Opinion

State leaders suggest public should pay for public records

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Missourians in 1973 could have felt secure that the then-newly approved state Sunshine Law made public records and meetings easy to access, but today’s lawmakers often bare their hairy assertions of ignorance, if not outright contempt for the Sunshine Law.
THE PUBLIC will be forced to pay to get access to public information in Missouri if Gov. Mike Parson – together with Rep. Bruce DeGroot and others in the General Assembly – continue on a path that will render this state’s already weak Sunshine Law useless. J.C. VENTIMIGLIA | Staff

A BRIGHT IDEA?

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Proposed bill would gut Mo. Sunshine Law It has been almost 50 years since the original Missouri Sunshine Law was adopted by Missouri.
THE FORMER SHERIFF SUFFERS FROM A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE. J.C. VENTIMIGLIA | Staff

Critical race theory pales vs. real issues

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George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are two of the greatest men this nation has produced. Both had flaws, too. Scratching the surface, Washington had faults as a military tactician and Jefferson in dealing with trade. But the most obvious stain on their legacies is that they owned slaves.
J.C. VENTIMIGLIA | Staff

Graves should support gold medal effort

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There is no reason to doubt that U.S. Rep. Sam Graves and the rest of the House will agree to already unanimously accepted Senate legislation, sponsored by Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, to award the U.S. Army Ranger veterans of World War II the Congressional Gold Medal.
U.S. REP. Sam Graves flies this P-40 Warhawk during a Wings Over Whiteman air show. J.C. VENTIMIGLIA | Staff

‘Witch! Witch!’ 2022 elections looming

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Complex issues require hard work to solve, making them too difficult to use to win political campaigns, so politicians fall back on the tried-and-true practice of faking problems, blowing them out of proportion and then offering solutions to those phantom problems.

Build Back Better deserves support by all Americans

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I don’t understand why some voters in Missouri are so against Congress passing a bill that will benefit those same voters and their children. The Build Back Better bill passed by the House but languishes in the Senate behind a wall of obstruction that just doesn’t make sense.

Mo. military-friendly in words, not deeds

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Missouri Department of Transportation policies, at least as evidenced in Ray County, are far less friendly toward the military and veterans than promised in a state where former Gov. Jay Nixon, present Gov. Mike Parson and other political leaders seek to present a friendly face.
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