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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Only Palestinians live inside the Gaza Strip, a skinny stretch of flat coastal plain on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, sandwiched between Egypt and Israel. Gaza is only 25 miles long, and an average of four miles wide. Yet, 1.85 million Palestinians call it home. It is densely populated. It is impoverished. It suffers from 44% unemployment. Electrical power is now down to four hours per day. It is on, then it is off, a daily reminder that the Israeli’s control the flow of Diesel f...
When I was a young girl and my dad didn’t like what we were doing he would say, “I’d rather slam my hand in a car door.” I think that happened this week. As we’ve all been awaiting the 2020 election results I feel like I kept slamming my hand in a car door. It began when the heating element in our hot water heater went out. In our attempts to repair it ourselves, we had to mobilize some of our paint and stain we keep in our store room so we would have room to work. After completing the proje...
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs creates a theme for Veterans Day each year. For 2020, the theme is “Vision: Veterans in Focus.” It’s a reminder to remember the years of service and sacrifice our nation’s veterans have given throughout our country’s history. It’s also a call to look toward the future of supporting and showing gratitude to those who serve. As Americans, the peace and prosperity we enjoy wouldn’t be possible without our veterans. Time and again throughout our republic’s hi...
Today (Wednesday) is Veterans Day. Our forefathers risked their lives in order to preserve our constitutional republic as well as the freedoms contained in our American Constitution. These principles of liberty are worth defending and they are worth dying for. Remember to thank a veteran today for preserving our American way of life. Unfortunately, our great American way of life is still being threatened today. I am a Constitutionalist. Constitutionalism is the political philosophy that...
On Monday, Oct. 26, the Senate gave its consent to confirm Amy Comey Barrett as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. She is an excellent choice, and she will be a role model for young women across the country. Her life is proof of what women can accomplish, and her beautiful family shows that we can do it and keep balance in our personal lives. I was honored to speak with Justice Barrett at the start of her confirmation process. The opinions she authored as a judge on the Seventh...
If you missed the Senate hearings with the titans of Tech last week, you missed a classic Washington bleep-show. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey looked like an over-dedicated Civil War re-enactor. Facebook’s CEO Mark Zukerberg at least put on a tie, but delivered wooden recitations of written talking points punctuated by deer-in-the-headlights expressions during questioning by senators. The hearings came about after Twitter, Facebook and Google were accused of removing or “throttling” content poste...
We have a dog, again. Or maybe better said is he has us. I used to smile at, maybe quietly question, people who had the “100 pound lap dog.” The examples I think of were probably 100 pounds or more by the time I met them, or maybe not. The end result was the same, a dog big enough to request his own zip code also indignantly acts like his has a place on the couch, the love seat, the bed... even snooping on the countertop. I remember watching the movie “Marley and Me” and thinking “you guys need...
Mr. Benson’s title presents itself as part of pamphlet from Arab propaganda, or from anti Jews, or from anti-Israel provocateurs, or from all three. In the first paragraph he continues an antagonistic approach with this quotation: “…its occupation of the rest of the territory seized in 1967 is ongoing”. Israel re-incorporated Judea and Samaria land after it defeated several Arab countries’ armies, its enemies, in a 6 days war. He presents that quote as irrefutable truth. Far from the truth it...
Over the course of the past several weeks I have been outlining the Nebraska Taxpayer Bill of Rights which will appear in Legislation I plan to introduce in January for a consumption tax. The consumption tax will replace the State income tax, property tax, State sales tax, and inheritance tax. It is the best solution to Nebraska’s tax problems. The right that I will talk about this week pertains to the Nebraska Department of Revenue. This right of the people states that “The Nebraska Department...
Voters will soon choose which of two flawed men will lead our nation the next four years. There are very strong feelings on both sides and no matter who wins, half the nation will be angry. Therein lies the challenge. In making my choice, I find it best to shut off my emotions. It’s true, facts don’t care about feelings. Bad outcomes result when decisions are made based on how we feel because feelings change day to day and facts don’t. Joe Biden has been a part of the Washington swamp for 47 ye...
There is no doubt that the 2020 election is upon us. It has reared its ugly head and I don’t think November 4th is going to calm anything down. Francis Shaeffer warned, “I believe the majority of the silent majority, young and old, will sustain the loss of liberties without raising their voices as long as their own lifestyles are not threatened.” Isn’t this the truth right now? I’m not quite sure who is the silent majority, but for Pete’s sake get off your couch. It is imperative that we retain...
Of all times to be reminded of a bike ride, this one arrives just as the first real snow of the season is predicted. My last bike tour took place in my new backyard, sort of. It was a round trip tour of the Panhandle viewing things I hadn’t seen for a long time, some I was aware of and some that were close enough if something went really wrong I was confident I could get home. It was also close enough to be tempted go left instead of right at certain intersections. It happens when you’re in a p...
Today, we visited a local nursing home. We all brought baked goods for the staff and made festive cards for the residents. After placing these things on the front bench to be picked up, we started to walk. Window to window, stopping at the blue masking tape X’s (residents who welcomed visitors). As the brisk fall air swirled, my son and daughter, along with the other kids from our group, would wave and blow kisses, playing patty-cake with the elderly through the glass. Smiles and a thumbs-up a...
In the early 2000s, there was a program that allowed people to connect. It was fun. It was new. It was treated as playful and cutting edge. It predated the platforms most of us use today. About the same time, Facebook was developed at Harvard University by then college student Mark Zuckerberg. What started as likely a dorm-room geek project has become a global phenomenon beyond definition. What has also happened is the electronic communication world has equally exploded without definition. Is...
I’ve made no secret of my independent political leanings in recent years. Over the course of my life I’ve held views that were alternatively considered quite liberal, quite conservative and idealistically libertarian. I’ve voted for democrats, voted for republicans, voted libertarian and voted independent. The longer I live, the more frustrated I am with candidates put forward by any of the major parties. In 2016 the republicans had an impressive field of primary candidates for president. There...
As pandemic restrictions loosen, Nebraska is growing again. While some states continue to struggle through the current coronavirus impacted economy, Nebraska now has the lowest unemployment rate of any state in the country. We have struck a balance between slowing the spread of the virus to preserve our hospital capacity and letting people return to a more normal life. In doing so, we have avoided the major budget shortfalls that are being faced by many states. Our financial position was so...
I spent nearly half my life working in TV and radio newsrooms. Much of that time was spent working as a weatherman, but often I was tasked with double duty. Over the years I worked as a producer, news anchor, news reporter and news director in addition to weather responsibilities. This shows you I’m qualified to evaluate and comment about news broadcasting in America. My journalism professor at the University of Minnesota taught us as the last of a dying breed. He defined the role of a j...
There are some experiences in life that never fully get filed away in the caverns of memory. They have a way of always staying near to the top. Compare them to the worn-out hiking boots or jeans your wife wants you to throw away. That event is so deep in the past you should be blowing dust off the book cover. Nevertheless, it is a memory that brings back a smile like it happened this morning. Dads have a way of stockpiling those memories. Some of those memories are reflections of previous...
In June of 1967, Israel’s army captured the Sinai and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and East Jerusalem and the West Bank from the Jordanians. Although Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt in 1982, after brokering a deal with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, “its occupation of the rest of the territory seized in 1967 is ongoing.” The West Bank is a landlocked strip of land, 2,263 square miles, sandwiched between Jordan to the east, and Israel to the north, west, and south. It is the geog...
There is open talk of civil war in America. The Washington Examiner last week published results of a poll showing 61 percent of Americans say the U.S. is on the verge of a civil war, and 52 percent of respondents said they’re taking steps to prepare for one. Why is this happening? Dr. John MacArthur, one of America’s most well-known pastors and an expert in biblical exposition, penned an op-ed piece for “The Daily Wire” last week in which he basically echoed what I wrote in these pages on Sept...
I admit I didn’t see the debate last week. I had a higher calling. Quite honestly, the fifth quarter reviews were enough. The stage was set with two men who, by their life experiences, should have been able to sit down over lunch and have a productive discussion. They should have been able to say “Now, Don, we can’t do it that way because…” and “Joe, just look at what I’m presenting.” But that’s not what happened. That level of communication seldom happens before the public. Instead, at least...
As you may know, each week I have been writing about what I am calling the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. Last week I discussed what is wrong with taxing incomes. This week I will expose what is wrong with taxing property. Property taxes come in two forms, personal property taxes and real estate taxes. In Nebraska personal property taxes are imposed on all business equipment, whereas real estate taxes are imposed on commercial, residential, and agricultural real estate. The third right contained in...
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg (RGB) earlier this month and President Trump’s subsequent nomination of Amy Coney Barrett (ACB) to fill her seat has set in motion a chain of events some speculate could lead to another American civil war. The level of hatred being flung at ACB before she even has a chance to field questions from concerned citizens and senators is yet another example of collectivist wrath and judgment in a “guilt by association” context. ACB isn’t Catholic i...
Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the right word and the wrong word is really a large matter. ‘Tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Some writers choose big words to fill up a typewritten page. For example, William F. Buckley, Jr. built an extensive vocabulary and pulled it out often to impress his readers. He once wrote, “I react against declamatory rudeness that is coercive in intent.” Now what did he mean? I think he meant to say that when he hears ano...
“Without a vision, the people perish.” That might sound a little preachy, critical, or condemning even. It might even sound a little egotistical. Go my way or you’re wrong. Well, actually that isn’t the point. Even in my age, I never thought I would sit in a newsroom or have a conversation with another news hound in the region who is equally concerned about stories packaged as news but even we have to admit are on the edge of “fake news.” It isn’t because we do or don’t agree with the writer...
