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Artemis II inspires unity

National Columnists

National confidence, unfortunately, is in short supply these days. In this season of springtime renewal, Americans would do well to look up – literally. Artemis II, NASA's first meaningful manned space mission in over a half-century, has taken the nation by storm this month. In so doing, it has provided a timely reminder of what a great nation, acting with confidence and clarity of purpose, can still achieve. Our politics are fractured, our institutions mistrusted, and our birth and marriage rates have plummeted. Hope once sprang eternal, but today's zeitgeist is characterized by ...

39 days: too much or not enough?

National Columnists

Will the U.S.-Iran war turn out to have been the 39-day war, following the locution of the 12-day Israel-Iran war of June 2025? The markets, as this is written, seem to think so. Asian stock markets were up Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump's ceasefire announcement and, hours later, so were European markets. U.S. markets had rebounded from initial losses on Tuesday. The political marketplace was less steady. "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," Trump posted on Truth Social at 8:06 a.m. EDT Tuesday. It didn't quite happen. At 6:32 p.m. ...

Reflections on special message

National Columnists

Easter and Holy Week celebrations have come and gone this year, and since Easter fell on April 5, the first Sunday of this month, it seems to have really snuck up on us. This probably wasn't the case for those who had already planned to set aside extra cash for the holiday. The National Retail Federation reported that Americans were projected to spend "a record $24.9 billion on baskets." That's a lot of Peeps, jellybean eggs and chocolate bunnies. With this increase in spending, up 4% from last year, CBC News dubbed Easter the "spring Christmas," which can no doubt bring on ...

Attention is your greatest power

National Columnists

Watching the Artemis II space flight has filled my days with awe and wonder. From pilot Victor Glover's poignant Easter message and mission specialist Christina Koch's "space plumber" story to the crew naming a moon crater for commander Reid Wiseman's late wife. Artemis II really shows us what humanity is capable of. It all serves as a great reminder that on any given day, we simultaneously exist in a world of tragedy and wonder. The good news is that we get to choose what we give our energy and attention to. It doesn't mean that we bury our heads in the sand; it means we ...

North Dakotans can fight back against scams

Local Columnists

By the time you reach my age, you’ve seen a lot of new technology, new ways to do business, and unfortunately, new ways for criminals to steal from honest people. As AARP North Dakota’s volunteer state president, I hear from neighbors in every corner of our state who have gotten a ...

This is what world superpower looks like

National Columnists

America is living through a moment difficult to describe without sounding a little unhinged. But here goes: We are watching the United States do things that only the United States can do. In the span of a few days, Americans have watched astronauts push farther into space than any human beings in history, while U.S. forces execute military operations so precise and technologically overwhelming that they look like something written for a Hollywood script. Pilots are being rescued in missions that resemble "Mission: Impossible." Terrorists are being eliminated with the kind of ...