Editorials

By Phill Brooks
    A recent suggestion by a Missouri Senator of a Senate leadership purge reminded me about the last time the Senate's top leader was ousted.

By Tony Mauro, Special Correspondent, Freedom Forum
    For decades, the Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment as the protector of the nation’s news media:
    • In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan in 1964, the court made it easier for journalists to criticize public figures without being sued.

By Garrett Hawkins
    In rural Missouri, we know what it’s like to feel forgotten. Coastal elites think of us as “flyover country” and have no idea what our lives are like or what we struggle with. When hard times come, the last thing you need is to feel like nobody’s listening and nobody cares.

By Garrett Hawkins
    On the farm, the “to do” list never seems to end—and only grows when the weather doesn’t cooperate. For my family, we found a small window when it was dry enough to wean calves a few weeks ago—and it has rained off and on since, delaying other much-needed work.

    “I just received the April 1 edition of the Star on May 29. Your editorial in that
edition didn't help much. I'm going to write the post office and report the eight week
delivery time.”

    It’s disgusting any time you get an email like this from a customer, but it’s even more disgusting when that email was from your uncle. Unfortunately, there are more and more complaints like this every day with no end in sight.

By Jordan Feyerherm, Community Development Manager, Center for Rural Affairs
    Leaders are the life-blood of small towns and rural communities. The success or failure of community development efforts often rests with the degree of leadership local residents are willing to provide.