Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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The Beach Boys (I'm showing my age here) is one of my favorite bands. Most of their songs gave us a musical image of life under the sun on a pleasant coastal beach. A very small number of their songs had a sad note... as in losing your girl friend, or being lonely. The song "In My Room" comes to mind as I write this article. It has been a bit over a year since Dorothy, my wife of over 50 years died. During that time I've dealt with all kinds of legal issues... too many to list here. My children...
During the days of the pandemic religious leaders were told to do many things to inhibit the spreading of the coronavirus, including closing the doors of their churches. Most obliged the orders of their state and local governments, while a few did not. One of those ministers who refused was John MacArthur, the senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA. MacArthur believed that his constitutional rights had been violated, so he sued and his case went all the way up to the U.S....
The uncommitted voters of Michigan say "Jump," and Chuck Schumer asks "How high"? The Senate majority leader gave an extraordinary speech flaying the democratically elected leader of an ally engaged in fighting a defensive war against a hideous terrorist enemy. The speech calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go, along with increasingly critical statements by the White House, shows that the Democrats have decided that appeasing their left-wing base in an election year is now...
"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, which none of the rulers of the age knew, for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." I Corinthians 2:7, 8 "The Gospel According to Pontius Pilate", James Robert. Mills (Fleming H. Revell Co., Publishers, October 1978) recounts Jesus' Resurrection from the Roman archives. Pilate, the Governor, was expected to cooperate with Caiaphas, the High Priest, to keep the Jews from causing disturbance in a Roman occupied land....
Last time in these pages I looked at Section 1 of the 14th Amendment. Today I continue. The last phrase in Section 1 of the 14th Amendment declares that no state can "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law." All races are equal under the law. Section 2 begins: "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers." By these words the committee eliminated the 3/5's rule. Section 2 continues: "But when the right to...
One of Rush Limbaugh's undeniable truths of life was that "words mean things." Such is the case with words such as "destroyed property' and 'calamity'. According to Nebraska State Statute 77-1307, "Calamity means a disastrous event, including, but not limited to a fire, an earthquake, a flood, a tornado or other natural event which significantly affects the assessed value of real property." This definition should not require a disastrous event to have a natural cause, but not everyone sees it...
Joe Biden doesn't have a problem with illegal immigrants. He's made that clear in his shame-faced retreat from his impromptu use of the term "illegal" during his State of the Union address. He regrets using the offending word, doesn't want to disrespect illegal immigrants and believes that they are absolutely essential to the success of the United States. "Look, they built the country," Biden told Jonathan Capehart of MSNBC. He added that they are "the reason our economy is growing." Yes, where...
Recently our country has seen activities by various levels of government, from states to our national government that, at the very least, could be assessed as unconstitutional. Unfortunately our educational systems around the nation have failed in many schools to teach our young for some time about the Constitution of the United States. There are few today who have any knowledge about the original document, much less about the Amendments that have been made to it. And during the recent pandemic...
In 2021 the Fufeng Group, a Chinese food manufacturer, bought 300 acres of farmland near Grand Forks, North Dakota in order to build a milling plant. They paid 2.6 million dollars for the land. That land is only twelve miles from the Grand Forks Air Base, which is home to some of America's most sensitive military secrets. Last year both the BBC and NPR reported that the Chinese had already purchased 380,000 acres of farmland in the United States. After the purchase of land was made near the...
Donald Trump obviously left office on a sour note in January 2021, written off by many opinion-makers and political professionals. Then, President Biden happened. The most remarkable phenomenon of the 2024 election cycle so far is the rise of Trump nostalgia. It's difficult for anyone to have a new opinion about former President Trump, who is so well-known, so in-your-face, and so polarizing. Yet, people have a new, more favorable attitude toward his presidency in retrospect, certainly compared...
"Therefore, Brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, that you do not stumble but enter into the abundance of the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:9, 11 Peter would know. He had not 'caught' what Jesus taught more than once. Then, he made the mistake of denying the Lord. He had been on the mountain of transfiguration with Him and had seen a vision of His resurrection. As with so many, Peter's intelligence and experience got in the way of his...
In early 1866, the Joint Committee of Fifteen on Reconstruction in the 39th Congress wrestled with the idea that they must write a 14th Amendment to address certain issues: Who is a citizen? How does the country's laws apply to former slaves and slave owners? Will former Confederate officials hold elected office now in the Union? Will former slaveholders receive any compensation for the loss of their property? Who will pay the Confederacy's debts? Most important, who will rule supreme: state...
Dear Cheyenne County, Our Senior Staff Writer and Sports Editor Mike Motz, was taken gravely ill this past Sunday and is currently in ICU at Cheyenne Regional. At this time, we are temporarily down both one of our two reporters and our sole Sports Writer. It is not an easy thing to do to admit one needs help, but we are a strong community newspaper, and I have zero doubt that this same community can rally behind one of its own during a very difficult time for both. He has worked tirelessly to...
Last week the State of Wyoming advanced a bill by Rep. Steve Harshman to eliminate most property taxes in Wyoming along with a two percent hike in the State's sales tax. Shifting the tax burden away from property taxes and onto sales taxes or consumption taxes is an idea which is now gaining a lot of steam all across the country. Besides Nebraska, states which have seen these kinds of bills in recent years include Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas. In 2020...
In December of 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln suggested a plan to reinstate the seceded states back into the Union, his "Ten Percent Plan." He would permit each Confederate state to form a new state government after ten percent of the voters in a state took loyalty oaths to the Union and recognized the former slaves' freedom. Following Lincoln's assassination on April 9, 1865, his successor, former Vice-President Andrew Johnson, decided to run with Lincoln's Ten P...
"Jesus said, a third time, 'Peter, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved and said, 'Lord, You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed My sheep.'" John 21:17 Uncle Guy and I raised six children together, of whom I was one. He had lost his left arm in a car accident before I knew him, but he refused to be handicapped. He could bridle and saddle a horse, then open and close a fence post gate with one hand. (For those who may not know, this gate was usually, barbed wire, three to five strands,...
The poet Robert Frost once said that a liberal is someone too broad-minded to take his own side in a fight. What would he say about those on the right who seem to be confused about the same question? Over the last few days, Donald Trump told a rally about how he'd supposedly warned the leader of a NATO nation that he'd encourage the Russians "to do whatever the hell they want" against countries that weren't spending enough on defense, while the former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson...
Last Thursday Gov. Jim Pillen delivered his State of the State address to the Unicameral Legislature. The primary focus of the speech was devoted to tax relief, especially property tax relief. So, I listened closely to hear his plans for tax relief. Although he vows to reduce property taxes by 40 percent, he never offered any kind of substantive plan for doing so. Gov. Pillen's plan continues several of the same stale practices which have never worked in the past, such as creating more property...
Joe Biden went to Valley Forge to give a big speech telling us how much he cares about defending democracy against the threat represented by Donald Trump. How much does President Biden care? Enough to give a speech defending democracy, one of what's sure to be many if Trump is his opponent. Biden's alarm about the precariousness of the American system, though, will never translate into actions he wouldn't otherwise want to take. To wit, if Joe Biden were, as a matter of the principle, devoted...
"He who heeds instruction gets understanding. Honoring the Lord is the rebuke of wisdom, and before honor is humility. The ear that hears rebukes (instruction) of life will abide among the wise." Proverbs 15:33. 31 Prophetic Utterance: "I founded Israel because I loved the people, says the Lord. I uphold the United States of America because the people loved Me." This truth has almost vanished from Christian ethics and the U.S. Constitution in the last 6 decades. Many are launched into...
My last full* year of school in Fairbanks, Alaska was at Monroe High School. Although it was called a "high school" the majority of the classes were designed to prepare the graduates for college. The classes we attended averaged anywhere from 1 year to 4 years ahead of what was taught in the public school system. From the middle of my Sophomore year through my Senior year at Monroe High School I participated in the Debate Club. Before that I was a member of the school choir. Partway though the...
To Whom It May Concern, The mischaracterization of Nebraska’s Opportunity Scholarship Act (LB753) is a willful attempt to mislead voters. In a true sense it does take tax dollars away from public schools but this is only a half-truth. The remaining unspoken truth is that for many years public schools have saved money from parents sending their children to nonpublic schools. The fact that this is a parent’s choice is irrelevant to the positive economic impact for Public schools that save immense costs while parents still pay the same taxes sup...
When I first arrived in the Nebraska Legislature in 2017, Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha stood in front of me on the legislative floor. He turned around and gave me some good advice. He told me to learn the rules. I began to read the rules. Upon doing so, I quickly learned how confusing the Rule Book of the Nebraska Legislature was. So, immediately upon adjournment last year, I turned my attention to re-writing the Rule Book. The project of re-writing the Rule Book of the Legislature focused...
Anyone following how weak and passive the U.S. has been in the face of provocations from our adversaries in the Middle East might conclude that the secretary of defense has gone missing. And, at least for a few days last week, he literally was. In an age when it's nearly impossible to go off the grid, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin managed it. He failed to notify the White House and other key players that he was hospitalized in the intensive care unit. This, needless to say, is not an...
