A former Nebraska state senator, once again, is calling on the United States to do more to help Ukraine win its war with Russia. Tom Brewer, who served in the Legislature from 2017 to 2025 and earned two Purple Hearts during thirty- six years in the military, recently made his eighth trip to the front in Ukraine.

When did dinosaurs and aliens become Christmas decorations? I ask because I’m kind of stunned (my natural condition) at some of the strange, weird, and downright odd things you see in people’s yards this time of year. A lime-green Santa- saurus in our neighborhood caught my eye, and somewhere, I’ve seen a Santa alien wishing “humans” a Merry Christmas.

A good friend of mine called me one afternoon with a bit of a dilemma. This past year, he moved into a new house, and as the holidays began to draw near, his mailbox started to get full.

No matter your opinion of immigrants, I think we can agree on one thing—having a federal detention center in Nebraska is not a good look for our state. The opening of the “Cornhusker Clink” illustrates that Nebraska is in full-throated agreement with the roundup and deportation of those who came to our country in search of a better life but in violation of immigration rules.

With my deadline looming and my eyelids getting lazy, last Monday night, I called an audible. I decided it was time to take in a Christmas light show.

So much for cutting federal spending. Just recently, President Trump announced a new twelve-billion- dollar payout to American farmers.

In the middle of the night, there are few things more paralyzing than having an unfamiliar noise stir you from your sleep. If you are like me, from time to time, you hear something out of the ordinary, and that noise not only forces you to abandon a good night’s rest, but it also can lead you to wonder what exactly is happening away from the covers, fluffy pillows, and shams.

I can never resist. Each year, the first week in December, sports coverage takes me to Minden, and each year, no matter how many times I have traveled to Nebraska’s Christmas City in the lead up to the holidays, the lights on the downtown square draw me in.

If you’re like me, you probably have tuned in the latest, excellent documentary by Ken Burns, “The American Revolution.” If there was only one reason to donate to public television, it would be to help Burns produce more historical documentaries like “The American Revolution,” and those on the Civil War, baseball, and country music. There is nothing more interesting on television, if you ask me.

I like to drive, and Nebraska gives you plenty of opportunities. The state’s best road trip might be up the old Oregon Trail, past Chimney Rock to Scotts Bluff.