I sort of jumped the gun on decorating for Christmas this year. As in, I put up the tree and all the trimmings a month ago, two weeks before Thanksgiving. Don’t judge. This year has been like no other, so it seems to me that anything goes. Anything, in this case, being early, very early, Christmas decorating. The thing is, coming downstairs in the morning to a house sparkling with tinsel, tree lights, angels and assorted other adornments makes me ...
 

...Around $240 million was spent in the race between incumbent Republican Joni Ernst and Democrat challenger Theresa Greenfield. Earlier reports indicated the money broke about 60 percent to 40 percent in favor of Greenfield. That $240 million represents about $80 per man, woman and child in Iowa. All of us know, however, Iowans in general are more practical – some say cheaper – than that. 

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” is one of my favorite songs. Pair it with one of my favorite Christmas traditions and it is a night of bliss. 

Remember, even though the world, Satan, and our flesh want us to believe it’s still night time, and that Christ hasn’t come yet, the truth is that we’re children of the day since Christ has already come. “The night is far gone; the day is at hand… Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.”
 

There are three letters to the editor in the Dec. 3 Kossuth County Advance. The topics and writers are:
In the wake of the election, Iowans’ responsibility is to remain engaged, by Jan Libbey
 
Sad to miss Tacos for Tots, grateful for years of help, by Noe Villareal
 
State officials need to do their jobs to ensure elections, by Kandi Doyle
 

As you listen to the news and watch what is going on around us, it can cause questions about what we are doing at West Bend-Mallard Community School District in response to COVID and keeping everyone safe. 
 
Read all of Superintendent Amanda Schmidt's "Our Kossuth County" column in the Dec. 3 Kossuth County Advance.

... It’s a problem because if you are going to have fact checkers and limit political content based on some sort of criteria, then you are meeting the definition of being a publisher, not a Section 230-protected social media internet platform. 
What's Brad Hicks writing about in his On the Side column this week? See it in the Dec. 3 Kossuth County Advance.

The traditional Western, a genre that saw its height from the 1940s to the 1960s, seemed to go out of disfavor for various reasons. Regionalism, a trademark of many Westerns, somehow took on a bad name. Modern society also seemed to forget the Western, deeming it colloquial. While Louis L’Amour seemed to weather the storm, even well past his passing, many other Western authors seem to have struggled to place their books on bestseller lists.

Excerpts from this week's letters to the editor are:
Pro-life means pro-life
I am puzzled as to why the person in the recent letter is so puzzled by the pro-life signs. The signs state: Pro Woman, Child, Life; and Life, Respect it, Protect it. They do not say pro-pregnancy or freely vote to populate the planet. I’m puzzled as to what she saw. So many say because we are pro-life we are only pro-birth or one-issue voters. This is so far from the truth. 
 

Prior to the 1990s, trained journalists who wanted to investigate something were taught to follow the money. The only money-following today is chasing the cash that comes with internet clicks, which apparently don’t add up very fast when the truth is revealed, particularly if it doesn’t fit your readership’s or viewership’s demands.

In the years I’ve been inhabiting this Inkspots space, I’ve written about 147 columns about our family’s past Thanksgivings. I said “about,” so don’t lecture me on exaggerating, the about allows me to use any number I fancy. And today, I fancy 147 – it has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

It’s time for all the holiday activities – but what is that going to look like this year? Here is what we are doing through the Chamber to try to keep a little bit of normal during this crazy year that we are all working through.

Giving thanks when times are difficult is too much for many people, and if we are frank, most. Over the past few months, I have encountered people who are measuring their lives in loss. Some of the loss is financial, and some of it is employment. Some of it is missing friends, some of it is the basic lack of contact with others, some of it missing church, and some of it is missing routine practices such as shopping or bowling or exercise.

This week's Letters to the Editor are on the following topics and submitted by the following individuals. See the full content of the letters in the Nov. 19 Kossuth County Advance.
 
Pro-life or pro-pregnancy?
As I drive around seeing pro-life signs, I am puzzled. Do the people who have these signs truly mean they support all life as the sign suggests? by Karen Dannewitz, Algona 
 
United States will end quickly

After landing in Helsingborg (new country, new language, new money), we located their city center and cashed travelers checks at a bank. From there, we drove to their massive 11th century Karnan tower fortress with walls up to 15 feet thick at the base, parked and walked up 320 steps to the top for a view of the city, surrounding countryside and across the sound for a view of Norway and the Kronborg Castle.