Opinion

Packing up your life to make it look better to other people is one of the dreariest of jobs. Also back-breaking, irritating and illuminating of things you don’t want illuminated.

Relentless spring, we are joyful in your persistence as you battled for your time on earth over dreaded winter. You arrived early, over a month ago. The arctic beast still had its claws in deep, refusing to yield. Still you marched on against the interminable Old Man Winter.

What is the NRA?

The Farm Bill is up for renewal once again, as it is every five years, and once again that means it’s time for another fight over food stamps, or more formally the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Last time around, the bill stalled for two years over a debate over whether to sharply cut benefits.

Don’t ignore the legal/illegal distinction

Reading your editorial in this week’s edition, I had to shake my head. You imply that President Trump is anti-immigration, that he “loathes immigrants,” that he’s a racist.

“That is the question.” — Shakespeare, “Hamlet”

Spring is a magician. A sort of “now you see it, now you don’t” kind of swindler. My case in point: the diminutive snowdrop flowers that appeared in my lawn in fearless, full bloom on March 1 that then disappeared under the drifts of all that March snow we endured.

Plug the words “Trump” and “immigration” into the Google News search engine these days, and you can find hundreds of news stories about President Donald Trump’s latest rant about immigrants and immigration.