THOMAS: Obama mistaken on his 'social gospel'

Cal Thomas Tribune Media

For 60 years the National Prayer Breakfast has been a nonpolitical event where speakers put aside their earthly biases and focus on a Higher Authority. Last Thursday, President Obama departed from that tradition to claim the endorsement of Jesus for raising taxes. It beat the endorsement …

Feb 09, 2012 | 6:00 am | (0) Comments

MCINTYRE: Love is in the air on Valentine's Day

Janette McIntyre Journal columnist

The Journal asked for love stories for Valentine’s Day.

Feb 08, 2012 | 6:30 am | (0) Comments

SOWELL: 'Poor' statement a defining moment for Romney

Thomas Sowell Creators Syndicate

STANFORD, Calif. — Gov. Mitt Romney’s statement about not worrying about the poor has been treated as a gaffe in much of the media, and those in the Republican establishment who have been rushing toward endorsing his coronation as the GOP’s nominee for president — with 90 percent of the d…

Feb 08, 2012 | 6:00 am | (7) Comments

SHAW: Will code of conduct be revised?

Jim Shaw Journal columnist

You would not think an elected body of people would need a formalized code of conduct, but Rapid City’s Council has one.

Feb 07, 2012 | 6:30 am | (12) Comments

SCHEER: Those who unleashed Wall Street got away

Robert Scheer Creators Syndicate

That Lawrence Summers, a president emeritus of Harvard, is a consummate distorter of fact and logic is not a revelation. That he and Bill Clinton, the president he served as Treasury secretary, can still get away with disclaiming responsibility for our financial meltdown is an insult to r…

Feb 07, 2012 | 6:00 am | (6) Comments

LIVE CHAT RECAP: Synthetic drugs more common

Paul Wathen Senior Officer, Rapid City Police Department

Q: What exactly is a synthetic drug and when did the police department start seeing them in western South Dakota?

Feb 06, 2012 | 6:30 am | (1) Comments

KRAUTHAMMER: Syria not just about freedom

Charles Krauthammer Washington Post

Imperial regimes can crack when they are driven out of their major foreign outposts. The fall of the Berlin Wall did not only signal the liberation of Eastern Europe from Moscow. It prefigured the collapse of the Soviet Union itself just two years later.

Feb 06, 2012 | 6:00 am | (0) Comments

WOSTER: Pukwana a political cash cow

Kevin Woster Journal columnist

Somewhere out there in our fine city, there are two contributors to the Matt Varilek campaign.

Feb 05, 2012 | 7:30 am | (0) Comments

WILL: Political speech silenced by pettifoggery

George Will Washington Post

FOUNTAIN HILLS, Ariz. — Dina Galassini does not seem to pose a threat to Arizona’s civic integrity. But the government of this desert community believes you cannot be too careful. And state law empowers local governments to be vigilant against the lurking danger that political speech migh…

Feb 05, 2012 | 7:00 am | (6) Comments

O'REILLY: Politically correct reporting

Bill O'Reilly Creators Syndicate

The story is grisly: a husband and wife murdering their three young daughters, ages 19, 17 and 13, by drowning them along with their stepmother. The couple was assisted by their 21-year-old son. All were found guilty of first-degree murder in Ontario, Canada. They were sentenced to life i…

Feb 05, 2012 | 6:30 am | (1) Comments

MILBANK: 'Chump change' payment

Dana Milbank Washington Post

WASHINGTON — House freshmen have been on the job for almost exactly a year, and until now they’ve done little more than talk about cutting the national debt.

Feb 05, 2012 | 6:00 am | (0) Comments

NOEM: Living a heart healthy lifestyle

U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.

A month has already passed since we rang in the New Year and many have already abandoned their once ambitious New Year’s Resolutions. Changing one’s lifestyle is not easy and it t…

Feb 04, 2012 | 8:30 am | (6) Comments

THUNE: Traditional family farm operations threatened by new Department of Labor rules

U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

Family farms are woven into the fabric and culture of life in South Dakota. Most of us visited or worked on a farm growing up, or had friends and family that did. While working on…

Feb 04, 2012 | 8:00 am | (2) Comments

DAUGAARD: South Dakota's math and science needs

Gov. Dennis Daugaard South Dakota governor

Feb 04, 2012 | 7:30 am | (3) Comments

JOHNSON: Working to end outdated regulations, save necessary ones

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.

Feb 04, 2012 | 7:00 am | (0) Comments

FORUM: County residents should be able to recall elected officials

George Ferebee Semi-retired Hill City rancher

It seems as though only one of the 13 members of the South Dakota Legislature’s House Committee on State Affairs was astute enough to recognize the discrimination currently codified in South Dakota law. Yes, only one member of the House State Affairs Committee, David Lust, voted to end th…

Feb 04, 2012 | 6:30 am | (3) Comments

FORUM: Evaluating teacher performance difficult

Homer J. Merfeld Former school board member and spouse of a longtime Rapid City teacher

Performance evaluation of human endeavor is a complex problem. If I could devise a tool that would do that objectively, I could become a millionaire overnight. I have been searching for such a tool all my adult life. We humans have made great advancements in most fields of endeavor, save …

Feb 04, 2012 | 6:00 am | (1) Comments

FORUM: We must protect our sacred Mother Earth

Tom Poor Bear Vice president of Oglala Sioux Tribe

PINE RIDGE — As most of Indian country is aware by now, the proposed Keystone XL pipeline received a harsh blow from the U.S. State Department and President Obama last week. On Jan. 18,  the Department of State announced its recommendation that the permit for the 1,700-mile pipeline proje…

Feb 03, 2012 | 6:30 am | (4) Comments

MARCUS: Should Santorum be campaigning?

Ruth Marcus Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The stories about Rick Santorum — to be precise, the stories about Rick Santorum’s 3-year-old daughter — tiptoe around the issue with all deliberate delicacy:

Feb 03, 2012 | 6:00 am | (2) Comments