Opinion

To the editor:Dear Jefferson County Supervisors Lee Dimmit, Dick Reed and Becky Schmitz; Sheriff Gregg Morton, State Senator Mark Chelgren; and State Representative Curt Hanson,Representative Tom Shaw, himself a lawman in his hometown of Laurens, Iowa, is sponsoring a bill in the Iowa House, the Iowa Safe Schools Act of 2013. Senator Kent Sorenson has agreed to sponsor a companion bill in the Iowa Senate. ...

To the editor:?The 2nd Amendment is not about hunting. It?s about defending ourselves against governmental tyranny.?Thus read a placard at a recent pro-gun rally. For many who invoke the second amendment, this is the implication. The black, socialist, Muslim, foreign-born president with the funny name is going to take away all our guns like Hitler, Stalin, and Mao did so he can impose a tyrannical dictatorship. ...

To the editor:On Saturday, Jan. 19, some 1,000 took part in the inaugural Midwest March for Life in Des Moines.We marched and sang around the beautiful State Capital building, some with signs, affirming life and the pain and devastation of abortion.Speakers spoke and pastors from different denominations led in prayer for our country in memorial of the 40th year since Roe v. Wade legalized the killing to the ...

To the editor:Jan. 22, 2013, marks a sad date for our nation. Forty years ago, the Supreme Court, in their decisions of Roe v. Wade and its companion case, Doe v. Bolton, made the killing of our unborn children legal during all nine months of pregnancy.Pope Benedict XVI states, ?Children are the major richness and the most precious good of family. For this reason, it is necessary to help all people to be aware ...

To the editor:Fairfield is not the center of anything I know.Except a place within my heart where love and memories grow.It?s just a small, inconspicuous dot on a map of the Iowa state.A picturesque, Midwestern town Norman Rockwell might paint upon a plate. Its name conjures a vision where serenity never yields.Where breezes there are warm and fair over gently rolling fields.Hindsight is 20/20 says an ...

Editor?s note: Elizabeth Garrels, Mt. Pleasant, is chairman of the Friends of the Harlan-Lincoln House, which is located on West Broad Street, next to the Chadwick Library on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College. By Elizabeth E. Garrels Thank you to Scott and Amy Lowe for bringing Lincoln to Main Street Cinemas. With this movie, they also provided much publicity for our local treasure, the Harlan-Lincoln ...

To the editor:Thank you, Fairfield! The bell ringing season for the Salvation Army has come to an end. With help from groups like the Fairfield Lion?s Club, the Kiwanis Club, and the Friends Church; businesses like Jefferson County Health Center, Libertyville Savings Bank, and Midwest One Bank; and many, many generous individuals and families, we surpassed our goal of $20,000. We ended the season having raised ...

By Charles GrassleyI was surprised to learn from a recent Washington Examiner article that last week I ?ignored? the Senate's longstanding blue slip courtesy. This article echoes inaccurate Democratic talking points and ignores the history of the blue-slip tradition.I have stated consistently that I am maintaining the blue-slip courtesy as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Since 1917, whenever a ...

To the editor:I consulted Wikipedia and found these latest population figures for 2010 for the largest US cities. Sixty cities were listed totaling over 50,000,000 people. That?s the number of babies who have been aborted in the last 40 years in the US since the Roe v. Wade decision was handed down on Jan. 22, 1973.On Jan. 7, 2012, Planned Parenthood released their 2011-2012 annual report. In 2011, Planned ...

To the editor:In the times we are living I can?t be the only one who, after watching world and local news, feels some form of depression or sadness. What is going on?Like me, many others recently watched our president give a memorial speech on the tragic loss of children and adults at another school. It hinted of some greater gun control coming down the road. But?what if we are not seeing the bigger picture?I ...

To the editor:Dr. Francis Thicke?s appointment to the NOSB (National Organic Standards Board is something that everyone in the Fairfield community can celebrate. Dr. Thicke?s presence on the NOSB will be a boon for the American public, the future of organic agriculture and the integrity of USDA-certified organic products in the US and worldwide. By accepting this appointment, Dr. Thicke is truly providing public ...

By Curt SwarmI don't know what it is about the ~ you-use-it,? but I've seen it play out way too often, not only with me, but with others.I had just passed my EMT test in Ft. Collins, Colorado and was on my way home, feeling proud and pleased with myself for having accomplished something I had wanted to do for a long time.It was about 10 at night. Rounding an S curve I came upon an accident scene that looked ...