I once worked for a weekly agricultural journal in Oregon. Along with cows and plows, I occasionally covered the State Legislature. I used to joke — and, to be honest, also complain — the boredom of covering long committee hearings was interrupted only by the tedium. The exception was covering a House committee chaired by […]
But first let me address a circumstance I created. My last column took snarky to another level for a few folks. It also elevated my version of humor to others. In retrospect, I can see how both reactions occurred. I wrote that column in frustration. Not only for me, but also students; fellow citizens; folks […]
The coronavirus pandemic has demanded worldwide attention for months. As this is written, draconian actions implemented by states and the federal government remain in place to stem the spread of this unseen enemy. But when the virus no longer poses a deadly threat and there’s time to reflect on what happened, the free market will […]
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the C word. If I had my way, I wouldn’t have to write another story about it or ever again utter the 11-letter word that’s become a four-letter word. Unfortunately, coronavirus isn’t likely to disappear from our lives or vocabularies anytime soon. In the meantime, I’ll […]
Among the many problems of government pronouncements is the notion one size fits all, even when that’s hardly ever the case. Even if the shoe doesn’t fit, wear it anyway. It’s a matter of necessity. Statewide orders can’t possibly account for the vast geographic and economic difference in place like Colorado. The situation has been […]
Did you get the blessing? I recall when I did. Napoleon Polis had just shuttered the state — because New York and California did and like all good, lacky liberals who want to be president do, he fell in line — the night before St. Patrick’s Day because he declared himself the only expert in […]
In a previous incarnation as editor of a daily newspaper in Northwest Colorado, I worked with a talented photojournalist. He told me once about the questions he fielded from readers who wondered what it was like to have to photograph sometimes horrific events — house fires and car wrecks. Wasn’t it awful? More than 30 […]
Which is just how we’ve handled and overcome the many novel coronaviruses of the past 30 years. And this doesn’t mean Covid-19 goes away — because we’re still fighting strains of the Spanish flu — but it does mean it’s damned well past time to handle Covid-19 like Americans throughout history have handled any invasion […]
The coronavirus and largely necessary responses to the outbreak have fostered fear and uncertainty. Health risks, worrying about loved ones, lost jobs, small businesses struggling to hang on and wondering how bills will be paid have become harsh realities for millions of Americans. But for those who can look beyond the crisis, being stuck at […]
The results of a recent Fox News poll showed that nearly a third of registered voters hold a favorable outlook on socialism. This proportion has grown since the previous Fox News poll in February 2019. Why, in an affluent country, would capitalism lose ground to socialism? Capitalism is defined as an economic and political system […]