opinion

Everyone presumes that Sen. Chuck Schumer, the media-hungry Democrat from New York, wants to be the next Senate majority leader. His performance in the negotiations over the Gang of Eight...

Do you know about “net zero?” That’s the wonky phrase attached to an elegant idea: converting communities to total renewable energy, complete recycling, and a culture of conservation to bring...

I was skimming through the April 16 edition of the Pioneer and ran across an article by Steve and Cokie Roberts entitled, “What are we afraid of?” First of all...

Did you catch The Rev. Jesse Jackson the other night on CNN demanding a Senate hearing into why regulators never cracked down on that gruesome abortion clinic in Philadelphia? Did...

Yes, I know I said I wasn’t going to write any more columns on gun control, largely because the exercise is: 1. Futile. 2. A waste of time. 3. Unproductive...

After 56-plus years of marriage, I have thought often about what makes marriages endure. My conclusion goes something like this: Marriage is a blending of two properties into one. The...

Benjamin Franklin warned that a people preferring security over liberty deserves neither. In the aftermath of each attack upon our nation, we have seen this maxim play out with growing...

On a weekend when the news cycle focused on North Korea’s rising threat, the struggle to enact gun control and a dumb written comment about the murdered-by-the-Nazis Anne Frank by...

As clashes continue between teachers’ unions and local and state legislatures concerning evaluations of teachers to determine if they are to stay employed, I don’t hear either side reacting to...

As the FBI and Department of Homeland Security sift through the collateral damage in Boston, one thing is abundantly clear: it was an act of terrorism. Questions, like who is...

After church last Sunday we stopped for lunch at Pete’s Place West. After enjoying a delicious meal, my wife spotted the raspberry pie and she decided it would make lunch...

Get this: The social media craze is making us ruder. According to Reuters, social media users face “an increase in rudeness online with people having no qualms about being less...

If there’s one person in America most responsible for the stress our children face while filling in little ovals with their No. 2 pencils, it may be Sandy Kress. Kress...

I had my first experience of the Bemidji Community Theater this past week. I attended the production of “Peter Pan” with the 230 youth from our school here at St...

Support honor guard program Hats off to Josh Butler and Doug Fuller for spearheading efforts to create an honor guard with the Bemidji Fire Department. They’re raising funds to outfit...