Politics People Potpourri

Newspaper columns are written in the moment as part of a journalist's first rough draft of history. But the judge of a columnist's insight and interpretation of events, as well as the people who shape them, is how the analysis stands the test of time. This collection of columns and articles meets that test. From columns in theMontreal Gazetteand theNational Post, as well as longer-form pieces from the magazinePolicy Options, L. Ian MacDonald looks at Canadian and American politics and the principal players and events over the last decade: from Jean Chretien, Stephen Harper, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to Brian Mulroney and Airbus, as well as Jean Charest's three terms as Premier of Quebec. Along the way, MacDonald's clear and lively prose covers a range of topics from politics to cottages, while profi ling people as diverse as Jean Believeau and Bernard Derome.Politics, People, and Potpourribrings to life storied Montreal landmarks,from St Patrick's Basilica to Windsor Station and commemorates the passing of notable fi gures such as Pierre Trudeau and Maurice 'Rocket' Richard. This intelligent and amusing collection presents MacDonald at his best as well as a compelling view of Canadian politics and life.

If journalism is the first draft of history, it’s equally important to see how the work stands the test of time. If the writing isn’t prescient and perspicacious, it doesn’t meet that test. This collection of columns and articles by L. Ian MacDonald – a sequel to Politics, People & Potpourri – meets that test. Much has happened in the politics of Canada and Quebec, as well as to the leaders who have defined and shaped the first two decades of the twenty-first century, since the first collection was published in 2009. The successful election campaigns of Harper and Trudeau form the political bookends of the present decade in Canada and the opening chapters of the book. Between these governments, there are the events, personalities, and issues that have shaped the political narrative and policy debate, from fiscal frameworks to clean energy and pipelines, from the Senate expense scandal and democratic reform to national security at home and the mission against ISIS abroad. In his columns, and longer pieces from Policy Options and Policy magazines, MacDonald provides clear-minded commentary on political issues salient to all Canadians – including the election of Donald Trump in the United States. He also profiles a diverse group of political figures, and writes moving tributes to departed, nationally respected figures such as Jean Béliveau, Jim Flaherty, Jack Layton, and Tom Van Dusen. This intelligent and entertaining collection presents MacDonald at his best, and offers a captivating view of Canadian politics and life.

POTPOURRI ANTHOLOGY, VOLUME I, is a collection of poems submitted by members from a Facebook Poetry Group owned and run by Susan Joyner-Stumpf and co-owned by Cindy Toth called POTPOURRI POETS/ARTISTS WRITING COMMUNITY. Here on these pages are the collections under one roof of talented Souls that have come together to help create this Anthology with their amazing words, each varied and unique and reflecting the individual poet's style and finesse; their hopes, dreams, fears, love, laughter, joy and tears.

Bert T. Combs was governor of Kentucky from 1959 to 1963, but his impact on the Commonwealth continues to be felt. The state sales tax, toll road expansion, and extensive aid to public education are only a few examples of the enduring significance of his administration. This is the story of Combs's political life as remembered by him and by some sixty others who shared with him parts of that experience. Based on a two-year oral history project, this study shows how Combs emerged from an Eastern Kentucky background to become an outstanding jurist and a progressive political force in Kentucky. Not merely a recitation of Combs's achievements, this book reveals dramatically the processes by which many of them were accomplished. Describing political maneuvering, patterns of compromise, and inside stories behind important decisions, the interviewees add an otherwise missing flavor to the Combs story. This book will be attractive to political practitioners as well as to students of Kentucky history and appreciators of oral history.

The book is divided into three sections. The first contains paragraphs of things I remember and things that were important. The second so-called section contains details of certain events, probably found in the first section. You will know when the first section ends that you are starting on the second. Same idea for the third where there are a bunch of certificates, letters, etc. that I thought were worth keeping.

Throughout history, personal liberty, free markets, and peaceable, voluntary exchanges have been roundly denounced by tyrants and often greeted with suspicion by the general public. Unfortunately, Americans have increasingly accepted the tyrannical ideas of reduced private property rights and reduced rights to profits, and have become enamored with restrictions on personal liberty and control by government. In this latest collection of essays selected from his syndicated newspaper columns, Walter E. Williams takes on a range of controversial issues surrounding race, education, the environment, the Constitution, health care, foreign policy, and more. Skewering the self-righteous and self-important forces throughout society, he makes the case for what he calls the "the moral superiority of personal liberty and its main ingredient—limited government." With his usual straightforward insights and honesty, Williams reveals the loss of liberty in nearly every important aspect of our lives, the massive decline in our values, and the moral tragedy that has befallen Americans today: our belief that it is acceptable for the government to forcibly use one American to serve the purposes of another.