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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
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Widowed: Some Thoughts Before Election Day — From Jon

November 2, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

thoughts before election day jon-newhall-with-american-flag

Thoughts before election day: My husband’s 2010 opinion piece on the Pledge of Allegiance assumed a social trust that’s since gone missing in America.  Read more.

Our Flag Is Flying Again This Fourth of July

July 6, 2019 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

fourth-of-july-flag

Very festive. Very patriotic. No jets or tanks, just the red, white and blue flying on the Fourth of July at our house again this year. Read more. 

The American Flag Is Flying in My Liberal, Elitist, San Francisco Bay Area Neighborhood Today. Here’s Why.

July 4, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Stars and Stripes. A man hangs the American flag on the front of his house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

‘The right wingers don’t own the American flag flag,’ I said as my husband hung the Stars and Stripes from our garage. ‘It’s my flag too.’ Read more.

Fifteen Patriotic Holiday Gifts for the Worried Progressives on Your List

December 22, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Patriotic holiday gifts: The American flag is spread at a Warriors basketball game in Oakland, CA. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I’m giving patriotic holiday gifts this year — donations to groups that can help keep our country sane during the stormy Trump years ahead. Read more.

Guest Post From Jon: Does “Under God” Belong in the Pledge of Allegiance?

March 13, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Does under God belong in the pledge? Downtown Pentwater Michigan village on 4th of July with people sitting on curb waiting for the parade. Photo by BF Newhall

Jon was shocked when a Federal Appeals Court ruled that including “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance did not violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

My Upper Lip and Other Sorrows

Lucille Ball with red lipstick and hair

I feel bad about my lip. My upper lip. Nora Ephron felt bad about her neck, a body part she made famous back in 2006 with her book I Feel Bad About My Neck. Nora also felt bad about her frizzy grey hair, parched skin, incipient mustache, flabby upper arms, and tendency toward belly fat. She was getting older.

 

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Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

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My Little Old Lady Christmas Tree — Showing It Who’s Boss

Peter Newhall at the wheel of the family car, read to take his first solo drive. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Revisiting My First Blog Post Ever — How the Selective Service Made a Man of My Son

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Buzz Saw Bliss — Sheltering at Home Day 3

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A Hopeful Realist Is Keeping Me Company These Days

MORE DON'T MISS!

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