams play on a field of friendly strife with a Frisbee. I mentioned it in my previous column, but hardly touched on the merits of the game.

Greetings!
| jDevereaux | By: | 05/20/08 | 546 words

I never expected to write a newspaper column. English compositions were not my thing at West Point. Mathematical solutions were. So after a stint in the infantry, I earned a living writing computer programs. When retired, I found it easy and enjoyable to add my own two cents to the bank of public opinion using the leftover tools of my trade — a personal computer, word processor, and e-mail.

Bulb bragging over the top
| Letter to Editor | By: | 01/06/08 | 100 words

All I could think of was all the other lights aglow in the city, all the energy it took to bring all those people together for a brief few minutes to watch the ball fall, and all the televisions tuned in to watch that energy-saving event.

Death of innocent enough of a reason
| Letter to Editor | By: | 12/31/07 | 119 words

While we might welcome New Jersey's elimination of the death penalty because of the remote possibility that a jury might convict an innocent person of a heinous crime, we seem indifferent to the many innocent unborn that face death each day without a trial.--

Not sold on Hendi
| Letter to Editor | By: | 12/24/07 | 248 words

I've heard the Imam speak about the need for cooperation instead of confrontation among people of diverse religious convictions. It is not a new thought in our pluralistic society, where freedom of religion is already right. I suppose that since 9/11 it is worth his pointing out that not all Muslims are terrorists. What I am concerned about are the narrow aims of the Islamic Society of Frederick that must surely motivate the Imam's efforts.