The Government, Military and Veterans Affairs committee that I chair recently held an interim study hearing brought by Sen. Aguilar about the challenges facing the Central Nebraska Veterans’ Home in Kearney. This facility is incredibly important to our veterans. Unfortunately, they are not immune to the labor shortage every business in Nebraska is facing. This […]

Will the state Legislature hold a special session to deal with COVID-19 vaccine mandates? This is the question which seems to be on everybody’s minds these days.  Well, the answer to this question is a very definite: Maybe! On Oct. 20, Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood and Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair filed the necessary […]

What have we become? Is America, let alone Nebraska, a people who seek safety over liberty, socialism over personal responsibility rooted in freedom? As Benjamin Franklin, the elder of the founding fathers, warned “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Of course, I am […]

On Oct. 6, I traveled to Texas to get a firsthand look at the deteriorating conditions along our country’s southern border.  The Biden-Harris Administration’s rush to undo Trump’s immigration policies has created a humanitarian and security disaster that continues to unfold. Over the last several months, law enforcement in Texas has been overwhelmed with the surge […]

Monday, Oct. 11 was Columbus Day, a federal holiday that many, including myself, observe in honor of the achievements of Christopher Columbus. His story is the genesis of the American dream. He was born into a modest family of weavers who lived above their shop in the Italian city-state of Genoa. Columbus’s accomplishments belong among […]

The Nebraska State Board of Education has lost all credibility with the people of Nebraska. On Aug. 6, I called for all of the members of the State Board of Education, including the Education Commissioner, Matthew Blomstedt, to resign. Last week, Patricia Timm who represents district 5 in southeast Nebraska, did the right thing by […]

Fall is the time for writing new bills. Therefore, this week I would like to tell you about what kinds of legislation I have been working on for next year. There are many issues facing our state right now and no state senator can tackle all of them.  Some will have to be taken up […]

“They” say there is no such thing as coincidence. They must not have known about COVID-19, the political viral disease. Is it a coincidence that the year of the COVID-19 is also the year that scientific integrity died? Discourse is the lifeblood of science. I thought we had gotten past jailing or guillotining or dismissing […]