With the exception of a few highly skilled and talented employees, it is difficult for workers to enter into hard-nosed negotiations with successful employers. It seems obvious now that American Crystal is producing sugar with replacement workers at a rate that is good enough that the company does not feel compelled to cave in to union demands. The fact is that we have a relatively high percentage of unemployment, and workers are not hard to find. Comparison with earlier years is not...

There are several factors in play that cause concern. (1) because of the legal situation, aggressive, in-your-face, panhandling is permitted as a form of "free speech." Being accosted by robust men is scary for many, particularly women. In this regard, the presence of a large number of loiterers is also disconcerting. There isn't much the city can do about this, as the loiterers are on public streets and have a right to be there. They can't be eased out as would be the case at a...

It is up to the parents to provide the best education for their children that they can. Often this requires doing whatever it takes to get the children out of bad schools and into good ones. There is a lot of disagreement over teachers, teacher unions, and political machinations to address social issues. These old arguments will go on for years; but children need help now - not decades in the future. But, there is no disagreement that some schools are better than others. So, the simple...

The archbishop's letter to priests is a classic example of "the iron fist in the velvet glove." No man smart enough to be ordained a priest would now dare approach the archbishop with reservations about the church position on same sex marriage. And, the letter is all couched "in Christian Love!"