Nike's latest TV ad is another slick paean to individual empowerment and prevailing despite the naysayers. Centered around Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, the commercial features various people doubting Morant can keep up his stellar play, to which someone always cheekily replies, "Says who?"...

The Supreme Court will hear this week Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. At issue is the law in Mississippi banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. A decision finding the Mississippi law constitutional will fundamentally change the abortion regime in our country, defined by Roe v. Wade since 1973...

Over the last few weeks, Pope Francis has been pointing to St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, as a role model. At a time when the United States has some 440,000 children stuck in the foster care system, it’s a good time to be talking about foster parents...

Thomas Jefferson is on the outs. Columbus Day is a shadow of its former self. And Thanksgiving, perhaps most consequently, is under pressure. If this most American holiday is ever downgraded from its honored place on the national calendar, it will speak of a profound change in our self-definition...

It is ironic when Democrats complain about sensational use of language. Thanks to progressives, practically every white person in America has been labeled a racist. But now, Democrats are screaming because Republican Sen. John Kennedy suggested Saule Omarova, whom President Joe Biden has nominated to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — the nation's top banking regulator — might be a communist...

I quit Fox News after more than a decade as a contributor. So did my business partner and friend Steve Hayes. We explained our reasons on the Dispatch, a media company we founded. But the decision was a long time in coming. Like Ernest Hemingway's description of bankruptcy, it came gradually and then suddenly...

Beware of government intervention in health care. In the next 20 or so years, all health care will be government ran. The progression has been slowly evolving for years and the last piece of the puzzle was Obamacare. Medicine is a three-legged stool with hospitals, physicians and insurance companies the three legs. ...

Liberal media and Democrat leadership are promoting the idea that Rittenhouse was a vigilante, and therefore loses his right to protect his own life, and they want him guilty of murder. Call it the "he's-guilty-because-he-shouldn't-have-been-there argument."...

Do we not have HIPAA Laws in this country? Joe Biden doesn’t think so. His mandate that employers require all employees to get vaccinated or he will punish them with fines is illegal if we still have laws to protect our privacy. The Biden administration ignores laws that interfere with their agenda. ...

The City of Cape Girardeau finds itself in a unique position — facing a problem but having two complementary tools with which to attack it. In their campaign to convince voters to approve a use tax — applying the local sales tax rate to purchases made online — municipal officials pointed to city employee salaries as a growing problem. ...

Most club or traveling sports teams cost parents and their kid upwards of $2,000 per year. Most kids play on these teams for 5-7 years at a cost of at least $10,000-14,000. That's a year of tuition at Mizzou or SEMO. You parents might want to reconsider your return on investment and, instead, pay an academic tutor...

Do we not have HIPAA Laws in this country? Joe Biden doesn't think so. His mandate that employers require all employees to get vaccinated or he will punish them with fines is illegal if we still have laws to protect our privacy. The Biden administration ignores laws that interfere with their agenda. ...

It started about a year into the pandemic and before vaccines were widely available. I was looking for my next book to read and my friend Christi told me I "had to read" Tara Schuster's "Buy Yourself the F-cking Lilies," so I did. It was exactly what I needed and right on time in so many ways. One chapter was about writing thank-you notes, and after a year of isolation, that sounded like a wonderful idea...

Millions of citizens long ago concluded that professional sports, academia, and entertainment were no longer disinterested institutions, but far Left and deliberately hostile to Middle America. Yet American conservatives still adamantly supported the nation's traditional investigatory, intelligence, and military agencies -- especially when they came under budgetary or cultural attacks...

Thanksgiving is a time for reflecting on all those things for which we are grateful. It seems particularly important now at the end of the second year featuring a pandemic and unprecedented restrictions. This past year also brought many abuses of government powers with long-lasting consequences. Americans' discontent is incredibly high, and some scholars worry that for the first time in over 150 years, we could be heading toward an epic slip downward...

Southeast Missouri State University's Historic Preservation Association recently marked its 40th anniversary. A weekend of events gathered former and current students and culminated in an awards ceremony. Among those honored was Denise Morrison, who accepted the Dr. Mattingly Award, the program's highest honor...

Social and emotional learning is the latest trend at your child's school. SEL sounds beneficial, but that's a disguise. In truth, it indoctrinates kids with extremist ideas many parents don't condone. On Nov. 22, the Hartford Courant reported that West Hartford, Connecticut, elementary school parents are in an uproar. ...

This week most of us will gather with family and friends to enjoy more than enough food and give thanks to Almighty God for the many blessings in our lives. Faith has much to do with the significance behind the holiday. In the early 1600s, the Pilgrims fled England to live freely -- namely the freedom to worship God according to their own conscientious. ...

The first time I ever wrote something with the intent of sharing it beyond the classroom was through 4-H. I grew up in a small town in northern Kentucky, right across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio. In both fifth and sixth grades, I earned a blue ribbon in the local 4-H speech competition and even got to compete regionally. ...

It ought to be possible to operate a retail store in one of America's largest and most iconic cities, but this most basic commercial proposition is in doubt in San Francisco. The erstwhile Golden City is beset by an ongoing tide of theft that is closing down retail locations and demonstrating again the city's unwillingness to govern itself...

I see where the city has been doing major work on streets such as Good Hope, Forest, Scott, and many more. Yet North West End Boulevard sits in such disrepair. People driving have to swerve to avoid large bumps and residents walking or bicyclists. There are no sidewalks or bike paths. People have to walk on the street because of the many open ditches. When are area residents and motorists going to see improvements to this street?...

Over the last decade, Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reports that teacher attrition rates for the last six years are over 11%. This is more than the national average of 8%. While Missouri presently has a strong pension system for its teachers, salaries are so low that individuals are not working in its schools long enough to receive it. ...

The GOP has had plenty of reason for good cheer in recent months. Nothing can compare, though, with the glad tidings of a potential showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to be Biden's successor in 2024 should he decide not to run for reelection...

If you are pregnant and in need, come to the Catholic Church! That was the message of Cardinal John O'Connor 30 years ago when he founded the Sisters of Life in New York. That community of Catholic nuns were founded to protect and enhance the sanctity of human life. The Sisters today are in the New York metropolitan area, Phoenix, Denver, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington, D.C...

As you're enjoying leftovers from Thanksgiving celebrations later this week, there will be several Christmas celebrations kicking off locally. On Friday night, Old Town Cape will host its third annual Christmas Tree Lighting in the Vasterling Suites Courtyard featuring a 30-foot tree. ...

President Joe Biden has united the American people — in disapproving of his performance, with 70% of Americans disliking the direction the economy is going and over 6 in 10 blaming him for it. The impact of inflation on people's pocketbooks and concerns over the expanding role of government are important in explaining those low approval numbers. A good time to change course is now...

The Washington, D.C.-based Federal Bureau of Investigation has lost all credibility as a disinterested investigatory agency. Now we learn from a whistleblower the agency was allegedly investigating moms and dads worried about the teaching of critical race theory in their kids' schools...

As Democrats regroup to try to pass their $2 trillion Build Back Better Act, pressure grows for shining the light of fiscal responsibility on all this. Given President Joe Biden's crashing approval ratings, there is some hint that the American people smell a rat...

How is inflation like critical race theory? A lot of voters have a hard time explaining how either works, but they know they don't like it when they see it. Obviously, it's a silly comparison on the merits. For starters, some voters actually like critical race theory while nobody likes paying higher prices. But, politically, the comparison is apt for two reasons...

Jeff Maurer's guest commentary in Thursday's paper (Nov. 18) regarding the use tax issue was both enlightening and troubling. It seems old information was used to claim that sales tax revenue was declining, while current information shows just the opposite. Sales tax revenue has increased in the most recent years. Yet city officials used that old information to urge approval of the new tax. We were led to believe that new revenue was needed to curb a decline. It seems we've been tricked...

It has come to my attention that throughout this whole process of presenting the facts for the city's financial information in regards to the use tax proposal, there are questions concerning the city's current revenue numbers. Our latest figures presented were through the end of fiscal year of 2019. I will give you the actual revenue figures in the chart nearby both for our fiscal year (June-June) and by calendar year and show the inflation rate for each year...

Thank you Jeff Maurer for pointing out how some of Cape Girardeau City leaders deceived voters into voting yes on the Internet sales. The truth is sales taxes collected in Cape are at an all time high. I'll be waiting on a public comment acknowledging their misrepresentations...

Students, faculty and staff at Southeast Missouri State University will get an extended fall break this coming week leading into the Thanksgiving holiday thanks to the campus community surpassing its COVID-19 vaccination goal. University president Carlos Vargas announced at the end of last month SEMO exceeded the 70% vaccination goal. ...

Working Americans got good news Nov. 12. They may not have to worry about getting laid off because of qualms about the COVID-19 vaccine. A federal appeals court suspended the Biden administration's attempt to mandate the shots at private sector workplaces with 100 or more employees...

I voted for the use tax in the city of Cape Girardeau on Nov. 2. My personal opinion is that all sales taxes (city, county and state) should be charged for any retail purchase regardless of whether the purchase is made from a local store or via an online website. ...

The local Zonta Club is one of the really impressive organizations that empowers area women on a local level while also using their collective efforts to make a big difference worldwide. On Friday, the organization will hold its annual luncheon to recognize several impressive ladies for their efforts...

Joe Biden was never exactly a colossus bestriding the Earth, but he's been getting smaller by the day. A Washington Post poll over the weekend suggested his presidency is, for now, a smoking political crater. It had him at a 41% approval rating, despite the passage of his long-sought infrastructure bill that was supposed to buoy him and his party...

Tell me again about this "new Zou." Seems like Mizzou football is still trending downward while their coaching staff salary goes up. In the last couple of months, I have been ran off the road by tailgaters on multiple occasions. There are a lot of dangerous, reckless and possibly mentally ill drivers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Be safe, crazy people are driving...

The diverging diamond interchange at the junction of Interstate 55 and U.S. 61 is now open, and so far the new design is working as envisioned. This has been a major, multimillion dollar project, with initial discussions dating back to the summer of 2018. Construction got underway in mid-February 2020, aided early on by limited traffic because of the COVID-19 pandemic...