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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This past Sunday night, we faced a bit of a dilemma in our house. The English drawing room, cucumber sandwich and Earl Grey tea sipping drama, “Downton Abbey,” was scheduled to return for its third season, while at the same time, on another channel, was the dirty, dumb hillbilly reality show, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo!” Halloween special. My wife was torn. I did not have a dog in this hunt. My wife controls the remote, so for the most part we watch TV shows where women try on wedding dresses, couples go apartment shopping and housewi...
The toughest thing to do is usually the best thing for a person. These are words I often refer to when I have a very hard decision to make, or am going through a tough time where it would be oh so easy to move backwards instead of forward. For example, I have now been smoke free for 6 weeks and 1 day, a very, very tough thing to accomplish, especially considering this is the second time I have put this much effort into quitting. I say that, knowing many reading this will say, ‘but you have children, didn’t you put that much effort into it when...
The Supreme Court issued its controversial Roe v. Wade decision, which forced states to legalize abortion on January 22, 1973. Rather than ending the debate, the pro-life movement has continued and made some progress over the last 40 years. However, much work remains to protect the sanctity of innocent life, and I have worked with my colleagues in both parties to bring pro-life legislation to the floor and advance the rights of the unborn. Perhaps the best reflection of the growing pro-life movement is the success of the Annual March for Life...
January is “National Train Your Dog Month,” an activity that can lead to a surprising outcome. In 2011 a writer named Susan Orleans published a book on Rin-Tin-Tin. In the book she tells of an American soldier fighting in France during World War I who adopted a German Shepherd pup, brought it back to California, trained it, and the dog appeared in 23 silent films for Warner Brothers, becoming the most famous dog in the world and the number one box office star. In the 1960’s another Rin-T...
A few days after 6-year-old Noah Pozner was gunned down at Newtown’s Sandy Hook School, his mother, Veronique, gave an interview of searing clarity. Journalist Naomi Zeveloff, in a column for The Jewish Daily Forward, described the hardest part of her interview with Pozner. I don’t often provide lengthy excerpts, but this defies paraphrasing: “(Veronique) felt that (Noah’s) body had suffered too many indignities already; she was adamant that he not be autopsied. She wanted him to be buried with a Jewish prayer shawl and with a clear stone w...
Words are powerful. Some people think that one can only understand the true power of words if they like to read or write. But words are not saved for bookworms or novelists - words are for everyone. Words are a part of everyday language. The way someone uses words, what words they use and how they say them can tell a story about them. Just by listening to someone speak one can infer things like where they are from, where they have been, sometimes their level of education and sometimes even the social cliques they associate themselves with. Hobb...
Now the other shoes begin to drop. Voters knew in November that many of the promises Obama made in 2008 had been broken. The economy had not revived as he had promised it would (“or we’ll be talking about a one-term proposition”). He has not “changed the tone in Washington” – except for the worse. He didn’t prevent lobbyists from holding positions in his administration. He didn’t cut the deficit in half; he increased it radically. But voters apparently decided that the president deserved credit for good intentions. How long will that indul...
The beginning of a new Congress is typically a time of great excitement and an opportunity for lawmakers to refocus their priorities as we look ahead to the next two years. I remain optimistic about what can be accomplished in the 113th Congress, which began on January 3rd, however much of our business from the previous Congress remains unfinished. Before we can move forward, Congress must pass a responsible, long-term Farm Bill; agree to real spending reductions and reforms to stop the out-of-control growth of government and debt; and enact...
Last year’s attempt at a new five-year farm bill to replace the expiring policy was uprooted when the clock ran out. While I was pleased with the Senate-passed legislation, it never made its way to the President’s desk. The result was a last-minute extension of the current policy enacted in 2008 for yet another year. While this development was far from ideal, the alternative—reverting to policy from the 1940s—was a much worse option for farmers, ranchers and consumers. The archaic policy would have been difficult for the Department of Agricul...
Attention Doom-sayers – the newspaper industry is not dead. Kevin Slimp our guest editorialist to the right in today’s edition of the Sun-Telegraph goes to great lengths to point out that his personal experience and research affirm my claim. He got terribly upsent with a television news segment dedicated to spewing this opinionated rubbish on CBS’ 60 Minutes. Let’s take a look. When radio first emitted its first signal there came a speech from the mountain top that the newspaper industry would die out. There would be no more print: No more page...
My 13-year-old son received an iPod Touch for Christmas this year. I know my son. Probably as well as I’ve ever known anyone. And I knew, given time, he would lose his expensive gift. In an effort to soften the blow when the device did turn up missing, I had Zachary create a background screen with the words, “If you find this iPod, please email [email protected] to let my dad know you have it.” I had to tell you that story, so you would understand the reference to my son a little further down this column. Now for story number two. In the l...
This week, I announced a joint compact between the University of Nebraska and Nebraska State College System that would help ensure continued affordable access to higher education for Nebraska students and families. This compact will allow for a two year tuition freeze. A state investment in higher education would help ensure a strong University of Nebraska and Nebraska State College System. In Nebraska, we understand that education is the great equalizer and that’s why it is a priority for me. Investing in education is important to N...
I know this is an incredibly controversial topic in which people have their own opinions, thoughts and ideas. These are mine, not meant to offend anyone or anger anyone, but rather possibly make someone think a little bit. Please remember this is my view and I do not expect anyone to understand or agree with me. So much talk about guns and gun control due to yet another shooting at a school, yet another. And then there is all the coverage about the man who decided to take his guns to the movies in Colorado. Of course this coverage comes in betw...
Years ago, when the candidate I was working for rejected my advice, I made the mistake of going back to the headquarters and telling my loyal staff (who together had formulated the rejected proposal) that our recommendation had been declined. I did my best, I told them, but I just couldn’t make the sale. One of my closest pals, and one of the smartest politicos I’ve ever known, took me aside to tell me I had made a monstrous mistake. I thought he meant my failure to sell our plan. No, he said, that was clearly impossible. The mistake was tel...
On January 3, I had the privilege of taking the oath of office and becoming Nebraska’s 39th United States Senator. I am grateful that members of my family and so many friends traveled from Nebraska to share this special day, and I am honored by the trust placed in me by Nebraskans. I am also thankful to have such an excellent partner in Senator Mike Johanns, who has proudly served our state and nation for many years. Senator Johanns has been gracious and welcoming as I transition to W...
Most mornings I am stirred awake by the loudest, most annoying alarm clock one could possibly imagine. I made it as annoying as possible for the fear that anything less would result in my inability to open my eyes and start the day, sleeping through the beginning of my workday. Regardless of the method I use to wake up, my feelings toward removing myself from my bed stay pretty constant. I don’t want to leave, ever. I usually roll over, look at the clock, turn off the alarm and my to-do list for the day races through my mind. The whole p...
Just a few days after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the New York Times’ Paul Krugman crowed triumphantly about the federal government’s response to the disaster. “[A]fter Katrina the government seemed to have no idea what it was doing; this time it did. And that’s no accident: the federal government’s ability to respond effectively to disaster always collapses when antigovernment Republicans hold the White House, and always recovers when Democrats take it back.” What a fairy tale. Mature adults unde...
This new year brings to Washington a fresh start. Last week, we welcomed to the 113th Congress many new faces, including my colleague Senator Deb Fischer. I am proud to be joined by such a competent and capable leader who has aptly served Nebraska for years. I am confident Deb will bring the same passion to Capitol Hill, and I look forward to working with her to address the issues facing our state and country. Although it’s a new year and a new session, many of the important issues we must tackle are far from novel. Our country’s debt has gro...
We are nearing the end of these weekly columns as my Senate offices are nearly closed and computers as well as equipment are being returned to the Senate. December 31st is the last day for my staff. I will officially leave office January 13, 2013. After 20 years of public service, 8 as governor and 12 as senator, it is during these final weeks that I have a growing concern about the ability of Congress to work together, put aside partisanship, and address our country’s problems. I’ve found that President Lincoln’s admonishment more than 150 y...
When we sell our house, I will tell the realtor to advertise the house as having six bedrooms and two and a quarter baths. That’s because a full bath is one with a bathtub, a sink, and a completely working toilet. A half bath is one with a sink and a completely working toilet. A quarter bath is what we have off our kitchen. The first two bathrooms came with the house when it was built in 1917. The powder room off our kitchen came a couple years later and is attached the sewer line via 35 feet of horizontal sewer pipe. The pipe has developed c...
The 25th Annual Governor’s Ag Conference will be held February 12-13 at the Younes Conference Center in Kearney. I invite all Nebraskans to attend this event and participate in discussions that focus on the future of the state’s number one industry. The theme for this year’s conference is “A Platform for Nebraska Agriculture’s Future.” The conference will challenge the farmers and ranchers, agribusiness representatives, and policy and business leaders in attendance to think about some of the key policies and practices that will drive agric...
I never will forget the first time I met a Russian orphan who had just been adopted by American parents. It was 2003, and I was on a flight out of Moscow. A little boy with big brown eyes sat in the seat next to me. A man sat on the other side of the boy, and it was clear from their clenched hands that they were traveling together. I was scribbling in a notebook when I noticed that the child was leaning over, trying to read. I smiled and asked his name. “He doesn’t speak much English,” the man said, smiling. “My wife and I just adopted him and...
One of the hardest things to do is to stick to a workout program, or even working out as often as you know you should. For the past four years now I have alternated between P90X, Slim in 6 and Insanity, keeping a fairly steady workout plan. Of course prior to this past year the work out plan was easy; work out more times a week than not or pull a double. Well, since starting a 40 hour a weeker I have had the pleasure – pleasure only because I can now identify and have true empathy – to understand how tough it is to keep to any workout schedule...
Every year since 1976, a college in Michigan, Lake Superior State University, publishes late in the year its List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English. Examples from past years include “first time ever,” and “dot.com.” Among the recently-announced winners for 2012 are: “amazing,” “shared sacrifice,” “occupy,” “man cave,” “the new normal,” “ginormous,” and “thank you in advance,” a phrase that “is a condescending way to say, ‘Since I already thanked you, you have to do this.’” The A...
This past year has been filled with many important policy debates, legislative accomplishments, and exciting new developments for Nebraska. I want to take a moment to highlight some of these events and reflect upon the year. By far the most pressing issue facing our nation is the economy. We must continue to find ways to help businesses grow so they can create jobs. We also cannot address our economic challenges without addressing the nation’s runaway debt. Our current $16 trillion debt has ballooned to such a serious situation where each t...
