Opinion

It’s been two months today since we had a change in administration nationally. The stated goal of this new administration is to remove everything instituted by both previous administrations of the other political party, and to destroy, decimate, and/or privatize many government institutions like the Department of Education, Department of Defense, CDC, USAID, VOA, Department…

Twice a year – every year – we succumb. In the spring we spring and in the fall we fall. Seriously, you couldn’t make this stuff up. Somewhere, at sometime, some-one (supposedly a real person) invented the practice. It probably made sense at the time. And time is exactly what we are talking about here.…

At 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, I surely was sitting in a seat at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul preparing to take photos, or taking photos at the end of day one’s individual action at the Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament. I was doing what I love to do, covering high school sports action. …

Last Wednesday two strong men in our community passed to their eternal rest. Both of their deaths were somewhat unexpected, too soon (in my mind, any way), and will leave profound marks. I considered both to be friends, and have pondered their similarities over these past few days. Both were men of faith, who lived…

The Governor released his budget and bonding proposals a few weeks ago, and both are bad deals all around. A big part of his budget proposal relies on shifting costs to counties as a way to balance the $5.1 billion deficit his administration has been spending us into. His proposal to solve the budget crisis…

Dreams and goals – I think it’s safe to say we all have both. And that’s wonderful, and necessary. Because what would life be without dreams and goals?  In a word: hollow.  I used to set very specific goals for myself. I used to dream of what I wanted to accomplish with those goals. I…

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a rule-follower. From kindergarten on, life has been filled with rules. From Sunday School, through two years of civics (thanks to changing schools), and then every school, job, residence, and state where I’ve lived has had many rules. Some are just rules, while others are laws. Adherence…

As a student of Soviet political science, both in college and graduate school, I have long studied authoritarianism. What you may not know is that the U.S.S.R. had checks and balances: three people as the triumvirate ruling the huge country for decades.  In 1977, Leonid Brezhnev was First Secretary of the Communist Party. He arranged…