Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Sorted by date Results 401 - 425 of 1143
Points to ponder; Gas price high? Not really, the price of gas has been the same since 1963 when I started driving, three gallons of gas for one hours labor. It took a little looking but there were jobs in town for .75/ hour (not on the farms where I was) and gas was .25 . in 1969 minimum wage went up to $1.25 and that's about what anybody paid, and gas was .38 . Now it's $4.00 when I filled this morning and there's $12.00 jobs. One of the problems is in terms of hours to pay for things, it comes out to a ten fold increase since the days of...
“At no point does the article (“None injured in crash,” March 14) explain the car in front of me slammed on the breaks [sic] just before reaching an icy patch and lost control. In an attempt to avoid a severe crash, I slowed and applied the breaks [sic] gently to try to avoid also loosing [sic] control. Fortunately I was able to avoid the car in front of me, which I believe saved the two cars behind me from also being involved in the accident. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to avoid the oncoming individual. “Luckily no one was injured. In this c...
Vladimir Putin’s infliction on the Russian people of a second Iron Curtain has demonstrated more effectively than any number of seminars and lectures possibly could the critical importance of freedom of the press to governmental accountability. Putin’s nationwide censorship of any news or reports that contradict his characterization of the lie that he is “de-nazifying” Ukraine, enforced by a brutal 15-year prison sentence for violators, has plunged most Russians into a state of darkness and ignorance. Most know very little about the horrific, u...
The Pentagon Papers case, which proceeded through the federal courts at record pace, presented the U.S. Supreme Court with a sharply drawn question of great importance to the First Amendment: Does the judiciary have authority to prohibit publication of information whose secrecy is characterized by the president as critical to the nation's security? On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court rendered an historic decision that upheld the right of the New York Times, Washington Post and, eventually,...
Next week I get the benefit of two nights out in a row. Both the New Rockford and Carrington chambers of commerce and economic development organizations will be hosting their annual banquet/meetings. Carrington’s joint annual meeting is first on the calendar, with the social, dinner and presentations scheduled for Thursday, March 24 at the Chieftain. New Rockford gets its night to shine on Friday, March 25. After three straight years of not hosting one in New Rockford, this year the New Rockford...
My mother and father keep our old photos in their hall closet in a sturdy old Pabst Blue Ribbon box. Sifting through old photos is a glorious experience — one, we now know, that relieves aches and pains by calming the brain, according to a recent study. The last time I looked through the box with my mother, we came across a black-and-white photo of a little girl. That photo was taken 82 years ago, when the girl had her whole life before her. She didn’t know yet that one of her sisters would be...
Thomas Jefferson once observed that fearless, independent newspapers were indispensable to the American experiment, and to "the people's right to know." Without an informed citizenry to scrutinize, question and challenge governmental acts, the great goal of holding government accountable to the citizenry and the rule of law would surely fail. The U.S. Supreme Court embraced Jefferson's premises in its landmark ruling in The New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) by protecting the press from libel...
Their bravery inspires. As I sit safely in the cozy office in my home writing this column, the people of Ukraine are greeting Putin's massive military invasion with incredible defiance and courage. Their president, Volodymyr Zelensky, reportedly rejected an offer to evacuate to safety in the U.S. - despite reports that Putin hired mercenaries to assassinate him. His response: "I need ammo, not a ride." Zelensky's story reads like a Hollywood screenplay. He was born to Jewish parents in the Russi...
For a nation grounded on the republican values of self-government and freedom of expression, both of which are served and constitutionally fortified by freedom of the press, the Supreme Court's ruling in the landmark case of New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) provided all the reassurance that even the most demanding citizens could seek. The "central meaning" of the First Amendment, Justice William Brennan declared in his opinion for a unanimous court, is the right to criticize government and...
Three-day weekends sound good to me. According to Business Insider, a movement is afoot for companies to offer employees four-day work weeks — 10 hours a day over four days, rather than eight hours over five days — so they may enjoy three-day weekends. More employers say that a four-day work week will help them retain and attract employees who, during COVID, reported “working longer, taking fewer breaks, and signing on at all hours of the day and night.” COVID exposed millions of new work-fr...
Amid all this wonderful wintery weather we’ve been experiencing, it may appear that no work is getting done. To the contrary, winter is what I refer to as “planning season.” Whether we gaze out the window from our warm offices or hunker down by the fireplace in our homes, our wheels are turning thinking about the months ahead. What kind of a year will we have? When and where will we travel? How many weddings and graduations are on the calendar? Do we have proper attire for them all? Here at the...
The Supreme Court’s decision in The New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) checks all the definitional boxes of a landmark ruling. It revolutionized the law of libel in the United States. It saved freedom of the press and the First Amendment. It empowered journalists to challenge representations of governmental officials. It lit the way for penetrating reporting necessary to properly inform the citizenry on the great issues of our time. Without the Sullivan ruling, the media would not have been able to produce the searching coverage that i...
Nine years ago this month Netflix changed how we watch television. The streaming service released an entire season of its political drama "House of Cards" at once, enabling viewers to binge on 13 episodes. Consumers were torn over whether bingeing was a luxury or, as with a gallon of ice cream or a fifth of vodka, too much of a good thing. Regardless, the scheduling tactic helped Netflix's profits soar. Now, with a raft of new streaming services competing for subscriber dollars, binge...
The longer President Biden lingers in the vicinity of a live microphone, the higher the probability for mischief and yes, entertainment. Given enough time, he may even accidentally recite Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities in its entirety. I’ve been taken to task recently by Biden supporters and critics of the former president for highlighting Biden’s gaffes and misspeaks, including his calling Fox News White House correspondent, Peter Doocy, a “stupid son of a b—-” in response to a reasonable question about inflation. It’s interesting t...
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ iconic dissenting opinion in Abrams v. United States (1919) transformed the Clear and Present Danger Test from its status as an apology for the repression of speech to protection of the right, in times of peace and war, to criticize governmental conduct and authority. With his dissent, Holmes changed the horizons of protected speech. Seldom in the annals of Supreme Court decisions has a dissenting opinion attained landmark status and pointed the way for a commitment to freedom and liberty. In an about-face, just n...
I have a problem. I misplace my wallet – a lot. In fact, if losing wallets was an Olympic sport, I'm pretty sure I'd be investigated for doping. And according to a 2018 survey by MoneyTips, I'm not alone, joining the 62% of survey respondents who said they had also lost their cash taco, or had it stolen. I relapsed again recently on a Saturday morning road trip with my wife and some friends, trying to convince myself that I would enjoy attending a college basketball game more than sleeping u...
Both Carrington and New Rockford hosted their annual archery tournaments over the past two weeks. As a parent of three teenagers, who all compete in archery and several other activities, I must say archery is among my favorites. Why? Well, as Jamie Risovi, retired head coach and founder of the Rocket Archery program at New Rockford-Sheyenne School once told me, “Everyone gets the same shot.” It’s absolutely true. Archery is a sport for the tall and the small. Each person is responsible for h...
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ opinion for the Supreme Court in Schenck v. United States (1919) shocked his libertarian friends and colleagues, who had always believed that he was a champion of free speech. His narrow conception of the Clear and Present Danger Test, which established the First Amendment standard for distinguishing protected from unprotected speech, afforded scant support for dissenting opinions that criticized governmental conduct during World War I. In the aftermath of the Schenck decision, Holmes was subjected to a barrage o...
The federal government should ban them. Girl Scout cookie season is upon us, my friends - the most agonizing of all the seasons. Dieters with ever-worsening health like me, who need to lose weight, are always at the mercy of those devilish treats - as thin mints are clearly as addictive as nicotine. This year, thanks to COVID madness, our challenge is greater than it has ever been. Millions of us haven't put a dent in removing the significant weight we put on in years one and two of our...
The good news is I’m feeling a lot better than I did on Sunday. The bad news is, that despite being vaxxed a year ago and boosted about ten days ago, I’ve come down with COVID. I, my wife Colleen and my son, his wife and one of their young kids have just caught the omicron variant – or it’s caught us. I guess you could say we’re on the COVID family plan. To say the least, it’s been a real kick in the butt. For almost two years my wife and I listened to the “science” and the people in charg...
America’s free speech story, as written in Supreme Court decisions, did not begin until World War I when the court declared in 1919, in Schenck v. United States, that speech is protected unless it presents a “clear and present danger” to our nation. The court’s landmark opinion, written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, introduced a test to determine the parameters of protected speech that, in one version or another, would govern until the late 1960s. The “clear and present danger test” was first used not to protect speech, but rather to l...
Twila Klein told us last fall that the Hi-Way Drive In wouldn't be opening this spring unless she could find more help. Other businesses have reduced hours or services due to a shortage of workers. For years, we have needed youth to come back (or be willing to work after school, weekends and during the summer), or new people to come to fill our staffing needs, and the pandemic hasn't helped our situation. Carrington Chamber Director Laurie Dietz publishes a weekly newsletter for members, and...
We all know they will be there, and for the most part, we dread the naysayers when we are planning a new community event, project, or community change of any kind. There is truth in the statement that change is hard; however, change is really hard for some people. I have heard from many communities that “nothing ever happens here because of the negative attitude in the community.” I have found that there is no stereotypical naysayer. Some are older and yet, some of the youngest people in the community can also be naysayers. I believe it is a pe...
Great questions of constitutional law — how can the president be held accountable, whether the president is amenable to the judicial process, and the question of whether the president of the United States may be sued for civil damages — generate great interest and, occasionally, great rulings. Former President Donald Trump’s assertion in federal court this week of “absolute” immunity from civil lawsuits arising out of the January 6, 2021, insurrection on Capitol Hill represents a fresh reminder of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in...
I was recently invited to speak at a local women's organization meeting in my hometown. Apparently, I was pretty much their last option, right behind the auto-warranty telemarketer and the tax auditor. Since I couldn't imagine what I would discuss that might interest a women's group, I went for the obvious–my lifelong, chronic case of the girl crazies. In my younger years, it had always been my dream – even my goal – to be surrounded by women, and now I live in a house with four of them; I work...
