Category Archives: Opinions
‘We are doomed!’
Starting a conversation with my granddaughter on Christmas morning 2023, I asked about her thoughts on global warming after asking her parents if I could.
She mumbled something. I am hard of hearing, so I asked her to repeat it. She said, “We are doomed.” Not wanting to believe what I heard or hoping I misheard, I asked again, and mom, dad and daughter
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Do we love sin more than God?
A few weeks ago, we talked about a man named Achan and how his secret sin was not a secret to God.
The book of Joshua in chapters 6 and 7 reveals this was not a situation where a person steals something and they alone are punished for it. Since he and his
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Courier Letters to the Editor 1-24-24
Controversy over books in libraries
Dear Editor,
At the first library board meeting of the year on Jan. 18, it became clear there is a controversy.
Usually when there is a controversy over an “idea,” one who wants to debate their “idea” needs to
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Courier Letters to the Editor 1-17-24
Annexation law changes could help
Dear Editor,
You have read in the Pickens County Courier the county council passed a resolution or request of the municipalities to do the following: cease any and all annexations over the next 180 days, coordinate with the county to better manage growth and explore the idea of a joint
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Here we go again
I’m not the only one who has opted, once again, to stay home. Both the rec center and the senior 
center are cutting back on classes and hours because of the lack of participation, again, but mostly because of the sudden increase in cases of COVID, again. Of course
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Psychedelics for our military
The $883.7 billion National Defense Authorization Act for 2024 makes for some interesting reading, not only for what it left out, but what it included. What you won’t find is the medical 
cannabis pilot program for veterans promoted by many, but you will find a treatment program using psychedelics
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for veterans and active duty with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Specifically, it calls for clinical trials with the Department of Defense to create a system wherein they can spend up to $10 million on psychedelics research. It only gives them 180 days to get started. Covered conditions, besides TBI and PTSD, include depression and insomnia.
Some of the drugs to be used are psychedelic drugs psilocybin (magic mushrooms), MDMA (ecstacy) and 5-MeO-DMT (from toad glands).
There are some reported successes from using psychedelics. The Food and Drug Administration said in 2017 that they’d had positive results using LSD and the magic mushrooms. The amounts given are small and are called “microdoses.” A short report with a lengthy list of citations in the Marine Corps Gazette in 2019 describes the use of LSD, mushrooms and more to attempt to gain an edge in efficiency and productivity when it comes to attention to detail, mental processing and reasoning. The report points to the way LSD changes the brain’s method of problem solving. Maybe this explains why it might be useful in helping veterans who suffer from PTSD. By creating new ways to think about things?
Yet another study, documented in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, found that the magic mushrooms reduced PTSD symptoms. The trial combined three doses of the mushrooms with psychotherapy. After Phase 2 of the trial, 56% of participants no longer had PTSD when checked 12 months later, after having suffered for many years.
If you want to learn more, listen to a podcast on the topic that includes a veteran who participated in a psychedelics study nine years ago: news.va.gov/124415/exploring-psychedelics-treatment-of-veterans.
© 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
The plot, the pirate, the plan
During the War of 1812, the British turned their attention to the city of New Orleans.
It was an important port on the Mississippi River. Steamships carried American exports of cotton and sugar to ocean-going vessels. Booming business made lawyers, insurers and
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The cost of being close to God
We talked about taking a stand for Christ last week, but being a Christian is also a walk which in the light of scripture refers to conduct.
Ephesians’ second chapter mentions how we once walked with the world fulfilling the lust of our flesh,
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Courier Letters to the Editor 1-10-24
A riveting exploration of risk taking
Dear Editor,
“Eyes of a Spore,” by Kyle Johanesson, is a historical fiction novel available via Barnes and Noble with a plot eloquently intertwined with gems of romance, coming of age and adventure. The plot revolves around John Vurduct, who has recently inherited his deceased father’s tailor shop in 1850s Independence, Mo. He lives each day in excruciating monotony with Victoria, his love
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Kittens versus senior cats
One of my easy-to-accomplish resolutions for 2024 was to adopt a kitten, maybe 2-3 months in age. After consulting the local humane society’s website and seeing dozens of tiny cats listed, I paid a visit to the shelter’s group kitten room.
Of course they were cute, swinging from the chandeliers, racing, climbing and tumbling. And of course they were completely uninterested in the humans in the room who were smiling and
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