Being an eternal optimist – and one who rises each morning around 5 a.m. just tickled to be alive – I tend to always look on the bright side of life. (Whistle your own tune, Monty Python fans.)

He had his first Christmas in 1936 in the aptly named village of Tranquility. He didn’t have much call for celebration. It was the time of the Great Depression. Essentials were scarce. Luxuries were nonexistent. A day with three meals – or even two, and sometimes one – was a good day. He moved to Cincinnati, to the poorer neighborhood known as Over the Rhine – for its German immigrants. He didn’t know any Germans in Over the Rhine.

He had his first Christmas in 1936 in the aptly named village of Tranquility. He didn’t have much call for celebration. It was the time of the Great Depression. Essentials were scarce. Luxuries were nonexistent. A day with three meals – or even two, and sometimes one – was a good day. He moved to Cincinnati, to the poorer neighborhood known as Over the Rhine – for its German immigrants. He didn’t know any Germans in Over the Rhine.

With all due respect, now is clearly not the time for the gun-control debate. Save it for another day. The debate, as we all know, will not be decided this week, this month or this year. For the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School, this is a time to weep, a time to mourn, a time to heal. Show some respect.

Maybe it's just me, but it sure seems like we're cultivating a new society that has far too much free time and far too little common sense and respect. Generational entitlement will do that, I suppose.

If Tom Cotton and Brad Wenstrup haven't met, I'm sure they soon will. Their general election victories are good things, not only for their respective states, but for the nation's future. Already, both men have more military and private-sector experience than the second term commander in chief and erstwhile community organizer.

While today's Mustangs – coached by another 1993 great in Jason McLaughlin – were not born at that time, it's sufficient to say that they've "heard tell" of the Mighty Mustangs of two decades ago. (Just take a look at the banner in the LC gymnasium.)

While today's Mustangs – coached by another 1993 great in Jason McLaughlin – were not born at that time, it's sufficient to say that they've "heard tell" of the Mighty Mustangs of two decades ago. (Just take a look at the banner in the LC gymnasium.)

The Sunday evening arrest and subsequent incarceration of Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Richard D. Giroux is a rather sad ending to a relatively dismal  – and divisive – first year for the Hastings/Giroux city government administration.

With his second term now secure, it's time for Obama to come clean on Benghazi. If, in the unlikely scenario that the president wasn't briefed on the deadly assault, he needs to explain why, and tell us what consequences await those who failed him (and our servicemen). When something this serious fails to warrant any military support, the buck must stop with the commander in chief. Not the secretary of state, not an ambassador, not the CIA director, and not the Pentagon.

A very special thank you is extended to Fr. Mike Paraniuk and St. Mary Catholic Church for performing and celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism for a very special young lady on Veterans Day Sunday 2012.

Today's 2012 Tea Party had fewer victories than the Cincinnati Bengals in October. (OK, that's not mathematically possible, but you get the general idea.) On both the national and local levels, the party seemed content to support the status quo. They were the Republican Party's little brother, all too content to yell at the playground bully: "My big brother can beat up your big brother."

Today's 2012 Tea Party had fewer victories than the Cincinnati Bengals in October. (OK, that's not mathematically possible, but you get the general idea.) On both the national and local levels, the party seemed content to support the status quo. They were the Republican Party's little brother, all too content to yell at the playground bully: "My big brother can beat up your big brother."