Author – The Journal

High school: a time to learn, explore and grow

As I reflect on another year’s homecoming festivities with the parade, football game and dance, I can’t help but think about the important role that high school plays in our students’ lives....

DATE: Oct 26, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Samuelson: At budget time, let’s look at the important points

WASHINGTON – It’s that time of year again when Congress debates the federal budget. For most Americans, it’s a turnoff. The dollar amounts are monstrous – trillions, not billions...

DATE: Oct 23, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Samuelson: North Korea growing more adept at cyber warfare

WASHINGTON – It turns out that North Korea isn’t just a nuclear threat. It’s also a cyberthreat, and in some ways, this may be more frightening. Launched largely anonymously, cyb...

DATE: Oct 19, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

A dearth of virtue and the death of hypocrisy

WASHINGTON – Hypocrisy, one of the most damnable sins, has been rendered obsolete. When everybody’s a skunk, nobody smells the stench. Today, hypocrisy is the smirk on Harvey Wei...

DATE: Oct 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Sheek: Fall means budget time for Cortez City Council

It’s fall! There’s a crispness in the air, the trees and oak brush have assumed the spectacular colors of the season. Another harbinger of fall is that we now begin the review a...

DATE: Oct 12, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Samuelson: Advance of the ‘spoils society’ is not welcome news

WASHINGTON – The “spoils society” advances. The spoils society is a phrase I coined some years ago to illustrate a basic problem of wealthy societies, including, of course, the United States...

DATE: Oct 9, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Samuelson: How resilient is the typical American consumer?

WASHINGTON – The American consumer is the great engine of growth for the $19 trillion U.S. economy, representing nearly 70 percent of spending. If the consumer is confident and happy, chance...

DATE: Oct 5, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Lopez-Whiteskunk: Washing away gains of Bears Ears

When President Obama designated Bears Ears in Southeastern Utah a national monument last year, it represented a major breakthrough for Native American tribes. A movement and visi...

DATE: Oct 2, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Rankin: High stakes testing

During the August board meeting of the State Board of Education, the Colorado Department of Education released the Scholastic Aptitude Scores for 2016-17. The SAT is a standardiz...

DATE: Sep 25, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Tipton and Westerman: The truth about forest health

As you read this, tens of thousands of acres are going up in flames across the West. Decades of misguided forest management strategies and decisions are coming home to roost. ...

DATE: Sep 21, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

James: TV and Mao’s China

When I was a kid, there was a guy named Mao Zedong who was the “big cheese” in China. He ruled with a pretty hard hand, and demanded that everyone dress, speak and think alike. ...

DATE: Sep 18, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Sheek: Libraries change lives and strengthen communities

I am a retired librarian so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of my favorite places in Cortez is our local library. The libraries of today are very different from the ones many of us ...

DATE: Sep 14, 2017 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns