Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sorted by date Results 755 - 779 of 1718
Several years ago, there was an Adam Sandler movie called “Click.” On the surface it was the perfect story line. An executive acquired what looks like a generic remote control that can be purchased at any given retail store. The remote allows the character to zoom past all of the difficult, uncomfortable or otherwise uninteresting chapters of life; like reading every other chapter of an epic novel and expecting to feel satisfied with the last few sentences. In this particular adventure, he beg...
On September 11, 2001, the United States of America was changed forever. The world watched and held its breath as terrorists attacked our nation. In New York City, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon, Americans lost their lives at the hands of ruthlessness. While we commemorate that terrible day annually, it is receiving special attention this year, on its twentieth anniversary. As we honor the victims of one of the worst days in American history, we continue to pray for their families, and we...
I’m seeing things happen in America today that point to the end of the republic as envisioned by our founders. Collectivists have assumed control of the government, education system, media, corporate boardrooms and even large denominations. As a result, collectivist ideologies are now being forced on everyone, and anyone who resists is “banished” from society as surely as those exiled from kingdoms in the past were for failing to swear fealty to the throne. Our founders envisioned a colle...
During the 1990’s, the Clinton administration received sufficient warnings that Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization, al-Qaeda, intended to continue to carry out attacks upon U. S. citizens and their property, by enlisting suicide bombers. From bin Laden’s cave complex in Tora Bora, a mountainous region in northeast Afghanistan, he recruited and trained individuals from across the globe to engage in terrorist operations. He was at war with the United States, and few inside the Federal govern...
With summer coming to a close, I have been spending my time visiting with Nebraskans and traveling our state. The conversations I have at meetings, community events, round-table discussions, and tours of local businesses are invaluable to me as I work on federal policies to improve the lives of people in our state. In Lincoln, I had the opportunity to meet with the Nebraska Association for Home Healthcare and Hospice. This group helps ensure Nebraskans can receive home care and hospice...
These days a certain segment in our political arena is hell bent on centralizing more and more power into the federal government. They are using end runs hoping the common citizen does not see it. Misrepresentation of their agenda is also used to prevent the real purpose of their legislation being discovered. The radical left is relying on a few things in order to blind side the mass of Americans: a left leaning news media that routinely skews the news in one direction, an internet controlled...
In case you haven’t heard the news, the Nebraska State Board of Education voted 5-1 on Friday to indefinitely postpone development of their new health education standards. Voting in favor of the proposal to halt the process were board members Robin Stevens, Lisa Fricke, Patti Gubbels, Maureen Nickels and Patsy Koch Johns. Voting against the proposal was Jacquelyn Morrison. Deborah Neary abstained from the vote and Patricia Timm was absent from the meeting. This represents a huge victory for t...
I was interim editor at a nearby newspaper about 20 years ago. I approached the office each day with the goal of turning out the best paper I could with the resources I had, staff and technology. On Sept. 11, 2001, I entered the building a little earlier than usual, even more focused on my deadline than usual. I had stories to review and pages to design and only a few hours to get it all done. Then the phone rang. This call is both expected and odd. It was my publisher asking if I was watching...
Dear Editor: September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This is a time for each of us to reach out to those around us and take steps to prevent suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s theme for the month is “Together, we can help #StopSuicide.” One action I’m taking this month to help #StopSuicide is contacting my public officials and urging them to prioritize funding for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and our local crisis call centers. In July 2022, the new 988 number will be fully operati...
Twenty years ago, the United States suffered the terrorist attacks of 9/11. No one old enough to remember that day will ever forget it. It was surreal to watch the Twin Towers collapse and heartbreaking to see images of first responders covered head to toe in dust, searching through the debris in Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks claimed 2,977 innocent lives. The casualties included a number of individuals with ties to Nebraska. Jennifer Dorsey-Howley, a graduate of Lincoln Southeast, worked at Aon...
I’ll leave it to other pundits to speak about the utter ineptitude and disastrous incompetence demonstrated by American leaders in regards to Afghanistan. There will be investigations, hearings and inquiries into how our withdrawal from that nation was carried out. Bottom line is what’s done is done. I want to focus on the consequences we will now face as a nation. America has just continued an embarrassing track record of abandoning people who’ve helped us and nations/jurisdictions that have...
The United States departed Afghanistan on August 31, after almost twenty years of nation-building, the most recent foreign power to surrender that harsh, cold, Himalayan terrain, “the graveyard of empires,” back to the Afghan people. The British tried three times to tame the poor but fierce Afghan fighters. In the first Afghan War, 1839-1840, the British marched in with high hopes, but suffered one of the worst military disasters of the nineteenth century, an outright slaughter. The Afghan peo...
I’m reading some news stories of the day when I am reminded of a bike ride I took several years ago. I was a rookie in many respects, and in comparison to the two guys I hoped to ride with. On this day, riding an older bike as I recall, I was promptly told to skip this ride. I wasn’t ready. My equipment — tires — were not safe. So how’s that tie in with current events? Don’t stage an event you’re not prepared for. The American people were shocked to learn President Biden apparently ma...
To The Editor, This goes out to the wonderful people of this community. How do we ever thank you enough? You took time out of your already busy day to help find Roger, and you did not quit until he was found. What an awesome community and beyond we have! A big thank-you go to the following: Lodgepole Fire Department; Gurley Fire Department; Dalton Fire Department; Ron Leal with his drone; Adam Frerichs and crew of the Cheyenne County Sheriff Department; the Nebraska State Patrol; Chadron - Scottsbluff - Troupe E – Sidney – North Platte; Sea...
How well informed are you? Do you get all of the news or only snippets of the news? Unfortunately, keeping up with all of the news today is like taking on a second full-time job. Few of us have the time, the energy, or the interest in researching every angle on every story. Complicating matters is the fact that our major media outlets slant the news according to their own political worldviews. Mainstream journalism (not our local press) is very biased. Seldom does a person ever get both sides...
Energy reliability and independence are pillars of our country’s national security. A reliable power grid has helped our nation build the world’s largest economy, and our focus on developing domestic sources of energy has made our country’s fleet of automobiles and airplanes less dependent on overseas oil. Earlier this year, U.S. News and World Report ranked Nebraska #3 nationally for power grid reliability and #8 overall in their energy category which “tracks the reliability of power grids, ren...
It’s difficult to write about events in Afghanistan because the situation is fluid. I write this column on weekends and with things in Kabul changing on a daily basis, the news we all get is ever changing. But one thing that has not changed for me this week is the outrage I feel over the way America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has been handled by the Biden administration. Aside from the devastating impact the situation has had, and will continue to have for years, on American foreign pol...
The cancel culture runs strong in America today. The cancel culture seeks to destroy anyone who dissents from the political agenda of the Left. For instance, after My Pillow founder, Mike Lindell, publicly questioned the election results of 2020, he was ditched by 20 retailers who refused to continue selling his products. If Thomas Jefferson lived today, he would likely find himself being cancelled by Google and having his account suspended by Facebook. Those who seek to regulate truth on the...
In the next year, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make its most important decision regarding abortion law and states’ rights in over a quarter-century. The Court’s ruling could overturn Roe v. Wade and give states more latitude in passing pro-life initiatives, including legislation limiting abortion in the early stages of pregnancy. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision deprived Nebraska and other states of the authority to prohibit abortions before a baby can viabl...
I’ve held off as long I could before writing this article, and I will not apologize. For the second time in my life I feel ashamed of my nation’s government, both Democrat and Republican, and I will not apologize. The craven act of cowardice by our federal government in surrendering Afghanistan to the Taliban terrorist organization is, without a doubt, the blackest and most shameful act of our country’s central government. We were not defeated on the field of battle. We were not over born at th...
I was 14 when Saigon fell, old enough to remember pictures of desperate people crawling over one another as they tried to reach American helicopters evacuating people from city rooftops when communist forces closed in. I couldn’t help but recall those images as I watched what seemed like the same story unfold in Afghanistan over the weekend. The parallels are similar. As the Taliban advanced on Kabul, increasing numbers of personnel that had assisted Americans in the region defected. As town a...
School begins this month, perhaps this week. Teachers again will introduce students to questions on math, science, English, social studies, and foreign languages. I wish them all well. No subject is easy, but some say math is the hardest. I remember geometry as my hardest. Theorems spooked me. The following year I found algebra more enlightening. Graph coordinates with x’s and y’s, as well as logarithms seemed to click in place. Jordan Ellenberg, a math whiz from Wisconsin, just published a new...
Have the Regents at the University of Nebraska spun out of control? Recent decisions by the Board of Regents suggests that the University of Nebraska is no longer the land grant University system that it once was. Because the University of Nebraska system is a land grant University, the Board of Regents are supposed to be accountable to the people of the State. Unfortunately, today they are beholden to students, faculty, the teachers’ union, and political activists, who do not share the same v...
Some folks have asked me why I write what I do. What is the bedrock upon which I have formulated my beliefs, attitudes and behavior? First here is my definition of ethics: they are the rules and standards I use in governing my attitudes and conduct in all situations and places. Being a Christian, the bedrock foundation of these rules and standards are Biblically based as much as a faulty human such as myself can understand and follow. My personal code of ethics has developed over a long period...
In 2021, communism seems like a distant threat to many. Generations of Americans have learned about the atrocities committed by Stalin and Lenin in Russia. Many are familiar with Mao’s Great Leap Forward, which led to the Great Chinese Famine and starvation and death for millions. Sadly, communism isn’t something that’s just studied in history books. There’s growing awareness across our state and country that it’s reinventing itself right here at home under the label of Critical Race Theory (CRT...
