Opinion - The Timberjay

Things that need to be considered before creating a name...

In 2007, I designed and built a website that was then banned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The website was an April Fool’s gag called kittyporn4.me. It featured an escort … more

Catie Clark | 9/26/24

My Carpentry 101 crash course, and the wonders of oakum

With the season about to shift to autumn, my mind has been focused on the final steps to restore the exterior of my log house. A project I thought would take one summer is now rounding out the end of … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 9/26/24

Time to work together

As the members of the recently constituted Lake Vermilion Pickleball Association have demonstrated, residents of Greenwood do know how to work together to accomplish good things for their community. … more

9/26/24

Retain incumbent Justice Karl Procaccini

Early voting begins in a few days and I requested my mail-in ballot to fulfill an important civic duty. If you are like me, you fill out your General Election ballot and then turn it over and … more

9/20/24

United we stand

On Fridays you may see us by the side of the highway campaigning for Vice-president Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for the Harris/Walz team out there, which is … more

9/20/24

Join me in supporting Lorrie Janatopoulos

Lorrie Janatopoulos has worked to make the Iron Range a great place to live, work, and raise a family for decades. I have spent over twenty years on the Iron Range as a teacher and several years as … more

9/20/24

Climate change is a critical issue that Trump dismisses

Many presidential voters base their votes on the issues that candidates say they can solve, such as inflation, immigration, abortion, etc. Voters rarely consider candidates from the point … more

9/20/24

Trump may well back a nationwide abortion ban

I am a believer in having as little governmental interference in our lives as possible while still maintaining a civil and functioning society. Governor Walz’s credo: “Mind your own … more

9/19/24

School trust land sale is contrary to law

In regards to the proposed sale of Minnesota state school trust lands within the BWCA, the 1964 Wilderness Act states: “STATE AND PRIVATE LANDS WITHIN WILDERNESS AREAS SECTION 5. (a) In any … more

9/19/24

Define me by my actions

Am I a Christian? Do I follow the Ten Commandments? Do I love my God but have strange Gods before me? Do I put power, money, possessions, status, and ego before God? Am I willing to kill, harm, or … more

9/19/24

Debate showed why we need to turn the page

Well, the long-awaited debate is over. The first question was about the economy. Kamala talked about her tax plan for first-time business owners who want to start a business, a tax break for families … more

9/19/24

Janatopoulos will be a strong advocate for education

I’m a retired educator, having spent 35 years teaching in the Minnesota State College system. So, I’m a bit of an education geek when it comes to evaluating political … more

9/19/24

Trump's delusions around tariffs threaten the economy

One of the biggest economic concerns in the current presidential campaign centers on Donald Trump’s promise to launch a major trade war with virtually every U.S. trading partner, including our … more

Marshall Helmberger | 9/19/24

A failing nation

Donald Trump was absolutely right about one thing during last week’s debate with Kamala Harris. The former president repeatedly called the United States a failing nation, and his very candidacy … more

9/19/24

Letter writer had me laughing

I got a good laugh with last week’s letter about “strength through joy being a danger to democracy.”. Clearly the writer has never rea the Republican playbook called Project 2025, … more

9/12/24

Loyalty requires thinking before voting

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands…” Most Americans have declared this, from an early age – often … more

9/12/24

All who served our country deserve our thanks

This is one of the reasons I try to stay off Facebook. When you pop on you have really no control over the first post you see. Well, one day I pop on and the first post I see is a … more

9/12/24

Immigrants have brought blessings to America

Immigrants. They came for freedom. They founded our freedom in 1787. They are still coming today to escape violent conditions and find a better world for their families. They are taking lower-paying … more

9/11/24

Where have we seen Project 2025 before?

Project 2025 is a 900-page document spelling out a functional takeover of the American government. There is nothing remotely “conservative” about it. Conservative means to retain what is … more

9/11/24

Be cautious with your donations

Citizens who donate to charities soon realize that their names are sold to other charities. We can tell by the sudden proliferation of appeals for donations in our emails or in our mailbox. Our … more

9/11/24

Take it from a real conservative

From one of the most conservative people to ever serve as vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney: “In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who … more

9/11/24

Silver Rapids decision will have impacts

On Sept. 4, the Lake County Planning and Zoning Commission approved the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the Silver Rapids Resort Project. Here’s what that means for our lakes, roads, and … more

9/11/24

To bee or not to bee, that is the question for AI

The holy grail for artificial intelligence computing would be to one day have computers that could think exactly like humans, but the complexities of the human brain exceed our current understanding … more

David Colburn | 9/11/24

The billionaire takeover

The takeover of America’s politics by billionaires appears to have reached overdrive and the public is right to worry that our democracy is being corrupted as a result. Concern over the power … more

9/11/24

Trump’s supporters choose willful ignorance

I recently got into a war of words on Facebook with a friend from high school, who is now a very pro-Trump Twin Cities pastor. And I find myself, once again, wondering what I’ve missed in … more

9/5/24