It’s been many decades now, but I still remember a piece of advice I got not long after entering Congress. It came in passing from a prominent journalist as we were talking about the bewildering array of issues Congress faced. Every day, he told me, I should ask myself a simple question: “What’s the most important thing to be doing today?” He was raising what may be the … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project A loving home
By Leah Himlie Imagine that there are two couples. One of the couples is pregnant without wanting to be. The other couple would die to have a child but is not able to. Instead of aborting, the pregnant couple is pressured into carrying the pregnancy to term and putting the child up for adoption. The other couple goes through all the legal steps needed to adopt a child. Their … [Read more...]
Bringing our resources to a Sprout! event near you
At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) we sometimes joke that we are our region’s “best kept secret.” But it is true that despite the fact that we are regularly out in our 20-county region visiting with partners and facilitating trainings, we find that there are still many people who do not know about SMIF. Unfortunately, that could mean an entrepreneur who doesn’t … [Read more...]
April Fool
To the Editor, My congratulations on one of the best April Fool jokes I have ever been taken in by, I’m still laughing! Nels and Otis will be talked about in the community for a while! Thanks for the laugh! Kent Dornink Preston, Minn. … [Read more...]
End Minnesota’s abortion-until-birth policy
To the Editor, Extreme pro-abortion legislation in New York and other states has shocked much of the country. But did you know that, even here in Minneosta, the law currently allows abortion at any time during pregnancy and for any reason? There is no legal limit in effect. This is an extreme policy wildly out-of-step with the view of most Americans and most … [Read more...]
Here we go again
To the Editor, Making it tougher for smokers, no smoking here, this building is smoke-free, raise the age to 21, no smoking in the park, and the list goes on and on. Yet the problem caused by tobacco users doesn’t hold a candle to the problem caused by liquor. I have never heard of anyone getting killed or even injured by anyone just because of tobacco use, but users of … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… April Fools’ Day edition
On Monday, April 1, 2019, the Fillmore County Journal celebrated April Fools’ Day with a few little surprises for readers. Our front page lead story was about Nels Isaacson and his Jesse James Gang gold discovery at Mystery Cave. Reporter Rich Wicks deserves all the credit on this one. He’s an outstanding storyteller; both fiction and non-fiction. So, in case you were … [Read more...]
Science doesn’t care what you believe
Climate change is not a science problem. There is consensus among the scientists that climate change is real, caused by human activity and what needs to be done. Taking action is not awaiting scientific consensus. It is awaiting political consensus and economic understanding. Those denying reality are the problem and will be judged harshly by history. Unlike nuclear war … [Read more...]
What is in a word?
I was born in 1933. In my early years growing up there was no television, computer or iPhone. For me the defining moment, a mighty leap in my development, came when I was six and took out a library card! I became enamored with words and the pictures they conjured up in my mind. I would seek out a cozy corner in our home and curl up for hours reading. My mother saw this as … [Read more...]
Democracy will ameliorate capitalism and socialism
To the Editor, Carbon, coal and oil Must be left in the soil. This is the jingle Of the student climate crisis signal. The nuclear bomb does not belong In any civilized realm; This is the prioritized wisdom Of the present student kingdom. The whole wide-world is blessed By the youth conscience so possessed. Those in retirement have the … [Read more...]
Political and policy skills are merging
Here’s a surprise: the skills that can be used to win in politics are increasingly the skills needed to produce good policy. I know. You look at the policy stalemates in Washington and wonder how this could be. The people who arrived there by winning elections haven’t shown much in the way of policy-making prowess. But let me explain. Politicians running for office have a … [Read more...]
Accountability makes good government
As various House committees gear up for a season of investigations and hearings on President Trump and his administration, a lot of people are worried that progress on the nation’s challenges will grind to a halt. I would argue just the opposite: the wheels of government are turning in favor of accountability. Our system rests squarely on the notion that government officials — … [Read more...]
What is CBD?
The letters CBD have been talked about in plenty of places including news stories and social media. Many companies are saying that this CBD is the “next big thing!” It could also be a generational thing as well, but I’m guessing, like I was, some of those reading this don’t know what it is or why it’s being talked about. As you guessed it, there are already scientific opinions … [Read more...]
Ten things you get used to as a parent
10. Slime. It’s everywhere: coming out of every part of your darling children, being made by your darling children out of what was once a painstakingly homemade dinner, and suddenly appearing on your clothes and you just. Don’t know. How. Everything is slimy and it’s best not to think about it. 9. Repetition. You will watch the same episode of “Paw Patrol” 400 times. Do not … [Read more...]
President Trump’s National Emergency Declaration…To the Editor,
In response to a resolution designed to thwart his most noteworthy campaign promise, President Trump cast his promised veto. When the President declared a national emergency over the southern border crisis, Democrats became triggered. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pontificated, “This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed President who has gone outside the bounds of the law.” … [Read more...]