We are entering the 12th month of a "special military operation" that was supposed to be over in well under 12 days. The Kremlin even told Russian officers to pack dress uniforms and medals for the intended military parades in Kyiv a few days after the shooting started...

Donald Trump hasn't been impressing anyone with his political acuity lately, but at least he is fully aware of one of his own vulnerabilities. His early attacks on the COVID-19 record of Ron DeSantis show that he knows the Florida governor has outflanked him on the populist right -- indeed, outflanked him in general -- regarding one of the most central issues of the last couple of years...

I would like to offer our citizens a reminder of the city's financial accomplishments of the last year, and to share a picture of the goals and plans for 2023. There has been so much going on, and we will see so much in the future -- this is definitely not a comprehensive list of all that is going on in the city government and its departments...

The average American home is almost 2,200 square feet. An average home in the United Kingdom is a minuscule 818 square feet, in Finland 880 square feet and in Germany under 1,200 square feet. Cramped. Americans have bigger houses and a higher material standard of living -- more appliances, clothing and cars -- largely because they can keep more of what they earn. The U.S. is a low-tax nation -- for now...

Under President Joe Biden's leadership, Americans never seem to get a break from the spiraling prices they face. Now, they are beginning to see the price for gasoline rising higher and higher -- again. This is troubling news for working-class families who are struggling just to put food on the table, clothes on their backs, and gasoline in their cars because of the cost-of-living crisis, which Washington Democrats created with their reckless, $10 trillion spending spree. ...

Once again, the nation is traumatized by horrible video of police brutally beating to death a Black man. Need I note the victim was Black? Would we be less or more traumatized if the victim were white? But the rule seems to be the victims are Black...

There is presently a great deal of discussion about the fact that the United States has reached the national debt limit set by Congress. If this situation continues and the U.S. does not pay its obligations, then Treasury bonds will no longer be risk-free, interest rates for the government and everyone else will rise, and the role of the dollar globally will be weakened, perhaps permanently. A failure to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits will loom on the horizon...

After suffering through Rep. Jason Smith's latest inflammatory and dishonest attack on reproductive rights and health ("Standing for Life" 1/24/23), there is no doubt that "pro-life" legislation is rooted in Christian fundamentalism. The opinion that life begins at conception is a belief shared exclusively by a few overly zealous Christians. As Justice John Paul Stevens correctly stated in 1989, there is no secular reason for legislative declarations that life begins at conception...

Thank you Rebecca LaClair for the memories of restaurants past. I, too, miss Zoi's and the Russian restaurant that used to be on Broadway. I believe the sauce served on the schnitzel was made of lingonberry. Alas, we can now add Hamburger Express and its delectable barbecue sandwiches and meaty turkey drumsticks to memory lane. Again, thank you for writing, introducing us to new tastes, and special thanks to all chefs and restaurateurs who make life here tasty and adventurous...

One of the top priorities this legislative session in the Missouri General Assembly is to reevaluate how the state amends its Constitution. Missouri passed Amendment 3 with 53% of the vote in November, legalizing the use and sale of recreational marijuana. The state's Constitution is now 253 pages long, of which 39 pages are dedicated to marijuana. Whether you agreed with the main point of the amendment, it was poorly written, murky and full of problematic clauses...

Former President Donald Trump for now certainly seems to have had more documents labeled "classified" at Mar-a-Lago in Florida than did President Joe Biden at his various homes in Delaware. Yet otherwise, the comparisons between the two cases, contrary to popular punditry, hardly favor Biden...

The community will have its first opportunity to see the creative work of area students this week during the First Friday Art Walk when the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri hosts its 23rd annual Children's Arts Festival. Visual and literary art pieces from more than 20 area schools will be featured at the exhibit. ...

It's a stretch, but I think I know the real reason the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago. We've been told for months that the DOJ ordered a search of Donald Trump's home in Florida because he was not turning over a bunch of classified documents to the National Archives fast enough...

After a hiatus during the Trump years, Republicans are back in the mood for fiscal probity. It's very strange not to seriously pursue a deeply held goal when you have unified control of Washington, then to insist on trying to achieve much of it in one fell swoop when you barely have control of one chamber of Congress...

If you follow policy debates long enough, arguments you never thought you'd hear can become key components of the two parties' policy platforms. That's certainly the case when it comes to some Republicans and their new "never touch Social Security and Medicare" position...

I've never been a huge fan of hot chocolate. For some reason, I don't enjoy cauterizing the inside of my mouth after being duped by the deceptively-tepid whipped cream or marshmallow topping. These days, I mainly have hot chocolate when my three teenage daughters, who I'm pretty sure started drinking coffee as toddlers, invite me and my credit card to join them in the drive-thru of one of our roughly 200 local coffee shops. ...

Most people don't lie awake at night worried about the national debt. Unfortunately, that includes President Joe Biden and the spendaholic Democrats in Congress. They should be worried. Frankly, so should you, no matter what your politics. Economics is a science, and numerous studies by world-class economists confirm that when a nation's debt gets too high, it pushes the economy into decline. Inflation soars, jobs become scarcer and mortgage rates to buy a home are unaffordable. Ouch...

Birthright of Cape Girardeau, a not-for-profit helping women facing unplanned pregnancies, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The organization held an event on Sunday, Jan. 22 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Jackson on the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which was overturned by the Supreme Court in June of last year...

As tensions about raising the nation's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling build, the headline that should be flashing in front of every American is that our country is not working. Nothing is going to get fixed -- really fixed -- until we come clean about this basic, sad and distressing fact...

There's an understandable compulsion in the media and among Democrats to emphasize the differences between Joe Biden's classified documents scandal and Donald Trump's. The two cases are different in many important respects. The most significant is obviously that the former president refused to cooperate with the National Archives and Justice Department until a search of his home was deemed necessary. ...

To Pastor Hurtgen's column from Jan. 14-15, I say "Amen." I have been a lifelong user of the Cape Public Library; my husband and I attend many events there, we stop in to check out books at least once a week, and we financially support the Friends of the Library. ...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department reported some good news earlier this month. K-9 Yuki received donated body armor thanks to a generous donation. The dog received a bullet and stab protective vest through Vested Interest in K9s Inc., a not-for-profit whose mission is to provide similar vests for K9 law enforcement all over the country. This particular vest was made possible thanks to support from Leah Beale of Oklahoma City...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stands accused of a long parade of horribles to which has now been added a new count -- allegedly opposing the teaching of African American history. Florida rejected the College Board's pilot Advanced Placement African American Studies course, and the decision has been treated in progressive quarters like the curricular equivalent of George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door...

Fascism works by the slow erosion of the normal. Keep pushing outrageous, anti-democratic, anti-free society dangerous nonsense like this until enough people just hold it as more "harmless" radical extremist hysterics that are merely performative ... ...

Left-wing Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador recently praised a visiting President Joe Biden: "Just imagine: There are 40 million Mexicans in the United States -- 40 million who were born here in Mexico, (or) who are the children of people who were born in Mexico!"...

This year marks the 50th anniversary since Roe v. Wade. Obviously, this year people gathered in Washington, D.C. for the March for Life with a new focus, as the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade, the decision that made legal abortion the law of the land, last year...

January 22 marks the 50th anniversary since the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. This somber anniversary provides so many Missourians the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to fighting for the unborn. 2022 was a momentous year for those of us who believe life is a precious miracle from God...

Aaron Horrell and Barb Bailey of Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau are back at it with another Paint for a Cause project. And this time they have teamed up with Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship (MVTH), a not-for-profit in Oak Ridge that offers therapeutic horseback riding...

Is Davos over yet? Is it safe to turn on our TVs without being scolded by formerly important environmentalists like old Al Gore or creepy young climate warriors like Greta Thunberg? Not quite (as of writing this column). All the virtuous public talk about stopping climate change, saving the planet and putting the dirty fossil fuel industry out of existence at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Switzerland officially won't end till Friday, Jan. 20...

Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, pro-life Americans attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of thousands marched, as they have marched since 1973. But this year, it was different. This year, the march took place, for the first time, in an America where Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land...

The long and tedious battle for House speaker ended with the GOP arguably more focused on fiscal responsibility and cutting spending. To accomplish this, Republicans are demanding spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. Asking for some future fiscal discipline before allowing Uncle Sam to borrow yet more money is well worth it, but carelessly chosen goals could derail the whole enterprise...

I got a note from my son's teacher saying he was not "meeting classroom expectations." He's in the first grade. The offense? Talking out of turn. My husband gave me that all-too-familiar look when I told him. You know, the look that means, "He gets it from you."...

America may not want a Trump-Biden rematch, but Donald Trump and Joe Biden sure do. A CNN poll late last year showed that 6 in 10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents want a different GOP nominee in 2024, and a roughly similar proportion of Democrats hope for a nominee other than Biden...

Reparation: The act or process of mending or restoring; making amends or atonement, offering expiation, extinguishing a guilt, giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury. The majority of slaves came from African victors of inter-ethnic wars between tribes who would have killed them until they found they could sell them to the slave traders. ...

For several years now, I've been told that the old consensus of fiscal conservatism and limited government was dead. So, you might think I'm delighted by the sudden rebirth of tea party-style budget-cutting zeal on display in the GOP's brinkmanship over the debt ceiling...

SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence was the S. Truett Cathy honoree for the True Inspiration Awards last month, a nationwide honor that came with a $350,000 grant. The organization knew it was to receive one of the awards, which was to come with a $30,000 grant to support the construction of a sensory garden, but the surprise announcement and additional dollars means the organization will be able to do much more good...

Hey Rebecca! You overlooked possibly the best glazed doughnuts in our area at Jackson Donuts! Try some, they are the best I've found. Certainly deserve a spot in your top five. Giving money routinely to corporate farms and ranches isn't socialism. It is welfare from the wealthy to the wealthy. That simple...

My sister-in-law, a nurse on Cape Cod, wants to visit New York City and is struggling to find an affordable hotel. If she were a Venezuelan migrant who had just arrived in the Big Apple on a bus from the southern border, she'd have a shot at a room at the four-star Row hotel, steps from Times Square. Or a room at a SpringHill Suites by Marriott, a Holiday Inn Express or a Comfort Inn. Free of charge...

More than 500 people attended the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Friday night where business and education leaders were celebrated. Julie Rushing received the R.A. Fulenwider Award. Among her contributions, Rushing has been a leader in the local Feed My Starving Children food-packing effort with New McKendree United Methodist Church and other area churches...