By David Palmer Voters in New Hampshire, the early primary state for presidential candidates, are concerned about the nation’s growing drug abuse problem and its impact on their communities. They want something done. An Associated Press article in Little Rock’s Democrat Gazette reported that “in town halls and ‘meet and greets’ in Iowa and New Hampshire, voters are using their access to presidential hopefuls to raise painful and often deeply personal concerns about drug abuse.” And they are … [Read more...]

A model for all communities By David Palmer On the night of June 18, Dylan Storm Roof, a deranged 21 year-old white supremacist, shot and killed nine innocent black parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The response of devastated families and friends of the victims, was to forgive him. “I forgive you; my family forgives you. We would like you to take this opportunity to repent,” said Anthony Thompson whose relative Myra Thompson was … [Read more...]

“Daddy” Jack Fryer, 71, died last week, apparently at the hands of his brother Robert, who, Jack once told me, suffered from schizophrenia. Robert has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, based on bone fragments found in a burn barrel. I met Jack when he was released from prison in December 2007, after serving six months for four DUI violations. He called me, said he loved reading One Day at a Time, my quarterly publication, in prison and would like to work for me. He proposed a … [Read more...]