“Watchman tell us of the night,/What the signs of promise are?” I awoke this morning to hear of still another mass murder, this time in California.  Understandably we are bewildered.   How did we get to this place in time and what can we do to quell the violence?  Communication is an important part of being human.  Necessary to this process is self respect and respect for … [Read more...]

Debate in Congress has always been contentious. The levels of vitriol may seem especially acute these days, but confrontation is not new. I can remember times on Capitol Hill when “debate” was actually more of a screaming match than a civil discussion. Back then, we had a colleague who invariably stepped forward at these times to remind each side that if we wanted to get … [Read more...]

By Aaron Swartzentruber Greenleafton, MN “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Galatians 3:24-25) I am told that the Greek word for schoolmaster is “paidagogos” and it doesn’t really mean schoolmaster as we think of it in the English. It … [Read more...]

Around 2001, my wife and I had the pleasure of attending a concert to see the headlining band named Barenaked Ladies. Back in 1993, the Canadian-born Barenaked Ladies produced a hit song titled “If I Had a Million Dollars.” This song was iconic for several reasons.  The lyrics made it sound like what an average median household income person might do if they suddenly … [Read more...]

Facts. Anyone else getting sick of that word? Alternative ones, fake ones, real ones, their relation to feelings... What the heck even is a “fact” anyway? If I remember Mr. Hines’ Science class correctly, it’s something that can be observed and agreed upon, but boy howdy is that not enough anymore. Don’t believe me? Keep reading. We’ll start with an easy one: the sky is blue. … [Read more...]

Please raise your hand if you are sick and tired of all of the political ads; especially the negative ones! “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all” apparently doesn’t apply to elections. Back to back political commercials flood the morning TV news channels.  Our mailboxes are heaping with piles of direct mail that fill our recycling bins.  And, most … [Read more...]

By Kindra Ramaker Stewartville, MN Fillmore County Journal Readers – as both a member of the Fillmore County discussion group addressing “Conversations on Race in Fillmore County” as well as being informed by my work on the Olmsted County Human Rights Commission - I would like to address an opinion piece published in the Fillmore County Journal written by Jeff Erding, a long … [Read more...]

“I was very unhappy to see half the front page of Fillmore Journal dedicated to a Trump supporter.  I believe that rally was adequately followed in Rochester newspapers and television. It’s obvious to me where this newspaper leans.  So disappointed in my hometown newspaper,” said a reader from Lanesboro, Minn., in an e-mail to me on Monday, October 22, 2018. This was in … [Read more...]

Thanks to Colonel Stan Gudmundson for his September 24 commentary clarifying how Trump supporters do and should view journalism. In her book, The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life, Ivanka Trump writes “Perception is more important than reality. If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is in fact true. This doesn’t mean you should be … [Read more...]