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Focus this week on caring for others

National Columnists

This week, millions of Americans will go to work thinking about when to thaw out their turkeys (start today), which sides to cook, what time to head off on travel and living arrangements for company. As they drive out, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jeffrey Epstein and even President Donald Trump will not be at the front of their minds unless they are pulled into social media and cable news. Millions of Americans will head out for the holidays and pass houses in which nameless and faceless residents live. They will pass by nameless homeless people, some holding cardboard signs asking for ...

What does it mean to be an American?

National Columnists

The chaotic confrontation in Dearborn, Michigan, last Tuesday — when a demonstrator attempted to burn a Qur’an and Muslim counter-protesters surged — was more than a brief flash of drama. Along with other recent controversies in Arab-majority Dearborn, such as when the Muslim mayor told a Christian minister he “was not welcome here” and was an “Islamophobe” for objecting to renaming a local street after a Hezbollah-supporting journalist, this latest cultural skirmish yet again underscores longstanding concerns about America’s immigration regime — and, above all, the ...

Good leaders refrain from too much poking

Letters to the Editor

James Olson, Minot The best leaders are those the people hardly know exist; they become servants of their people. For only he who is the lowest servant of the kingdom is worthy of becoming its ruler. Good government is unobtrusive and this enables the people to become whole. It doesn’t interfere with the people unnecessarily.. “Governing a large country is like frying small fish. Too much poking spoils the meat.” – Lao Tzu (old master). Namaste.

Move to red state for more ‘affordability’

National Columnists

The buzzword of the month is “affordability,” and based on the election results from New York, New Jersey and Virginia, voters think that’s declining. Democrats think they’ve found a winning issue here to win back the hearts and minds of voters after the Trump sweep last year. It’s true that people are angry about prices. Steaks and hamburgers are more expensive than ever. So are coffee and rents and medical care. Many Americans are about to see a 10%-20% increase in their health care premiums starting in January. But who’s to blame? President Donald Trump said he would ...

America is not ready for female president?

National Columnists

Former first lady Michelle Obama says America is not ready for a female president. In a series of recent interviews promoting her new book, Michelle Obama points to the losses of Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton as evidence of what she regards as sexism. Recall that similar things were once said about John F. Kennedy, that America was not ready for a Catholic president. More recently some said America wasn’t ready for a Black president. And yet in 2008, 43 percent of white voters voted for Barack Obama. In 2012, it was 39 percent. Michelle Obama’s comments continue the focus on ...

Former vice president was great boss

National Columnists

To the rest of the world he was the vice president of the United States, but we all called him “the boss.” He was the ultimate boss. Dick Cheney was tough. That part of him is widely understood. Almost everything else is misunderstood. Working for him for eight years, the man I got to know, admire and respect was nothing like the guy portrayed in public. As a boss, he expected a lot. If you couldn’t deliver, you wouldn’t be around for long. If you could, he was amazing to work for. Think of any quality you want in a boss, and Dick Cheney had it. The White House can be a ...