Two names you probably haven’t heard until recently, if at all, should set the agenda of issues for the midterm elections. While the elected leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties frequently frame the choice as a referendum on Donald Trump, there are urgent issues that need action and that will shape the United States long after Trump is gone.
Beware the virtues of a paperless world
The paperless society is truly here and I enthusiastically embrace it. No more paper tickets, bills or checks. Manage your finances, indeed your entire life, with a click of a mouse or with a tap on a smartphone. It sounds great and it works like magic…until it doesn’t. Then we are victims to an electronic high-tech hell. Multiple digital failures
Bad things happen to good people like Chief Klein
I, for one, will miss Chief Joel Klein. Nine years ago, he sat across my desk from me, then one of a handful of police officers on the St. Joseph force. He said, “Bad things happen to good people.” I was reeling from the shock of discovering one of my employees had been embezzling from me for the past 18
Is it time for online retailers to pay sales tax?
It’s a part of the shopping process that is always frustrating for consumers. After finding all of your chosen items in a brick-and-mortar store, you step up to the register where you are charged sales tax from a complicated percentage that would be next to impossible to estimate without a calculator. This is the way shopping has been for a
A grand ol’ flag
Memorial Day is just behind us and the Fourth of July is ahead. But, sandwiched in between both of those patriotic holidays is another oft-forgotten – Flag Day on June 14. I’m not here to discuss what the holiday means or anything else, but rather the American flag itself. I suspect I may have some opinions that could be unpopular
Ask candidates if they are ready for compromise
Which political environment produces results? Some people argue that divided government – one party controlling the executive branch and the opposition controlling the legislative – works because the opposing parties serve as a check on the extreme stands of the other and the result is a middle-ground compromise. The alternative viewpoint – one party controls both the executive and legislative
Readers’ letters round out opinion page
Informed opinions, vigorously argued, form the foundation of democracy. The opinions appearing on this page (and sometimes the next page as well) are offered in that spirit. The editorial that regularly appears to the left of this column represents the Newsleader’s view of current events. Newspaper editorials aren’t meant to tell readers how to think, but instead serve as a
One road ends, another begins
After many years, the path I’ve been on is finally coming to a close. By coming to a close, I mean graduating from high school. After four years of high school and more years in earlier schooling, it’s time to make the jump to the next step of life. While I look forward to what’s ahead, I want to first