O Lord Jesus, we sing your praises, for you are worthy to be praised. Amen.
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US support for Israel, Ukraine proving inadequateJonah GoldbergAfter Iran’s massive drone and missile attack on Israel on Saturday, President Joe Biden reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "You got a win. Take the win." Most of the weapons, the first Iran had ever fired on Israel from its own territory, were successfully intercepted.
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The human cost of IVF (4/17/24)2Kathryn LopezThe New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury and her husband recently put some of their hard-earned resources into getting a movie based on one of her novels, "Someone Like You," into theaters. It was an act of courage and faith, and it could be a cultural game-changer if people care to notice.
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No one cares about Joe Biden’s lawlessness (4/17/24)4Rich LowryHere we go again. President Joe Biden has, once more, claimed to find astonishingly wide-ranging authority to forgive student loans hiding in minute places deep in the federal code. Biden has already been rebuked for this practice by the Supreme Court, yet he remains undeterred.
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Repealing food stamp ban for felons would improve public safety (4/16/24)Helen WebsterPeople with drug felonies on their criminal record are uniquely excluded from receiving benefits in Missouri from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, after they are released from prison. This deprivation of SNAP benefits is solely because of their categorization as a former drug felon.
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DEI cronyism and woke grifters (4/16/24)10Victor Davis HansonWhen ideology replaces meritocracy or provides immunity from the consequences of illegal behavior, systemic mediocrity follows. Under toxic National Socialism, Stalinism, and Maoism, millions of cronies and grifters mouthed party lines in hopes that their approved ideology would allow them to advance their careers and excuse their lawbreaking.
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The erosion of fiscal responsibility (4/15/24)Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle recently wrote that the best argument made in favor of limiting the size of the stimulus during the Great Recession — part of a larger conversation about austerity — was one of ethos. "We weren’t spending the money in theory," she wrote, "or in 1945, when an ethos of fiscal responsibility prevailed. We were spending it in the 21st century, when that ethos had collapsed, so there was a considerable chance that when the good times finally rolled around, no politician would willingly undertake the sacrifices necessary to get the budget back in shape." ...
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Cape should prioritize funds (4/18/24)In today’s economy, it’s understandable why the majority of voters were reluctant to support a tax increase to fund public safety wage increases. So, what’s next? ...
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Overcoming Missouri’s opioid epidemic (4/11/24)Bad news: Missouri’s opioid epidemic emerged as our most serious public health problem with drug overdose Missouri’s no. 1 leading cause of death among adults aged 18-44. Overcoming this crisis will be difficult, yet not insurmountable. Accidental prescription opioid addiction contributes fuel to our opioid epidemic, and the American Medical Association says about 45% of heroin users started with a prescription opioid addiction.
In case you missed it
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Editorial: Cape Girardeau Heritage Museum unveils exhibits on old bridge, Truman and American quilting (4/15/24)The Cape Girardeau Heritage Museum is set to unveil three new exhibits this week that promise to enrich our understanding of both local and national heritage. These exhibits, focusing on the construction of the old Cape Girardeau bridge, President Harry S. Truman’s connection with Southeast Missouri, and American quiltmaking, provide a view of pivotal moments and traditions that have shaped our community and the country at large. ...
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Column: We all deserve space to pursue our dreams (4/15/24)The Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop saved me from making a huge mistake recently. I emailed my editor before I left and told her that I didn’t think I’d have time to continue writing this weekly column. I told her I was too busy. I have a full-time job for our local newspaper, where I write and edit columns for the Kentucky community. ...
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Column: Republicans need to unite, not fight (4/15/24)10I don’t blame the public for not wanting to put the Republican Party back in power in Washington. As the GOP proved again in the House last week, it’s incapable of accomplishing anything of importance. ...
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Column: Americans are not seeking out middle ground (4/13/24)Star ParkerA Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Sen. Mitt Romney regarding the demise of the No Labels political party initiative tells us as much about Romney, and why he failed to ever become a national leader, as it does about the failure of the No Labels effort. No Labels defined its mission "to support centrism and bipartisanship."
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Column: Biden Administration not ready for an H5N1 pandemic (4/13/24)4Betsy McCaugheyThe H5N1 virus, which for 30 years affected mostly birds, is rapidly evolving and spreading globally. The Biden administration is dangerously unready. Over the last two years, H5N1 has jumped from birds to mammals, infecting at least 26 species.
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Column: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s case against Speaker Johnson (4/13/24)Rich LowryThe first time that Republicans toppled their own speaker during this Congress, it wasn’t a particularly edifying spectacle, but Marjorie Taylor Greene is reaching for new lows. To paraphrase Marx: first as a farce, then as a more preposterous farce.
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Column: Eclipse in downtown Cape: A day the hidden gem shown to visitors from around the world (4/13/24)Alyssa Phares-FeeHow do you even begin to describe something that’s both utterly breathtaking and incredibly frustrating all at once? This past weekend was an absolute whirlwind as we played host to folks from all corners — Washington State, Iowa, St. Louis, Illinois, and the East Coast — all descending upon Cape Girardeau with one mission: to witness the eclipse. They’d been planning and booking with us for months, and let me tell you, the anticipation was palpable. It felt like forever waiting for that moment to arrive, but when it did, it was nothing short of magical.
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Editorial: SE MO Redi preparing to hire leader (4/12/24)2SE MO Redi is preparing to make an important hire. The economic development organization based in Cape Girardeau — formerly Cape Girardeau Area MAGNET — will be hiring a president/chief executive officer to guide its efforts.
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Column: The latest sign that Republicans are abandoning even their most deeply held principles (4/12/24)3Jonah GoldbergThe changing of the conservative mind in recent years could hardly be captured more pithily than in the headline of a recent op-ed: "Why I believe in industrial policy — done right." So opined Sen. Marco Rubio for the Washington Post and, at greater length, for National Affairs.
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Speak Out: Speak Out 4-11-24 (4/11/24)Eclipse headline That’s a great headline in Tuesday’s edition. And yes, it was!
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Column: Yes, fight anti-white racism (4/10/24)4Rich LowryIs there anything more poisonous or ridiculous than insisting that corporations and the government treat people fairly regardless of race? Apparently not. An Axios report on the Trump team’s intention to use civil-rights laws to target diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies discriminating against whites has occasioned sneering and denunciations.
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Editorial: Nominations open for Difference Makers 2024 (4/10/24)Many people who work to improve lives, communities and societies have one thing in common: They don’t do what they do for a pat on the back. Instead of looking for a congratulatory spotlight, they are heads-down, shoulder-to-the-wheel helping others. And because they won’t ask for praise, it’s up to us to recognize and honor their efforts.
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Letter to the Editor: From local meetings to DNC (4/9/24)Chuck BanksThe presidential primary went well. The next step will be the local county mass meetings. Each county will elect delegates to go to the congressional meetings. The eighth congressional meeting will be held in Wayne County this cycle. That’s the only perk to being the eighth congressional chair!
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Column: Americans differ on Ukraine and Gaza (4/9/24)1Victor Davis HansonWhen Russia invaded Ukraine, Americans overwhelmingly supported Ukraine — as they did with Israel after Oct. 7. No wonder: Ukraine was surprise attacked by Russia, and Israel was by Hamas.
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Column: Remembering and misremembering Buckley (4/9/24)Kathryn LopezI cried and cried and cried on the night of Feb. 27, 2008. I'm not sure anyone ever did that while watching Charlie Rose on PBS before. But there I was. William F. Buckley Jr. had died that day, and Rose played recaps of interviews with Bill over the years. Bill founded National Review magazine in 1955, and I was editor of the magazine's website when he died.
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Editorial: Cape Chamber celebrates local innovators at annual dinner (4/8/24)The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner is always an inspiring evening recognizing the achievements of business innovators in our region who are leading industries, championing new ideas, and taking leadership roles that propel our community forward. ...
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Speak Out: Speak Out 4-8-24 (4/8/24)Our state legislators are so dumb here in Missouri. They have a way of increasing revenue and simply refuse to do so. They could and, may I add, should require all these side-by-side UTVs that are running on city streets and county roads to be licensed and covered by insurance just like any other motor vehicle. When you have up to a hundred in a group on a county road, it is a hazard to local traffic. They are supposed to be off-the-road vehicles, not on city streets or county roads. ...
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Column: Washington’s ‘job creation’ circus is hitting the road (4/8/24)2In the grand circus of politics, where elephants and donkeys alike perform under the big top, there’s one act that never fails to draw a crowd: the venerable "job creation" routine. Putting people back to work, especially those without college degrees and in the manufacturing world, is in the center ring. Unfortunately, when you look behind the smoke, mirrors and rabbits hidden in hats, you’ll see that promises to rebuild America through industrial policy are just plain old corporate welfare. ...
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Column: Who’s going to save America’s soul? (4/8/24)Lent is over – and I’m kind of sorry. As a practicing Roman Catholic, I observe Lent every year. The Britannica defines Lent as a solemn period of penitential preparation in Christian churches before Easter that provides 40 days for fasting and abstinence in imitation of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. ...
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Column: The Bible is America's book (4/6/24)Rich LowryOf all the objectionable things Donald Trump has ever done, selling a Bible would seem to rank pretty far down the list. Yet his marketing, along with Lee Greenwood, of a God Bless the U.S.A. Bible for $59.99 has occasioned a couple of news cycles of outrage. The Bible has an American flag cover and accompanying American historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence, as well as the words to Greenwood's iconic patriotic song.
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Column: Why do Americans, UN support Hamas terrorists? (4/6/24)Star ParkerMost recent Gallup polling in March shows that 36% of Americans "approve of Israeli military action in Gaza" and 50% disapprove. Last November, a month after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians, 55% approved of the military action that Israel initiated.
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Column: Broadband availability challenge underway (4/6/24)Garrett HawkinsMissourians have an incredible opportunity and responsibility to impact how broadband deployment funds will be distributed across our state. For the first time, Missourians can provide on-the-ground feedback about which homes and businesses still lack access to reliable, high-speed broadband. Nobody knows better which communities and rural areas are underserved than the people who live there, and now is the time to make your voice heard. Once the map challenge process closes on April 23, the public will not have an opportunity to weigh in on how these federal taxpayer funds will be spent.
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Column: Teach migrant children English — bilingual ed is a scam (4/5/24)3Betsy McCaugheyNew York City, Denver, Chicago and other cities are urgently recruiting bilingual education teachers as the children of migrants enroll in school. Bilingual ed will doom most of these kids to failure. All too often it's an educational ghetto, producing dropouts who can't speak English and face a lifetime of poverty. Non-English-speaking students should be given intense instruction in English when they first arrive at school and then mainstreamed to classrooms where students are taught only in English.
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Editorial: Solar eclipse 2024 is on the horizon (4/4/24)A solar eclipse will bring four minutes of midday darkness to Southeast Missouri on Monday, April 8. This celestial oddity is revisting the region only seven years after its last appearance, though another won’t reveal itself until Aug. 12, 2045. When is the eclipse?...
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Column: An unfortunate alternative to Trump, Biden (4/4/24)1Jonah GoldbergAmerican politics is so intensely stupid and nasty that it sometimes seems as if somebody made a series of wishes with a monkey's paw. The dark moral of "The Monkey's Paw," a 1902 short story by the English writer W.W. Jacobs that became a pop culture trope, is that you should be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. In 2008, the widespread wish for an African American president who would usher in a new "post-racial" politics yielded to an era of heightened obsession with and tensions over race. In 2016, the ancient dream of a capitalist outsider who would run government like a business delivered a man who ran the government like it was in the business of promoting and enriching him. In 2020, the notion that a non-military threat could unite a divided country around a common challenge gave way to sharp polarization over the management, treatment and origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Column: Colorblindness is America's most transgressive idea (4/4/24)Rich LowryWriter Coleman Hughes went on "The View" and was greeted almost as though he had shown up wearing a white hood. Hughes, a soft-spoken black intellectual who is a political independent, was talking about his new book, "The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America."
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Letter to the Editor: Stop voting roadblocks (4/4/24)On April 2, my son was denied his right to vote by the Missouri Legislature through Missouri Revised Statute 115.135. He had recently turned 18 and wanted to vote for a friend’s parent running for a school board position. My son drove to the correct polling place during normal voting hours with his Missouri REAL ID driver’s license. The poll workers were excited to see a young man taking his civic responsibility seriously. When they could not find him in the system, it was first assumed he had not fully registered at the DMV so he filled out more paperwork while the poll workers graciously called the County Clerk’s office to discover the issue. My son was in fact registered to vote on March 13 as he renewed his driver’s license, but he had not registered early enough (the fourth Wednesday prior to the election) as stated in the Missouri Revised Statute 115.135.
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Speak Out: Speak Out 4-3-24 (4/3/24)Easter message I would ask everyone to read Joe Biden’s Easter Day message and then Donald Trump’s message. After reading them both decide which person is normal and which one is mentally deranged. Cardinals baseball The St. Cardinals are quickly finding out how far they have fallen. It’s only a few games, but against one of the best teams, they can’t even be competitive. Oli Marmol can’t put a lineup on the field that can hit elite pitching. This is what the owners wanted. Mozeliak gave them what they wanted — an average team at best with an outside chance to win their weak division. It’s basically the same team as last year, a last-place team.
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Column: Protecting rural Missouri from the Left's costly climate agenda (4/3/24)7Jason SmithOn President Joe Biden’s first day in office, he declared war on American energy by cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have supported thousands of jobs and supplied 830,000 barrels of oil from Canada to U.S. refineries. It’s gotten even worse since then. While his radical, costly energy agenda is popular among the wealthy and most radical fringe of his party, it’s been a complete disaster for working-class Americans who are struggling to keep up with higher costs for everything from the gas they put in their cars, the groceries they buy to feed their families, and the furniture and appliances they purchase for their home. And as his new electric vehicle (EV) policy makes clear, he has no intention of abandoning his costly climate agenda.
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Column: Thank God for the internal combustion engine (4/3/24)2Rich LowryOne of Joe Biden's notable digressions when getting deposed by Special Counsel Robert Hur was about driving his beloved 1967 Corvette Stingray convertible. Which wasn't surprising — the president genuinely loves his car. And why not? It's a thing of beauty and, for its time, was a splendid feat of engineering.
Prayer of the Day
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BBB's Tips for Spring Home Improvement Projects
BBB Marketplace Survival Guide by Sydney Waters (4/18/24)
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Mayor Ford, Kiwanis light up Capaha Park's diamond
From the Morgue by Sharon Sanders (4/16/24)1
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AUDITIONS SET FOR “ANGER MANAGEMENT”
River City Players Community Theatre blog by Debbie Barnhouse (4/15/24)
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Typical Terms in a Business Broker Contract
Be Advised by Jennifer Smith Broeckling (4/11/24)
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BBB's Tips for Buying a Car Online
BBB Marketplace Survival Guide by Sydney Waters (4/10/24)
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The rise and fall of Capaha Park's wooden grandstand
From the Morgue by Sharon Sanders (4/9/24)
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BBB's Tips on Finding a Safe Summer Camp
BBB Marketplace Survival Guide by Sydney Waters (4/4/24)
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Death of Judge Pat Dyer, prosecutor of the famous peonage case here in 1906
From the Morgue by Sharon Sanders (4/2/24)2
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2024 SEASON OPENS WITH “IT’S A FARCE”
River City Players Community Theatre blog by Debbie Barnhouse (3/29/24)
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BBB's Tips to Avoid Test Prep Scams
BBB Marketplace Survival Guide by Sydney Waters (3/27/24)