A Day of Reckoning May Be Coming

By Dennis L. Morgan

Publisher

Is the hysteria surrounding President Barack Obama starting to wear off?

That’s a question some are starting to ponder as our president starts to see that government is more about actions than words.

After having promised nearly everything to everyone, implying by simply taking office he could right all the wrongs of the Bush Administration, reality is starting to set in on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Congress has given our young president the largest stimulus spending bill in U.S. history. Granted, it hasn’t had time to take hold, but Wall Street seems to pass judgment day after day on whether the plan will work.

People who have invested in the stock market are seeing their investments worth less and less every day.

The number of jobless Americans continues to rise. If you have a job be grateful. If you don’t have a job, you may have to resort to ‘living on a prayer’ until things turn around.

I don’t pretend to know any answers to our nation’s plight. Unlike other people who write sobering columns in papers near and far, whose knowledge on these matters is no better than you or I, I won’t say in this space that we’re better off with a Republican or Democrat in the White House. Instead, I’ll say this — what we need is a man or woman, who understands leadership is more than mere words, to step forward to lead this country AND world away from this financial abyss which threatens to swallow all of us.

What puzzles me today is how government now believes spending trillions of dollars can solve this economic crisis? How come no one seems to remember the math lessons of our youth? Those math lessons about spending money you don’t have always meant trouble. If you can’t pay your bills, you’re in big trouble. With this incredible spending, you can’t tell me that there won’t be a day of reckoning when the paper money in your pocket and mine will be worth next to nothing.

What it boils down to is this…the U.S. and every other country in the world is literally ‘rolling the dice.’ If those blessed dice come up ‘snake eyes,’ then God have mercy on us all,

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Enough about that stuff.

Tonight the District #18 Board of Education will talk about the possibility of a sports co-op program with Pope John Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School. 

As stated on page four, Principal Corey Fisher has said both schools are willing to explore such a plan.

We support such an endeavour as long as its beneficial to both schools. In the same breath, we’re confident smart minds at both schools will make the necessary decisions to make it happen if that is what is best for both schools.

In other communities where we have lived, efforts to consolidate schools have not been successful. I know we’re talking about a sports co-op, not a school consolidation, but read on.

Everything was smooth up until the time when attention turned to the sports programs. Then, each school wanted the mascot to be from their school. 

Eventually, months later, cooler heads prevailed. The larger school won out with the mascot and school colors, the smaller school’s mascot was delegated to the junior high programs.

It doesn’t matter what the name of the team will be, or what the teams’ colors will be. What is most important for a community looking to enter into a sports co-op program or to consolidate school districts, is for adults to act like adults and put petty differences aside. When that happens, the best interests of the students and the community will be served, 

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While this space has been used to talk about sports on more than one occasion, I can’t pass up the opportunity to make this observation. It was good to see our neighbors to the west — Ewing — win the D-2 State title in girls basketball. It makes Pope John Central Catholic’s team look that much better. The Lady Crusaders beat Ewing once, lost once earlier in the season. Then, in the district final, took the Lady Tigers into overtime before losing by five points.

The Lincoln Journal-Star, in their final rankings of the season, rated Pope John third behind Ewing and Chambers. That’s fitting of a great first season by Coach Seth Kallhoff.