Body Let’s get this straight— seventy- one percent of Nebraskans voted in November to legalize the use of marijuana as medicine. But when the State Legislature got around to adopting regulations to dole it out, lawmakers decided “whoa,” let’s not get too hasty about this.

Body “Old soldiers don’t die, they just fade away.” General Douglas MacArthur, a World War II hero, used that phrase in his farewell address to the United States Congress more than seventy years ago.

Body If you would allow me to humble brag for a moment, I feel like it is important to point out that, even decades after having been promoted out of the fourth grade, I still know the Nebraska state song.

Body One day earlier this spring, following a particularly grueling week in the newspaper world, I was venting to a friend on the phone about the stresses at the office when they made a suggestion.

Body With the exception of being a state trooper, the toughest job in state government, in my estimation, is working as a corrections officer in a state prison.

Body Growing up, there were few things that I hated more than when my dad told my brother and I that it was time to go and pick up trash.

Body A rarely discussed legal term is getting its day in the sun. “The rule of law” is the crazy idea that everyone in a democracy is accountable to the same laws and that everyone is entitled to their day in court (and to be represented by an attorney).

Body Jack Benny used to say that “kids say the darndest things.” But every time there’s an election, we can honestly say that “political ads say the darndest things.” A seemingly innocuous vote or comment by a campaign becomes a negative television ad or campaign mailer.

Body This past weekend, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t get at least a little bit sappy while taking pictures at the first of what I am sure will be many graduation ceremonies this month.

Body As a kid, our grade school class was one of many that got to visit John Brown’s Cave in Nebraska City. There was a cool log cabin, the Mayhew Cabin, hewn from local cottonwoods before Nebraska became a state.