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Another View: On LA's decision to rename Columbus Day

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Into the sea of battles that don't need to be fought comes the latest effort to wipe out those historical figures who more current history has deemed less than perfect.The latest target? Christopher Columbus, of course. Already statues of the man who set foot on this continent in 1492 are under fire — especially in New York, where Mayor Bill DeBlasio has called for a 90-day review of "all symbols of hate" in the city.But also targeted is the day set aside in October to [...]

Another View: Trump can't keep alienating GOP

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"If, as a voter, you think what we need is more Republicans in Washington to cut a deal with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, then I guess Donald Trump's your guy."Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas spoke those words in Manchester, New Hampshire, in Jan. 2016. The events of last week prove that Cruz was at least partly right.The senator was not alone in arguing that as president, Trump would be quick to cut deals with the political opposition at his own allies' [...]

Another View: Nation needs real tax reform

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President Donald Trump is in a big rush for Congress to approve big tax cuts, and he is using the damage left by Hurricane Irma to argue his case. One has nothing to do with the other, except for their negative impact on middle-class Floridians. The nation needs tax reform, but not tax cuts for the wealthy that would sacrifice popular tax deductions and raise the federal deficit.Before he traveled to Florida to survey the damage last week, Trump tweeted: "With Irma and Harvey [...]

Another View: Who picks a failing school?

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So you thought Illinois lawmakers made a deal on the school funding formula? Well, think again.The Republican votes needed to pass the school funding bill and get checks mailed to the school districts were earned through compromise. A major part of that compromise was a $75 million experiment in helping bring private school scholarships to more youngsters trapped in failing public school districts.Up to $75 million in state tax credits will be offered per year for five years to [...]

Editor's Notebook: Flourishing Elsewhere a timely topic

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The Register-Mail finished an eight-day series, Flourishing Elsewhere, a week ago that looked at how many of the top 5 percent of Galesburg High School left Galesburg and why. The series went on to look at the importance of keeping top achievers here and ways to do it.Living in small communities my whole life, I’ve often heard about “brain drain,” the [...]

Editorial: Quality of life can grow economy

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Galesburg has an opportunity to prosper, but it’s going to need to keep more of its talent local. Or draw it from elsewhere.The Register-Mail’s eight-day series, Flourishing Elsewhere, put numbers behind the concept that rural communities lose their brightest graduates to metro areas. The newspaper’s survey of the top 5 percent of graduates of Galesburg High School (from 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010) showed that 86 percent left Galesburg with no plans to return. [...]

Another View: Discriminate, in name of 'diversity'

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The recent attack in New York City highlights a federal discrimination practice that belies civil rights.The government's Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery favors individuals based on national origin — an immutable characteristic. Part 3, section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 describes a convoluted formula for "determination of preference immigration."The policy favors people from countries that produce few American immigrants and discriminates against countries with [...]

Pat Quinn mimicking Jerry Brown

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Is former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn stealing a page from California Gov. Jerry Brown's playbook?That's the question we asked upon hearing that Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, recently announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Illinois attorney general in the March 2018 primary.Quinn joins a crowded Democratic field seeking to replace the retiring Lisa Madigan.How crowded? There are seven other announced candidates.They are state Sen. Kwame Raoul of [...]

Guest Editorial: U.S. should do more to reduce opioid deaths

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At the end of the 20th century, Americans were worried about the dangers posed by crack cocaine. They didn't realize that another drug menace would soon eclipse it. Prescription opioids were gaining favor as a tool against undertreated pain. No one foresaw where this would lead: to an epidemic of opioid overdoses that the nation is only starting to confront with the urgency it warrants.Last year, some 64,000 people died of drug overdoses, most of them involving some type of opioid. [...]

Another View: Police cams prove their worth

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A video released Nov. 9 that showed a fatal shooting by a Chicago police officer underscored the value of cop cameras. Dash cams and body cams create a separate record of controversial events that help the public understand what happened.The video released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability showed an officer fatally shooting a 19-year-old man, Juan Flores, who had backed an SUV abruptly into the officer, pinning him against his police cruiser. The footage shows the [...]

Another View: Tax plan targets college tuition breaks

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Parents and students everywhere, especially faculty and staff at higher-education institutions around St. Louis, have reason to be very worried. GOP legislators on Capitol Hill, desperate to find financing for their proposed $1.5 trillion tax-cut plan, want to target certain college tuition benefits that make higher education affordable for thousands of Americans.Their plan would put higher education financially out of reach for many of the working-class people President Donald Trump [...]

Another View: Do your homework before voting

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Decorations, Christmas shopping, and planning for the March 20 primary election.The thought of gearing up for months of candidate mailers and appearances seems at odds with holiday festivities, but the campaign season got under way officially on Monday when petition filing closed and hopefuls reserved spots on party ballots for federal, state and county races. The primary will set the stage for the November general election.What that means is the candidates have taken the first [...]

Another View: Trump cheats Palestinians with move

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Unpredictable and unreliable. It comes naturally to U.S. President Donald Trump. That Trump is unpredictable is clear from his earlier actions and policy flip-flops. The president has now ensured that the United States is an unreliable partner in the Middle East peace process. Trust has been violated again and historical truths have been throttled. The United States cannot be expected to be an honest broker if it recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Trump has taken sides [...]

Another View: Trump continues to sow racial discord

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Americans probably thought President Donald Trump couldn't get much lower than insulting the parents of a Muslim American Gold Star soldier killed in combat while serving as an Army captain in Iraq. But Trump keeps managing to dig himself deeper.After refusing to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, Trump defended white nationalists in an August protest clash that ended with a woman's death in Charlottesville, Va. He made fun of a disabled reporter, mocked Mexicans, stoked [...]

Another View: No single person in charge of Illinois

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Gov. Bruce Rauner spoke with frustration about his inability to implement some programs he believes would boost the state's economy, lower property taxes and create term limits for state legislators."Illinois would be on a great future ... if I was in charge. I am not in charge. I'm trying to get to be in charge," he said.Then Rauner, as is his custom, identified House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has blocked almost the entire Rauner agenda, as the source of Illinois' problems. [...]

Another View: Why not approve Dream Act now?

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Quick, name a major public policy issue on which overwhelming numbers of Americans are united. Stumped? (Granted, it's a short list.) Here's one answer: allowing "dreamers" — young undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children — to remain in the United States if they pass background checks, go to school and fulfill other basic requirements. In a dozen polls this fall, including one released Tuesday, respondents who favor permitting dreamers to stay in the United [...]

Editor's Notebook: Projects, new publisher highlight 2017

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As we welcome the new year it’s customary to take a look at what happened over the past 365 days.The Register-Mail had some news of its own in 2017. David Adams started the year as our new publisher replacing Scott Carr, who replaced Tony Scott. Tony was named publisher after longtime publisher Don Cooper resigned in 2007. If you haven’t seen David around town yet, chances are you will. He’s made a lot of connections in his first year here, and we look forward to [...]

Another View: Fewer care about 'war on Christmas?'

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Sometimes the American public will surprise you with its common sense. Consider the findings of a Pew Research Center poll published this month: More than half of Americans simply don't care whether they're greeted in stores and businesses with "Merry Christmas" or a more generic "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings."The percentage of people who don't care has grown, from 46 percent in 2012 to 52 percent this year. About a third of Americans, including most Republicans, prefer [...]

Trump, Obama, Knox College, Galesburg: The most read opinion pieces of 2017

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Guest columnists made their mark online in 2017, with several local columns making the top 10 list for pageviews. Local columnist Harry Bulkeley's columns took the top two spots, while Mayor John Pritchard's letter about school funding landed fourth. Guest columns by Cate Denial and Adam Vitale also made the list along with R-M editorials and columns.In case you missed them, her you go:1. [...]

Another View: Deregulation creates jobs, fuels economy

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An executive order to reduce and discourage regulations would stimulate economic activity, spurring investment and jobs.That was the message of a Gazette editorial in January 2017, after President Donald Trump signed an order that said "For every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination."Regulation moderates activities, and humans cannot survive without moderation. Conversely, business, investment and innovation stagnate when [...]
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