LETTERS OPINIONS
The Platners are in therapy — they really need it
The Democrats’ apparent choice to replace Maine Republican Susan Collins in the U.S. Senate has built a rap sheet of dazzling disqualifiers. It wasn’t enough that Graham Platner’s impersonation of a blue-collar oysterman has been exposed. Turns out he attended the Hotchkiss School, an elite prep school in Connecticut and …
Rocket men: Hezbollah demands impunity and Democrats say ‘Sure!’
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen recently claimed that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was “un-American,” an announcement that surely surprised the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of American citizens who have supported AIPAC, whose forebears and family members served in America’s military and fought for their country in …
Know Your Legal Rights
Graduation parties, summer festivals, and holiday weekends often bring more people onto Wisconsin roads — and more alcohol-related driving risks. For drivers with a prior OWI, state law requires significantly stricter penalties for a second offense, including mandatory jail time and long-term driving restrictions.
Roadless forests at risk as repeal effort advances
To the Editor: The U.S. Forest Service is attempting to repeal the Roadless Rule, a very popular rule, which has protected millions of acres of National Forests from logging and mining for 25 years. These roadless areas are often the last remaining intact ecosystems in the U.S., providing vital habitat …
Sonny Rollins knew not to die young
How is it that the “Saxophone Colossus” Sonny Rollins lived to 95? Aren’t jazz musicians supposed to die at tragically early ages? Actually, that’s a myth that Rollins and others proved flawed.
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Trump’s Memorial Day message
I don’t expect very much of President Donald Trump and generally, I’m not disappointed. In so many ways that we have come to take for granted, he is a small man, the antithesis of what we mean by “Presidential.” Tall in stature, small in character. That’s who we heard from …
River News: Our View
Well, just as we presumed, the Oneida County board was partying like there was no tomorrow this past week, voting to approve the DNR’s purchase of yet more land using tax dollars in Oneida County.
When political violence becomes acceptable, it becomes inevitable
A society that begins to excuse political violence should not be surprised when political violence multiplies. Once you create a moral framework in which violence is not merely understandable but righteous — once you argue that certain institutions are so corrupt, so “murderous,” that the people who participate in them …
Looking past ceremony: Military Appreciation Month and the case for strengthened veteran health in northern Wisconsin
Communities across Northern Wisconsin are closely tied to military service — with countless residents and families shaped by generations of enlistment, deployment, and return. That connection takes center stage each May during the commemoration of the National Military Appreciation Month — an annual tribute that intends not only to highlight …
Libertarians condemn petition circulator ban
To the Editor: The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin strongly opposes the recent federal court decision allowing Wisconsin’s out-of-state petition circulator ban to remain in place. Measures like this do not strengthen democracy, they weaken voter choice and make it harder for grassroots candidates, independent candidates, and third parties to compete …
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River News: Our View
There are moments when local governments reveal whether they actually believe the policies and principles they themselves adopted, or whether those principles are merely performative words for public consumption, to be tucked away and forgotten the moment political pressure arrives.
FDA has spoken on the abortion pill. Case closed.
The Supreme Court has just restored a woman’s ability to obtain the abortion pill by mail without first seeing a medical provider, at least for now. A lower court had tried to tighten that easy access by requiring patients to consult with a licensed clinician in person before acquiring the …
Data center freak-out
Data centers are big buildings full of machines that process what we do on our phones and computers. AI requires even more computing power, so companies are eager to build more data centers. AI requires even more computing power, so companies are eager to build more data centers. The usual …
Volunteers credited for successful year in free tax assistance
To the Editor: I would like to thank all the volunteers, sites, and site personnel that helped make this tax season a success. We completed 1,289 tax returns, up from 1,144 last year. We saved our clients $193,350.00 in tax prep fees and got them $1,499,589.00 back in refunds, up …
The Ballroom amounts to taxpayer abuse
Some years ago, I was president of an organization called the Association of Opinion Journalists. Every year we would run a convention in a different city and end it with a celebration in the hotel’s ballroom space. Our speaker on that closing night was usually some well-known political opinionator.
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