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  • Biennial Sessions

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Mar 14, 2024

    In 2021 the Fufeng Group, a Chinese food manufacturer, bought 300 acres of farmland near Grand Forks, North Dakota in order to build a milling plant. They paid 2.6 million dollars for the land. That land is only twelve miles from the Grand Forks Air Base, which is home to some of America's most sensitive military secrets. Last year both the BBC and NPR reported that the Chinese had already purchased 380,000 acres of farmland in the United States. After the purchase of land was made near the...

  • The rise of Trump nostalgia

    Rich Lowry, American Writer and Columnist|Mar 14, 2024

    Donald Trump obviously left office on a sour note in January 2021, written off by many opinion-makers and political professionals. Then, President Biden happened. The most remarkable phenomenon of the 2024 election cycle so far is the rise of Trump nostalgia. It's difficult for anyone to have a new opinion about former President Trump, who is so well-known, so in-your-face, and so polarizing. Yet, people have a new, more favorable attitude toward his presidency in retrospect, certainly compared...

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week Eleven

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Mar 14, 2024

    "Therefore, Brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, that you do not stumble but enter into the abundance of the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:9, 11 Peter would know. He had not 'caught' what Jesus taught more than once. Then, he made the mistake of denying the Lord. He had been on the mountain of transfiguration with Him and had seen a vision of His resurrection. As with so many, Peter's intelligence and experience got in the way of his...

  • John Bingham, the 14th Amendment, Section 1

    Bill Benson, Columnist|Mar 14, 2024

    In early 1866, the Joint Committee of Fifteen on Reconstruction in the 39th Congress wrestled with the idea that they must write a 14th Amendment to address certain issues: Who is a citizen? How does the country's laws apply to former slaves and slave owners? Will former Confederate officials hold elected office now in the Union? Will former slaveholders receive any compensation for the loss of their property? Who will pay the Confederacy's debts? Most important, who will rule supreme: state...

  • Letter from the Editor:

    Barbara Perez, Editor & Publisher, Sidney Sun-Telegraph|Mar 7, 2024

    Dear Cheyenne County, Our Senior Staff Writer and Sports Editor Mike Motz, was taken gravely ill this past Sunday and is currently in ICU at Cheyenne Regional. At this time, we are temporarily down both one of our two reporters and our sole Sports Writer. It is not an easy thing to do to admit one needs help, but we are a strong community newspaper, and I have zero doubt that this same community can rally behind one of its own during a very difficult time for both. He has worked tirelessly to...

  • Property Taxes Are Evil

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Feb 29, 2024

    Last week the State of Wyoming advanced a bill by Rep. Steve Harshman to eliminate most property taxes in Wyoming along with a two percent hike in the State's sales tax. Shifting the tax burden away from property taxes and onto sales taxes or consumption taxes is an idea which is now gaining a lot of steam all across the country. Besides Nebraska, states which have seen these kinds of bills in recent years include Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas. In 2020...

  • Black History Month Part Three

    Bill Benson, Columnist|Feb 29, 2024

    In December of 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln suggested a plan to reinstate the seceded states back into the Union, his "Ten Percent Plan." He would permit each Confederate state to form a new state government after ten percent of the voters in a state took loyalty oaths to the Union and recognized the former slaves' freedom. Following Lincoln's assassination on April 9, 1865, his successor, former Vice-President Andrew Johnson, decided to run with Lincoln's Ten P...

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week Nine

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Feb 29, 2024

    "Jesus said, a third time, 'Peter, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved and said, 'Lord, You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed My sheep.'" John 21:17 Uncle Guy and I raised six children together, of whom I was one. He had lost his left arm in a car accident before I knew him, but he refused to be handicapped. He could bridle and saddle a horse, then open and close a fence post gate with one hand. (For those who may not know, this gate was usually, barbed wire, three to five strands,...

  • Russia is a civilizational adversary

    Pete Ricketts, U.S. Senator Nebraska|Feb 29, 2024

    The poet Robert Frost once said that a liberal is someone too broad-minded to take his own side in a fight. What would he say about those on the right who seem to be confused about the same question? Over the last few days, Donald Trump told a rally about how he'd supposedly warned the leader of a NATO nation that he'd encourage the Russians "to do whatever the hell they want" against countries that weren't spending enough on defense, while the former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson...

  • Tax Raising Bills

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Jan 25, 2024

    Last Thursday Gov. Jim Pillen delivered his State of the State address to the Unicameral Legislature. The primary focus of the speech was devoted to tax relief, especially property tax relief. So, I listened closely to hear his plans for tax relief. Although he vows to reduce property taxes by 40 percent, he never offered any kind of substantive plan for doing so. Gov. Pillen's plan continues several of the same stale practices which have never worked in the past, such as creating more property... Full story

  • What Democrats will never do to defend democracy

    Rich Lowry, American Writer and Columnist|Jan 25, 2024

    Joe Biden went to Valley Forge to give a big speech telling us how much he cares about defending democracy against the threat represented by Donald Trump. How much does President Biden care? Enough to give a speech defending democracy, one of what's sure to be many if Trump is his opponent. Biden's alarm about the precariousness of the American system, though, will never translate into actions he wouldn't otherwise want to take. To wit, if Joe Biden were, as a matter of the principle, devoted... Full story

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week Four

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Jan 25, 2024

    "He who heeds instruction gets understanding. Honoring the Lord is the rebuke of wisdom, and before honor is humility. The ear that hears rebukes (instruction) of life will abide among the wise." Proverbs 15:33. 31 Prophetic Utterance: "I founded Israel because I loved the people, says the Lord. I uphold the United States of America because the people loved Me." This truth has almost vanished from Christian ethics and the U.S. Constitution in the last 6 decades. Many are launched into... Full story

  • Debate vs. Argument

    Mike Sunderland, Columnist|Jan 25, 2024

    My last full* year of school in Fairbanks, Alaska was at Monroe High School. Although it was called a "high school" the majority of the classes were designed to prepare the graduates for college. The classes we attended averaged anywhere from 1 year to 4 years ahead of what was taught in the public school system. From the middle of my Sophomore year through my Senior year at Monroe High School I participated in the Debate Club. Before that I was a member of the school choir. Partway though the... Full story

  • Editorial Cartoon

    Jan 25, 2024

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  • Letter to the Editor - Opportunity Scholarship Act LB753

    Jan 18, 2024

    To Whom It May Concern, The mischaracterization of Nebraska’s Opportunity Scholarship Act (LB753) is a willful attempt to mislead voters. In a true sense it does take tax dollars away from public schools but this is only a half-truth. The remaining unspoken truth is that for many years public schools have saved money from parents sending their children to nonpublic schools. The fact that this is a parent’s choice is irrelevant to the positive economic impact for Public schools that save immense costs while parents still pay the same taxes... Full story

  • Rules Debate

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Jan 18, 2024

    When I first arrived in the Nebraska Legislature in 2017, Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha stood in front of me on the legislative floor. He turned around and gave me some good advice. He told me to learn the rules. I began to read the rules. Upon doing so, I quickly learned how confusing the Rule Book of the Nebraska Legislature was. So, immediately upon adjournment last year, I turned my attention to re-writing the Rule Book. The project of re-writing the Rule Book of the Legislature focused... Full story

  • The AWOL Defense Secretary

    Rich Lowry, American Writer and Columnist|Jan 18, 2024

    Anyone following how weak and passive the U.S. has been in the face of provocations from our adversaries in the Middle East might conclude that the secretary of defense has gone missing. And, at least for a few days last week, he literally was. In an age when it's nearly impossible to go off the grid, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin managed it. He failed to notify the White House and other key players that he was hospitalized in the intensive care unit. This, needless to say, is not an... Full story

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week Three

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Jan 18, 2024

    "Stop the fear! Only Believe!" Jesus roared into a crowd gathered on the shores of Lake Galilee. Mark 5:36. Two people obeyed. Torment is a product of what one sees, hears and believes in the heart. Faith works exactly the same way, Fear tormented Jairus as his 12-year-old daughter lie very ill. However, he had seen and heard that Jesus healed and made people whole. A woman with a 12-year issue of blood had heard and seen this, also. What they believed in their hearts was going to make all the... Full story

  • Frederick Douglass's "Slaveholder's Sermon"

    Bill Benson, Columnist|Jan 18, 2024

    David Blight teaches Civil War and Reconstruction history at Yale University. In 2018, Blight published a biography on the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, entitled, "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom." Blight tells a remarkable story. His biography deserved and did win the Pulitzer Prize in 2019. Blight describes Douglass as a spell-binding lecturer through most of the nineteenth century, who left audiences both weeping and laughing, their emotions whipsawed by his incredible story of how... Full story

  • Legislative Priorities for 2024

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Jan 11, 2024

    The 2024 Legislative session has begun. Because the Unicameral Legislature operates in a two-year cycle, this will be the second session of the 108th Legislature. The session began on January 3 and will end on April 18. Since this is only a 60-day session, there will be less time for State Senators to get the business of the State done this year. Today I will share my priorities and goals for making this year’s legislative session a productive one. I am the chair of the Legislature’s Rules... Full story

  • Confession of a public-health expert

    Rich Lowry, American Writer and Columnist|Jan 11, 2024

    The public-health officials are getting around to admitting the fallibility of public-health officials. The former head of the National Institutes of Health during the pandemic and current science advisor to President Joe Biden, Francis Collins, has noted that he and his colleagues demonstrated an "unfortunate" narrow-mindedness. This is a welcome, if belated, confession. Not too long ago, anyone who said that epidemiologists might be overly focused on disease prevention to the exclusion of... Full story

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week Two

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Jan 11, 2024

    "Come unto Me, all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Learn from Me, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden light," Matthew 11:28 Fear with torment contaminates and erodes a faith which believes God's word is true. Fear of God, however, is to "honor, respect, and revere' our Creator. This 'fear' brings knowledge, wisdom and understanding: an unfailing faith. The Bible contains God's inspired word, written by many authors who tell the same story.... Full story

  • Humor in Uniform

    Mike Sunderland, Columnist|Jan 11, 2024

    Just to flip the coin a bit... here is a bit of the other side of military service. Most of us have read or heard war stories, and at one time or another watched movies by the dozen that hammered home the bleak and bloody side of warfare. There are few TV shows and movies that show another side of life in the military. Lest you get the idea that time in the military is dull and dreary, or just a series of unpleasant experiences, allow me to recount a few of the more humorous events that took... Full story

  • Letter to the Editor

    Jan 11, 2024

    Dear Sun-Telegraph, RE: “Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week One” by Ivy Joy Johnson, Jan. 4, 2024 I have no disagreements with the lovely article referenced above, but it missed an opportunity to provide guidance on how to, "be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine ..." (Eph. 4:14). The guardian source of preventing apostasy is identified in verses Eph. 4:11-13, which is a church led by Jesus Christ through apostles and prophets (see verse 11). Acts chapter 1 and other Biblical references... Full story

  • Biden's Oil Policies

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Jan 4, 2024

    The Biden administration continues to enforce failing policies concerning oil and gas which are now beginning to affect the State of Nebraska. The Biden administration's war against global warming and its war against the use of oil and gas are both misguided and wrong. So, today I would like to explain why this is the case and how it is affecting our state. President Biden likes to brag how oil production in the U.S. is the same today as it was under Trump. Well, that is not exactly true. At... Full story

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