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Our View

Acceptable losses are unacceptable

We have been watching with some dawning horror as political discourse has increasingly turned towards the concept of acceptable losses. The Democrats, obsessed with trying to understand how they could possibly lose to Trump twice, are edging steadily closer towards throwing away vulnerable minority groups, which will continue to need protecting for as long as we, as a people and a nation, are unwilling to put our actions where our mouths are with regards to equality. Meanwhile, the Republicans are frantically looking to smash whatever they can of the federal bureaucracy while they ...

KCSD needs your attention, involvement

The Keystone Central School Board voted last week, 5-4, to approve its budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, including a tax increase — its third in as many years. A final adoption is planned for June. We have touched on adjacent topics previously in Our Views, both regarding Keystone specifically and the subject of fiscal responsibility broadly. The district’s finances and the problems therein is one thing. However, we were struck by something else after this most recent meeting: where is everyone? The budget passed with no public comment. None. This is remarkable to us. ...

Responsibility in spending is the taxpayers’ demand

We put a great deal of stock into responsibility: in our personal lives, in our duty to provide our readers with the best local coverage we can manage, and in our belief that elected officials must treat our tax dollars with the dignity and respect that our collective labor merits. Taxes aren’t just a big pot of money that sits around waiting for somebody’s whims to spend it. They are the blood, sweat and tears of those who contribute them. A tax dollar is a sweet treat unpurchased — fifty of them? That could be a new toy or game for your kid, a minor repair to your house or ...

Use the correct tool — and mindset — for the job

Increasingly, it seems as though those in power are rejecting the scalpel in favor of the hammer — entering their positions with preconceived notions and goals and then forcing the data to align with their worldviews. For example, the current administration entered power with the belief that government cannot, or should not, fix the problems of its citizens. That may be true. However, that does not change the simple fact that there were parts of the government that did work, and that by removing or defunding those elements under the belief that the whole is not worth saving, they ...

Develop a conservation mindset this Arbor Day

Arbor Day this year comes to the news that the Trump administration is seeking to fast-track the resource exploitation of public lands, as reported by The New York Times, The Hill and others — although as of this writing, the Associated Press has not yet picked up the story. Notably, this reporting is also saying that the Endangered Species Act is being disregarded while President Trump’s energy emergency declaration is in effect. The subject of energy vs. environment is complicated and emotionally charged for many people. Environmentalists strongly believe in preserving our ...

Peaceful assembly, protest is an American tradition usable by all of us

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” — The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Throughout history, protests have been the catalyst behind pivotal social movements, exposing abuse and injustice, demanding accountability and encouraging hope for a better future. The public’s ability to speak truth to power — protected by the First ...