If The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were still alive — he would have turned 90 on Jan. 15 — would he think his dream of equality had come to fruition?That dream — that one day, his four children would "live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” — was the crux of a now-beloved speech given during the March on Washington in August 1963 as King stood on the steps of the Lincoln [...]
SJR Editorial: MLK’s message still resonates
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Another View: A resolution for the ages
Are you still looking for a resolution to keep in the new year, something more meaningful than visiting the gym regularly or avoiding saturated fats? Here's a suggestion. Take a trip down to the Lincoln Memorial, if you're in the Washington area. At last report, it was still open to the public, though with limited government support, thanks to the shutdown. There, inscribed on a wall, is the perfect New Year's resolution for Americans and people from other countries who still admire this [...]
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Another View: Troops pay price for Trump's Syria blunder
The tragic deaths of U.S. troops in northern Syria on Wednesday underscore how wrong — dead wrong — President Donald Trump was in declaring Islamic State's defeat to justify the withdrawal of 2,000 American troops from Syria. Advisers who are much better informed and experienced at military strategy than Trump warned the president repeatedly he was making the wrong move, but because he is driven more by ego than common sense, Trump overruled them.The blood of those [...]
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Editor's Notebook: Polar vortex: Will we break records?
Galesburg residents are braced for historically low temperatures that dropped overnight to reach minus 20 by 8 a.m. today, with wind chills as low as minus 44 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.The forecast was enough for Galesburg District 205 to cancel school at 6:45 p.m. Monday for both Tuesday and Wednesday. Other districts have done the same in anticipation of the dangerous cold, which now is forecast to reach its lowest temperature of minus 22 at 2 a.m. [...]
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Another View: States should counter anti-vax movement
A well-known anti-vaccination enclave near Portland, Oregon, is now facing a measles epidemic, an outcome that was as predictable as the sunset. It's the result of high numbers of families in the area taking advantage of available exemptions to school vaccination requirements based on philosophical objections.The "philosophy" is generally one of buying into dire but thoroughly discredited myths about vaccines. Trends in some states toward further loosening school vaccination [...]
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Another View: We must do more to stop the killing
Another tragedy has befallen our communities at the point of a gun, this one claiming the lives of five people working at the Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora and leaving five police officers wounded.We as a society have a duty to do a better job protecting Americans in the places where they learn, work and worship.Although we support the right of people to bear arms, it is reasonable to add safeguards to prevent people who should not possess deadly weapons from legally obtaining them. [...]
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Another View: Draft shouldn’t distinguish between sexes
With greater equality comes greater responsibility. That's essentially what a federal judge said in a recent ruling that renders America's male-only military draft unconstitutional.While the propriety of Selective Service registration itself remains debatable, the judge's rationale here is less so. Women make up increasing percentages of the armed forces and participate fully today in combat duties. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., lost both her legs in combat during the Iraq War. [...]
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Another View: Privilege shouldn't include using fraud
The ABC television series "Desperate Housewives" became a huge comedy hit largely because of the exaggerated ways it depicted suburban families trying to get ahead. In one episode, star Felicity Huffman was led away in handcuffs by police as her daughter watched from an upstairs window.In real life, seven federal agents, guns drawn, arrested Huffman at her Hollywood Hills, California, home Tuesday in connection with a massive fraud investigation. Huffman allegedly paid $15,000 to a [...]
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Another View: Electoral College adds political stability
Last week we wrote about Democratic ambitions to pack the Supreme Court. This week the Electoral College is on the chopping block as Senator Elizabeth Warren comes out in favor of its abolition, Beto O'Rourke makes sympathetic noises and Colorado's Democratic governor signs a bill adding his state to the "National Popular Vote Interstate Compact." Scrapping the system the U.S. has used to select Presidents since its founding will likely soon be the Democrats' default position.Like the [...]
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Another View: Pritzker shouldn't use tax $ to sell referendum
If a school district — or any local government, for that matter — overtly promoted a bond issue that required voter approval, it would be drawn and quartered.That's against the law, and so when Barrington Unit District 220 recently held a referendum for one, school officials were careful to ensure that any publicity that was underwritten by the government was strictly informational, in tone as well as word.Contrast that with the messaging you and we are financing [...]
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Editor's Notebook: Saying goodbye to long-time editor
On May 8, The Register-Mail will lose a newsroom pillar. After 30 years, Local News Editor Rob Buck will work his final day at The Register-Mail.When I first arrived in Galesburg as editor nearly 16 years ago, Rob’s desk was the center of activity. Editors, photographers and reporters were busy talking to Rob about this or that story. And it hasn’t changed. Even though the newsroom is quieter these days, the news — and there have been some big stories over the [...]
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Editor's Notebook: Uproar on Facebook over headline
If you don't follow The Register-Mail's Facebook page, you likely missed the backlash we received over a headline in Thursday's edition. More than 150 comments were left on a Facebook post showing our front page. The flap was over the headline that appeared on the edition's top story regarding the impeachment proceedings. The headline was this: "Sondland: Trump directed quid pro quo"Here is a samplkng of the comments:• What a poor excuse for a newspaper!!! [...]
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Editor's Notebook: Register-Mail needs your stories, photos, talents
It's been quite a year for The Register-Mail and newspapers in general. I thank readers for sticking with us through this historic transition. The newsroom is smaller but just as dedicated to telling the stories of the community. Unfortunately, with a smaller staff, we can no longer cover all the ground we used to. We can't be at all city, county and school meetings anymore, so we will selectively dig into the important issues from each of those institutions.Help us [...]
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Editor's Report: Cedar Fork idea tops opinion section in 2019
A variety of columns, editor's Notebooks, letters to the editor and a Roundtable were most popular opinion pieces in 2019.Most viewed opinion pieces1. July 8 Stuart Allison: Bring Cedar Creek back to life - 3,185 pageviews2. June 17 LETTER: Leaving [...]
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Roundtable: What created political divide?
What created the current partisan divide with respect to political parties? Unrealistic policies push divideUnrealistic political policies are the number one partisan divide when it comes to governing our country. For example starting with the Democratic presidential candidates, one promises $1,000 a month to all Americans over 18 years old. Others promise free medical for all, while others want to tax the billionaires to make us all [...]
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Editor's Notebook: R-M publisher will be missed
On Friday, we said goodbye to our publisher David Adams with pizza and cupcakes.David started here in January 2017 and is leaving to take a position as general manager and vice president of sales at the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier.David was publisher over the community group of newspapers in the region during his time here and also oversaw some of the company's southern Illinois newspapers. He replaced Scott Carr who replaced Tony Scott.The past three [...]
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Editor's Notebook: Letters on Facebook draw criticism, readers
Facebook has become a necessity in distributing the local news. I wish it weren't so.Back in the olden days, seven or eight years ago, we would post our stories to galesburg.com and readers would come to our website and look for stories they wanted to read and photos they wanted to see. If a story was compelling, people would read it. These days only a small percentage of our readers would find that story, unless we post it to Facebook.Most digital readers now consume news [...]
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Editorial: Not enough testing to know if COVID-19 is here
These are unprecedented times.Schools closed for weeks. Offices shuttered. Business slowed. Travel stalled. The coronavirus has drastically impacted our lives.We’re hunkered down in our homes trying to wait out the coronavirus and prevent its spread, therefore mitigating serious illness and possibly death.On Tuesday, Illinois had its first death due to COVID-19. The Illinois Department of Public Health reports 160 people have tested positive for the coronavirus [...]
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Earth is our home and you can fight for it while you're at home
The 50th anniversary of Earth Day will not get the attention it deserves as the world deals with the novel coronavirus pandemic.Instead of the rallies, parades and other hoopla that accompanies just about every 50th anniversary, Earth Day activists will mark the day virtually.About 1 billion people are expected to participate in the largest secular event in the world from the comfort of their homes. Earth Day is about education and action and reminds us this Earth is [...]
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Editorial: We must plan and allow for more voters to choose to vote by mail
The scenes last month during the Wisconsin Primary Election should enrage us all. In Milwaukee, as the polls were closing, there remained lines wrapped around several blocks, voters spaced a comfortable 6 feet apart, some wearing masks, waiting to get inside their polling place. It was cold. It was raining, yet still, people waited to have their say in the democratic process.Every time we vote, it should be safe, efficient and easy. How can we ensure that criteria is met? Offer a [...]
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