Guest Opinion

 “I ask how and why this decision was reached,” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said in the Senate recently. He was calling for an investigation into President Trump’s decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria. “Was there no chance for diplomacy? Are we so weak and so inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of […]

A state-by-state initiative is gaining momentum to allow terminally ill, mentally competent people to request and obtain medication from their physician to shorten their suffering and achieve a peaceful, dignified death. Polled nationwide, a large majority, across political, religious, ethnic and gender lines favor this initiative. So far it is legal in nine states – […]

GALESBURG – My mother’s breathing was ragged. I held her left hand with each labored gasp. My dad, her husband of almost 59 years, gripped her right. As she breathed slowly, shallowly, my dad cried out, “Save a place for me in heaven.” Tears fell down the face of my sister, who sat at the […]

You’re probably chuckling already. Seriously? “The joy of politics”? That was pretty much the reaction I got the other day when, in the middle of a conversation about how confrontational, adversarial and downright unpleasant politics has become of late, I suggested that it could be both fun and a source of satisfaction. Yes, of course […]

 I was part of a recent panel discussion of democracy at Lincoln Land Community College, sponsored by the Academy of Lifelong Learning. Our discussion celebrated the beginning of self-government, of “democracy” in the New World, in the Virginia colony on Aug. 30, 1619. We did begin a form of self-government in August 1619, and we […]

Mass shootings leave an imprint on the American psyche. Thoughts of “It could have been me” and a sense of vulnerability occur when shootings occur in places that citizens frequent, including schools, churches, concerts and shopping malls. Mass shootings are prevalent in our society. The U.S. is an outlier among developed countries in terms of […]

 There is power in names. That is something of which former Illinois Congressman Paul Findley was keenly aware. Findley, a Republican from Jacksonville, died last month at age 98. Findley, who served in the U.S. House from 1960 until 1982, was an early critic of American military involvement in Vietnam. “We were looking for a […]

The Amazon burns, urged on by Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro, an elected official who is all-consuming, literally. I do not understand why we continue to elect Neros to positions of power, to lead us into destruction. How many times has our society been at this crossroads and chose to burn it down? Instead, we can […]

 It would seem as if Springfield’s new favorite night this summer was Thursday. If you weren’t at the weekly Knights of Columbus Mega Jackpot drawing, you were likely out with family and friends trying out the downtown Y Block as a venue for live music – all for free, as part of the Levitt AMP […]

 I wouldn’t consider myself a gambler. I never learned to play cards, my poker face is the exact opposite of Lady Gaga’s and a night at the horse races never elicited much interest from me. However, for the past five weeks, I have found myself tucking a tiny, white, good luck giraffe into the pocket […]