Breaking News

Opinion

Our leaders unable to solve problems

Letters

In the movie, The Odessey, the hero Odysseus must sail past the two most evil Goddesses in Greek mythology. On one shore is Scylla, represented by sharp immovable rocks and a six-headed man-eating monster, while on the opposing shore is Charybdis who is portrayed as a violent whirlpool who will suck everybody in and kill them. The similarities between these two Goddesses and our modern political system is unnerving. I see Scylla, and her sharp rocks as representing Republican conservatism while Charybdis is shown a whirlpool similar to liberal Democrats. Isn’t it crazy that American ...

Straight facts about history

Columns

When I started reading the latest (9/5/26) column by Randy Krzmarzick, I was thinking back to our own vacation in Europe this spring, and the beautiful city of Prague. However, unlike Mr. Krzmarzick, I do not recall thinking about past wars there, for the simple reason that wars have been a part of history since the Biblical times, through ancient, medieval, and modern history, and everywhere in the world, be it Europe, Asia, Africa, or the Americas. And let’s remember that murdering Jews during the Holocaust had nothing to do with God (even though thousands of people were murdered ...

Pro-choice candidates need to meditate

Letters

(re: Because of my Catholic faith, Sept. 3) It says: “But, the vulnerable person or group may not always look the same. Sometimes it may be unborn babies. Sometimes, it may be single mothers, or children in our special education programs, or refugee families.” The author makes a case that sometimes you should vote for the politician who cares for born people but who also thinks people in the womb can be killed by abortion. However, the late Jesse Jackson declared in an article he wrote for Right to Life News in 1977: “Life is the highest human good not on its own naturalistic ...

Trump prefers Kim over Carney

Letters

Two guys in the news lately are Kim Jong Un and Mark Carney. President Trump takes pains to be polite and respectful to Kim while he tries to bulldoze Carney into dust. Kim Jong Un is the supreme leader of North Korea. When his father died in 2011, State television identified him as “the great successor to the revolutionary cause.” Since then he has become marshal of the Korean National Party, secretary of the Workers Party of Korea, president of the State Affairs Commission, commander-in-chief of the Korean Armed Forces and chairman of the Central Military Commission. Whatever ...

Protect southern Minnesota history

Letters

I recently visited Fort Ridgely because I wanted to learn more about the history of this important place in southern Minnesota. Instead, I left feeling very sad and disappointed. What I found was heartbreaking. An estimated 75 to 80 percent of the historical plaques and signs at the site have been destroyed or are no longer there. Without those plaques, visitors have very little information to explain what happened at Fort Ridgely or why this place is important to Minnesota’s history. I also understand that the site is maintained by the Minnesota Historical Society. If that is the ...

Can’t control vanishment powers

Columns

I was about 6 years old when I discovered that I have an extraordinary talent for making things disappear. I owned a Barlow jackknife that had both a long blade and a short blade. This meant that I was prepared for anything from fending off a ferocious tiger to cleaning my fingernails. That pocketknife was my constant companion. One day I decided to try my hand at whittling, having found a funky stick that looked as though it could be carved into a likeness of the Statue of Liberty. I reached into my jeans pocket and found… nothing! Well, not exactly nothing. There were a few old ...