Opinion

The announcement by Google was short on details but long on potential for the Cornhusker state. The company said it was spending $13 billion on new and expanded data centers, including one in Nebraska. Actually, a map showed two spots in the Omaha area, but again, details were short...

This week passed by without much controversy. LB319 and LB155 were presented to the Natural Resources committee. Senator Moser introduced LB319 to make minor changes to statute governing the Department of Natural Resources’ policy of notices, rules, and regulations. ...

We’ve long been a fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s 2000 book, “The Tipping Point,” which contends that minor changes can have big results. Perhaps some Nebraska lawmakers have read the book as well. Or, maybe the proposal, LB103, isn’t such a minor change after all...

Kathy Wilmot recently submitted a letter to the editor regarding Senator Steve Halloran's Legislative Resolution 7 (LR7) that is misleading and full of errors. LR7 uses Article V of the Constitution to propose amendments to restrain federal spending, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and impose term limits on Congress and other federal officials...

Here is a rhetorical question. Have you noticed that when a school acquires a fleet of busses they all too often cancel, or declare a late start, school when the weather goes bad? It has been some 60 years since I attended public school but I cannot ever remember school being delayed or canceled due to weather. ...

Many of us, especially those who live paycheck to paycheck, can’t see beyond the weekly bills. We borrow money for cars, looking only at the monthly payments instead of the final cost of the car, thousands more, because it was purchased with the bank’s money instead of our own...

First let me say, "Kudos to the young man from Stratton, who pointed out the great harm that is in store for Nebraskans if bills LB167, LB168, LB627 were to pass." The article was published in the Opinion section, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. The writer does a good job of pointing out the design of our Creator in deciding on a dual, male-female, not a male-female, homosexual, transgender, a sort of smorgasbord variety of human kinds or natures...

Last Monday at lunch, the proprietor of one of the busiest restaurants in McCook came out to where I was sitting to congratulate me on my even-handed approach to understanding the airline service we have in McCook and the consequences of such. He told me that I did a masterful job of explaining the dilemmas we sometimes face when dealing with a small airline without putting the blame on anyone except maybe Boutique personnel in Denver. ...

The third week of session is coming to a close. The new Natural Resources committee members are quickly picking up on the subject material and are engaged with our committee’s bills. This week, LB302 and LB307 were introduced to the committee. I introduced LB302 at the request of Governor Ricketts. ...

Creative people deserve to be rewarded for their talent and the hard work it takes to win an audience for their creations. That’s the purpose of copyright law, and it serves society well — top authors, actors, directors and musicians are among the highest paid people around...

With little effort, Southwest Nebraskans can enjoy choice, locally-sourced beef through a local locker plant, directly from a rancher or by placing an order at a steak house. But how many of us actually care where that T-bone was born? Fill up our shopping carts at the grocery or big-box store, and most of that food traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to reach our pantries or refrigerators...

Ironic it is that those who protest with the most vociferous of objections to man’s misappropriation of nature have no reservation in misappropriating the nature of man … It is an ontological truth that man is more than spirit and will. Man has a definite and complementary human nature – male and female – which exists outside of man’s will; a nature whose design is the exclusive dominion of God, by whom man was created. ...

The orderly rows of corn and soybeans, alfalfa fields and sweeping meadows of the Platte Valley, so peaceful on a calm spring day, was the scene of violent conflict in years past, as European settlers tried to make their way to the West Coast or build a home on the prairie by displacing Native Americans...

I've recently been studying the mindsets and personalities of notorious criminals and not surprisingly, Ted Bundy surfaces at the top of the list repeatedly. This charming young man was educated and well spoken, to meet him in person, I've been told, was to be subdued by his compelling nature. Even law enforcement agents were overcome by his ability to portray a well-intended young man...

Oh but your conservative-leaning old columnist has been chuckling and having enjoyment over the pickle that the Democrats have gotten themselves into. Case in point. Governor Ralph Northam, D-VA, goes on radio to give support to a late-term abortion law that his State’s governing body is contemplating. ...

Giant brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev said today it “fully supports” corn growers and will continue to invest in the industry. “Bud Light’s Super Bowl commercials are only meant to point out a key difference in Bud Light from some other light beers,” it said in a statement...

The Legislature is getting into full swing. Hearings began last week, and we have already advanced a few bills on the floor. I want to highlight a few bills which I believe are significant to us in Southwestern Nebraska and the greater state of Nebraska as well...

I am writing to thank McCook residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season. Because of the generosity of donors in McCook and across the United States, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, collected more than 8.8 million shoeboxes in 2018. ...

Recently I read some statements written by Kevin Theriot of LDS Family Services. He has spent 38 years helping people overcome addictions. This brought memories of a doctor who had been my physician since I was 14 years old. In 1972, he moved his practice to Eldora, outside of Boulder, Colo...

Few media workers are more aware of the changes in recent years than someone who works at a newspaper, but a Sports Illustrated and PCMag survey about the Super Bowl shows television is feeling the pressure as well. The biggest broadcast of the year is increasingly being delivered via the internet instead of the traditional over-the-air or cable signals...

Congratulations to Sehnert’s Bakery and Bieroc Cafe for being one of only five eateries across the United States, and the only one in Nebraska, to earn an “America’s Classics” award from the James Beard Foundation, an organization honoring one of the first celebrity chefs...

We try to get the point across as often as possible, but it’s even more important that people hear the message now: You have something somebody needs, and only you, or someone just like you, can provide it. We’re getting a taste of winter weather, but only a taste, compared to our friends to the north and east, where temperatures could hit minus 30 degrees and wind chills of 60 below...

This past weekend Grannie Annie and your scribe met our son in Lincoln from his home in Southern California. Together we attended the funeral of the Reverend Doctor Merwyn Davidson in Aurora, Nebraska. Oft times in life we neglect to say thanks for the men and women who touch our lives in positive ways. ...

Dear Editor, Sen. Halloran of Hastings introduced LR 7, a “call” for a constitutional convention for the purpose of amending the U.S. Constitution. They say it is not a “constitutional convention.” According to Black’s Law Dictionary, a Constitutional Convention is “A duly constituted assembly of Black’s Delegates or representatives of the people of a state or nation for the purpose of framing, revising or amending its constitution.” So, LR 7 IS a constitutional convention...

It happens at least once a day, usually twice or more. Your cell phone rings and the caller ID indicates a number with a prefix something like yours. It might even be a number that belongs to one of the friends on your contact list. But it’s not her; it’s someone talking about your credit care account, your car warranty or a student loan. Funny, your car has been out of warranty for 10 years and you never went to college...