Okay! Time to write my article. The wife is working nights, which means I’m home with the kids, but how hard can it be? The readers need to hear my blockbuster commentary on... wait... no, honey, we can’t have pancakes again for dinner. Because we had them last night. Because we have to eat different things. Because that’s how we stay healthy. Because being healthy is good for … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… The words of graduates
In this issue of the Fillmore County Journal, our readers will find a special section dedicated to the Class of 2018. Every year, this is an enormous project involving all seven school districts in our circulation area. Collectively, there are upwards of 300 students graduating from Chatfield, Fillmore Central, Houston, Kingsland, Lanesboro, Mabel-Canton, and … [Read more...]
Letter about Catalpa LLC mega-facility…
To the Editor, Thank you to Loni Kemp for alerting readers to the Catalpa LLC pig concentration mega-facility proposed in the Newburg area. 4,980 sows packed together like sardines and a nearly nine million gallon manure pit! Uffda. This proposal cannot be taken lightly by those of us who live in the fractured rock of karst country. The magnitude of a manure spill from … [Read more...]
Media burdens run two ways
I was chatting with a group of students the other day when one of them looked me in the eye and commented, “You’re very tough on journalists.” I had to plead guilty. Of course I’m tough on journalists. Maybe even as tough on them as they are on politicians. Our representative democracy depends on journalists doing their jobs. Why? Because it’s essential that citizens get the … [Read more...]
Devil’s Advocate…Be Here Now
Earlier this May, I watched helplessly as part of the community I have been a part of for more than a decade was incinerated by molten rock in Leilani, Hawaii. It happened both very quickly and slowly. Agonizingly slowly. Cracks under homes and streets opened up and lava erupted out, flooding Leilani in molten rock over days. To lose a home in a tornado, hurricane, or flood … [Read more...]
Letter about No proof needed…
To the Editor, I’ve read both of Mr. Herb Panko’s commentaries from March 26 and May 7. His first presupposition in the March 26 commentary sets the tone for everything. I am sure many of the readers caught this sleight of phrase: “Since there are frequent articles in the FCJ on religion, specifically on Christianity and by writers who claim the authenticity of their own … [Read more...]
Letter about Response to anti-gun letters published…
To the Editor, First off, AR-15 style firearms are more appropriately termed “modern sporting rifles” used by hunters. Next, modern sporting rifles are not assault weapons. An assault weapon is an automatic military arm used in battle. Automatic firearms have been severely restricted since 1934. Next, MSRs function like other semi-automatic sporting firearms by firing … [Read more...]
The process of selectivity
By Donna Buckbee Rushford, MN First of all, I wish to thank Pastor Bobbie Horning for taking a stand against violence against gays and lesbians. I’m grateful, too, for similar assurances from my Christian friends. Non-violence is one of the many things I respect and love about the Biblical Jesus. There were other Biblical teachings embedded in my letter of December 2017, … [Read more...]
The faith of the atheist faithful
Why do certain atheists continually proselytize their faith? One would think that they would be more timid about expounding on their beliefs and would be cautious in insisting that there is no Creator, no God. Some seem really angry and full of hate for God and his followers. Why do atheists use their faith to try destroy mine? With their contempt and vitriol, what are … [Read more...]
Christianity 101…no misconceptions here
By Flip Huggenvik Big Spring, MN Herb Panko’s comments on my rebuttal to his original commentary piece are interesting. And he does make some good points on contradictions and the literal interpretation of the Bible. I am a Gentile...a non-Jew. The Bible was basically written by the Jews, about the Jews, and for the Jews. (With the exception of Paul’s letters to some of the … [Read more...]