I attended the town hall meeting with Sheriff Chuck Heit, sponsored by We the People and moderated by Pastor Dan Robinson at the Zion St. Joseph UCC church, on April 29. Kudos to Pastor Dan who gently and firmly moderated, and kudos to We the People who made the evening possible. I was not surprised to see The HP headline: “Sheriff: ICE agreement ‘safest option’” because he made the “safe” assertion repeatedly during the two-hour meeting. I was left wondering: Safe for whom?

In the aftermath of the Great Depression and WWII, our Congress and World politicians began to realize their main job was not only to protect but also improve the lives of its citizens. Starting in the 1930’s into the 1960’s, several Presidents and Congresses created Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, developed regulations to prevent bank failures, empowered unions setting a minimum wage and developed the GI Bill providing returning WWII veterans the ability to affor

AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) is a U.S.-based lobbying organization that advocates for strong U.S.-Israel relations and policies aligned with Israel. On their website aipac.org, it states front and center that their organization is in part to ensure “officials who supported this partnership are elected to Congress.” It has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, as opponents argue the organization promotes Israeli interests over the best interests of

In the most recent average of presidential approval/disapproval polling, a majority of Americans (54.7%), disapprove of Trump’s presidency, while only 40.9% approve. Trump is underwater by almost 14%. Trump’s low poll rankings are of his own making. The primary reason for his low approval is the ego that drives him to inappropriate actions just because he thinks them appropriate. Added to this, the cabinet of “experts” he appointed know no more about their roles than he does,

In the 1920’s Republican politicians sided with wealthy individuals and corporations by focusing on conservative business policies, prioritizing deregulation, isolationism, and tax cuts for the rich. In 1929, the stock market crashed and unregulated banks collapsed, which brought on the Great Depression. Unemployment accelerated to 15 million people in 1933. Additionally, because of the 1934 Great Plains drought, farms collapsed with 10,000 farmers a month leaving their far

By Paul Orlando During WWII Nazi soldiers occupied Norway. Red knit hats became a popular way to demonstrate resistance to the occupation. The Nazis outlawed the red hats but Norwegians continued making and wearing them. This idea resonated with Gilah Mashaal, the owner of a yarn store in Minneapolis during the weeks-long occupation of the Twin Cities by federal immigration paramilitaries known as I.C.E. She said, “That’s extremely fitting for this moment. Me, being a Jewish

By Cindy Wells Like many people following election legislation, there is confusion between two similarly named bills: • The SAVE Act (H.R.22) • The SAVE America Act (H.R.7296) They sound almost identical don’t they?. They are not. And the differences matter – to over 50% of the US population. How the Confusion Happens: The original SAVE Act focused primarily on voter registration. Its central proposal: present proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. It did not

Photo by Frederick Wallace on Unsplash In the wake of the 1929 world economic crisis, the German Nazi party encouraged its citizens to use hate and blame for their lack of jobs and the ongoing financial crisis. The leaders of that party turned citizens’ anger toward their neighbors, particularly those of Jewish descent. In addition, Germany’s Nazi party: Ignored Parliamentary Laws and began to govern by a violent fascist dictatorship. Eliminated opposition voices and tr

By Paul Orlando The net worth of Donald J. Trump is estimated by Forbes to be $7.3 billion at present. Since taking office in January of 2025, he leveraged the Presidency for profit to the tune of $3 billion. His cryptocurrency ventures exploded after his victory, adding $2 billion to his wallet. Another 500 million came after a judgement against him stemming from his civil fraud case was lifted by his legal team. And his faltering licensing business surged over $400 million