By Rik Hafer
Whoever wins the upcoming presidential election, whichever party takes control of the House and Senate, our elected officials will face a formidable task. Obviously they will face the immediate social and economic effects of the ongoing pandemic. They also will confront an economic outlook that requires enacting policies that go beyond currying votes for the next election.
Editorials
Getting flu shot more important than ever
By Dr. Graham A. Colditz, Siteman Cancer Center
“It’s September, and I’ve already had my flu shot.” If you want to know how important it is to get the flu vaccine this year, that note from a friend last month may help. Each year, he puts off his flu shot as long as possible and sometimes even skips it, against good advice.
Revamped biotechnology oversight good for Missouri
By Eric Bohl
In recent years, Missouri has become the worldwide epicenter of biotechnology and animal sciences research. No other place on earth has as dense a concentration of scientific talent and entrepreneurial companies of this type as our state.
What comes before freedom of speech?
By David Callaway
The next time you are with a group of friends or colleagues, ask them this piece of trivia: “What freedoms are all Americans guaranteed by the First Amendment?”
Do you know?
The right to peacefully protest needs better supporters
By Lata Nott
Freedom Forum Institute
On Friday, Aug. 28, Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana introduced a bill called the “Support Peaceful Protest Act.” Despite the cheery title, its very purpose appears to be to make individuals think twice before attending any sort of protest. If the bill were to pass, it would make it so that an individual “convicted of a federal offense related to their conduct at and during the course of a protest” policed by federal law enforcement officers would be required to pay the cost of that policing, and would be deemed ineligible for COVID-19 unemployment benefits. This would be on top of the penalty imposed on the protester for committing that federal offense in the first place.