Judging others by a different standard than we judge ourselves is how hypocrisy is born. I think about the elected and appointed officials who take office espousing a particular ideology or purpose, only to turn around and do exactly the same thing they complained about in their campaigns. Or the[Read More…]
Columns
How to not be ‘THAT GUY’ in a public meeting (Editor’s Column)
The very first freedom listed in the Constitution is the freedom of religion, followed by freedom of speech and then freedom of the press. Quite a few individuals have raised concerns this week about their freedom of speech, particularly as it pertains to public meetings. Along those same lines, of[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: April 26, 2018
To the less-than-courageous individual who was in downtown Meeker last week distributing snarky fliers about the Meeker rec district, do you have a legitimate reason for not adding your “John Hancock” to your wee editorial? Are you afraid of legal backlash, since you devolved to the kind of name-calling that[Read More…]
‘We go to meetings so you don’t have to’—it’s not catchy, but it’s true (Editor’s Column)
We (my daughter/co-owner and I) are headed to our first Colorado Press Association (CPA) convention Thursday. This working trip is the closest thing to a vacation either of us have had in 588 days. My daughter spent a week in Vail last summer ushering her hubby to the orthopedic surgeon[Read More…]
Failing grade for voter turnout {Editor’s Column}
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will have to sit on their blisters.” ~ Abraham Lincoln Thirty-five percent. For just a moment, imagine if only 35 percent of your body was functioning[Read More…]
Your permanent record {Editor’s Column}
“That’s going on your permanent record,” was was the penultimate threat from teachers and principals. Any bad behavior that ended up on our “permanent record” was destined to haunt our lives. I heard that threat, more than once, but I never did see my permanent record. It may still be[Read More…]
It’s Sunshine Week—why that matters {Editor’s Column}
Government works best under the glare of public scrutiny. Absent such scrutiny, abuses occur.” ~Stephen Hawking A world-renowned physicist, Hawking passed away this week. His quote seems especially timely during Sunshine Week—when journalists remind everyone how vital it is that government activities be open and accessible to the public and[Read More…]
How to kill your newspaper {Editor’s Column}
Most everyone I talk to agrees with me (at least to my face) about the importance of having a local newspaper, yet we’re often guilty of systematically destroying the very thing we say has value to our towns. I’m not talking about the mainstream media entities recently threatened by a[Read More…]
Guarding the freedom of the press {Editor’s Column}
Our commissioners, after careful consideration, have suspended their support of Senate Bill 18-156, a vote for which I am grateful, and you should be, too. But why, you ask, does it matter? We’ve got horrific gun violence on one hand and sports teams going to regionals on the other. Where[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: A new blow to public information
Hot on the heels of last week’s kudos to the Town of Meeker for stepping up and restoring publication of an (albeit abbreviated version) of its monthly financial expenditures, this week government transparency has taken another jab in the political ring, followed by a friendly-fire uppercut from our own commissioners.[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Are we becoming knowledge resistant?
We have more access to information than any generation that has ever lived on this planet. Educating ourselves, even as adults, can now be done in the comfort of our own homes via online classes and programs. And yet, in the face of this wealth of potential knowledge that’s available[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: The winter doldrums, words we cannot print, filter bubbles and that conflict of interest thing
January is a tough season, hence the 12-page paper this week. From what I can surmise from my predecessors, this is par for the course. It’s the January doldrums. In sailing terms, the doldrums refer to a “calm period when the winds disappear altogether, trapping sailing ships for days or[Read More…]