Today's Opinions

The real reason the background-checks bill failed in the U.S. Senate is because the citizens have come to distrust this president and members of Congress after four plus years of constant lying to the public.  

Most reasonable people would agree that background checks are a valuable tool when used properly, but this bill had language in it that transferred too much authority to Eric Holder (the thug from Chicago) to enable him to restrict our ability to purchase a firearm.  

By LEE HAMILTON
Center on Congress
With the formal release of President Obama’s budget, the pieces are finally in place for a reprise of the Washington drama we’ve all come to know.

There will be high-stakes negotiations, lines in the sand, and enough intrigue to keep Beltway insiders riveted by every piece of breaking news.

The rest of us, though, are already worn out. In repeated conversations with ordinary people, I’ve been struck by the immense frustration I’ve encountered.

By KEN PAULSON
President, First Amendment Center

Imagine Upton Sinclair with an iPhone.

Sinclair went undercover in 1904 to document squalid conditions in Chicago’s meatpacking plants, leading to his muckraking novel The Jungle.

His reporting led to new public health laws two years later.

In today’s social media world, Upton’s expose would have gone viral.

Sure, we would have lost a classic book, but just consider the retweets.
That possibility unsettles some in the agriculture industry.