The Nation’s Oldest Newspaper™ • Editor: Steven Fowle • Founded 1756 by Daniel Fowle
Dear Editor, The shortest LTE that I have ever written! A wise reader’s response to an excellent August 18th New York Times article by Sarah Mervosh and Giulia Heyward, headlined, “The School Culture Wars—‘You Have Brought Division to Us.’” “Covid 19: It started as a virus, and mutated into an IQ test.” Herb Moyer Exeter, N.H. Herb: Too true. Thanks for sending this—and special thanks for citing the source. The Editor
Hi Friends, I am sad because I used to pick up my favorite fortnightly newspaper at our local health food store and that has just closed. I ask you, what good is a town without a health food store? We have also, over the 41 years I have lived here, lost our downtown drug stores, hardware and stationary stores, our art supply store and many more that make a downtown worthwhile, at least to those of us who actually live here. Fortunately, there are still a few places I go where I can pick up this newspaper, including our local book store and our long-time …
August 27, 2021 — To download this issue of our paper, just click on the image at right.
A fortnight from tomorrow, the nation will mark a twentieth anniversary of great historical importance. It would be lovely to think that we are all prepared for it, but there is no evidence of that. Customarily, the head of the Executive Branch would lead any national commemoration. Fairly or not, though, recent events on the other side of the world have lowered most people’s expectations from that quarter. Besides, everyone knows who really does the heavy lifting when it comes to conducting such national events. [Cue Frank Zappa’s I Am the Slime.*] Nevertheless, we still have a problem. Over the past two decades, television news …
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you are facing more catastrophes than you can count. Where do you even begin? This disagreeable sensation, once confined to an unlucky few, is now widespread among those who read the news. Our policy for staving off catatonia: expect the worst, hope for the best, and deal with one thing at a time. At the moment, because it’s dear to our ink-stained heart, let’s consider the U.S. Postal Service [U.S.P.S.]. Because it certainly qualifies as a catastrophe. Incredibly, there’s good news on this front. The District Court in Washington, D.C. ruled August 17th that the U.S.P.S. must turn over …