editorials

Feb. 28 -- Reporter-News salutes: Recognizing groups and individuals who make a difference in the Big Country

Feb. 28 -- Clinton's ratings cloud GOP hopes (Morton Kondracke Column): President Clinton's political fortunes someday may collapse under the weight of scandal evidence, but right now they are soaring and probably will climb higher with the facing down of Saddam Hussein.

Feb. 28 -- Hollywood's more irrelevant than D.C. (Bonnie Erbe Column): It's fashionable these days to complain about the irrelevance of Washington, D.C. But what about the irrelevance of the Oscars? Between now and March 23, America can expect to be deluged with pomp, circumstance and more information than any 10 Silicon Valley geeks could intake, about a few select movies that, quite frankly, are irrelevant to most of our lives.

Feb. 27 -- Gramm muffs chance to back Dyess, Abilene (ARN Editorial): U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm might have to do some fast talking the next time he shows up in Abilene to tout his efforts in Washington on behalf of Dyess Air Force Base.

Feb. 27 -- Not a sexy story, but that's the idea (Ellen Goodman Column): BOSTON -- This is not a sexy story. Which is, after all, the whole point.

Feb. 27 -- Gov. Bush lowering presidential profile: WASHINGTON -- Arriving to address the Texas Breakfast Club, Gov. George W. Bush was greeted by an anti-tobacco protester dressed as "Butt-man" and a man handing out "Bush 2000" buttons that labeled him as "Big Tobacco's candidate."

Feb. 26 -- Religion bill's promise only mass litigation (ARN Editorial): The House Judiciary Committee could do the country and the Constitution a service by rejecting, in a vote scheduled for Tuesday, the misleadingly named Religious Freedom Amendment.

Feb. 26 -- Deadline for letters: The deadline to have political letters in our office to be considered for publication before the March 10 primary elections is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4.

Feb. 26 -- Ensuring peace vs. preparing for war (Molly Ivins Column): AUSTIN -- Thanks to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and all the peacemakers around the globe, including those who ruined the administration's television show in Ohio. If we put just half as much money into working for peace as we do into preparing for war, we wouldn't have to contemplate killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people in order to accomplish jack.

Feb. 26 -- It's springtime for Hitler and Lewinsky (Cal Thomas Column): When people invoke the ghost of Hitler as a debating tool, you can sense their desperation. But when they add Sen. Joseph McCarthy, their desperation becomes hysteria.

Feb. 25 -- Digging for dirt not how to pick attorney general (ARN Editorial): Maybe those who hoped this season's political campaigns would stick to the high road should have known better.

Feb. 25 -- Singling three out of the primary herd (Jeff Wolf Column): One of the best and worst things about being on a newspaper's editorial board is that during the month before statewide primary elections, a whole bunch of people who wouldn't otherwise know you from Adam become very interested in wanting to travel hundreds of miles to meet you.

Feb. 25 -- Playing GOP politics with Puerto Rico (Linda Chavez Column): Republican leaders are about to do something so stupid and venal that maybe they don't deserve to retain control of Congress in this year's election. They want to make Puerto Rico the 51st state in the union, and next week, the House will vote on a measure to start the process.

Feb. 25 -- Accused abusers living with 4 children (Bob Greene Column): MILWAUKEE -- Michael and Angeline Rogers, each facing 10 felony counts of child abuse carrying possible prison sentences of up to 95 years, have moved into a house in which four children live.

Feb. 24 -- U.S. must keep military forces ready in Gulf (ARN Editorial): U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's proposed agreement with Iraq will be acceptable if it meets the condition the U.N. Security Council laid down at the outset: "free, full and unfettered access" to the sites of its inspectors' choosing.

Feb. 24 -- Sorting out the science from the junk (Ellen Goodman Column): BOSTON - Sometimes after the smoke clears and the dueling experts have put their guns away, the most injured body left on the courtroom floor is the one called science.

Feb. 24 -- Moral of history's 'might have beens' (George Will Column): WASHINGTON - Suppose. Suppose the car had hit the pedestrian slightly harder.What car? The one on Fifth Avenue the evening of Dec. 13, 1931, when an English politician on a lecture tour momentarily forgot the American rules of the road and looked the wrong way when stepping into the street.

Feb. 23 -- Cornyn heads candidates in primary races (ARN Editorial): Early voting begins today for the March 10 primaries, with a full slate of candidates for statewide office going before the voters. A glance at the ballot shows that contested races on the Republican side far outnumber Democratic ones.

Feb. 23 -- Clinton vs. Saddam: Battle of the liars (Cal Thomas Column): I want to believe the president of my country. I sincerely do. I do believe Saddam Hussein has chemical and biological weapons that he is preparing to use on somebody, possibly his own people again, possibly a neighbor and possibly even Israel ó which could launch World War III (recently forecast by Boris Yeltsin), even Armageddon.

Feb. 23 -- Just how much is clean water worth? (Molly Ivins Column): SAN FRANCISCO - Say now, here's a bad idea: President Clinton has proposed we increase our spending on cleaning up the nation's water by $568 million, a chunk of which he plans to pay farmers for not letting their pesticide-laden runoff go into the public waterways.

Feb. 22 -- Cunningham, Lewis tabbed for leadership (ARN Editorial): On the Taylor County commission, the torch is about to be passed from one generation to another.

Feb. 22 -- Moderates fear shifts in state GOP (Steve Ray Column): Moderate Republicans fear they are losing their grip on the Texas GOP and they may have good cause for concern.

Feb. 22 -- 'Titanic' reminds us of less cynical time (Leonard Pitts Column): I was leaving a screening of the movie "Titanic" one afternoon when I chanced upon these two fellows standing outside the theater, wrestling with what they had seen. "OK," began the one, "so she had a fling with this guy on the ship..."

Feb. 22 -- Courageous new lessons from losers (Donald Kaul Column:) I'm not one of those bleeding-heart sports fans who falls for every sob story that comes down the chute at the Winter Olympics.

Feb. 22 -- Abilene steps forward to address the 'quiet crisis' (Nancy Paup Guest Column): It has been called the "quiet crisis" of the United States. Our nation's children under the age of 4 and their families are in trouble, and their plight worsens every day.

Feb. 22 -- Don't be deluded: Depression does call for help (Donna McCartney Guest Column): If you haven't been diagnosed with or have never experienced the effects of depression, thank the good Lord up above.

Feb. 21 -- Reporter-News salutes: Recognizing groups and individuals who make a difference in the Big Country

Feb. 21 -- Could they have been saved earlier? (Bob Greene Column): MILWAUKEE -- The words in the police officer's official report could not be any more blunt:

Feb. 21 -- Documentary on Reagan worth seeing: In a sense, it isn't quite reasonable to expect, at this early point in time, a balanced assessment of Ronald Reagan. When it comes to presidents, even the indisputably great ones must expect a considerable bouncing around.

Feb. 20 -- Social Security cooperation is positive sign (ARN Editorial): Maybe it's just that the Republicans know a political opportunity when they see one, but the promise of some GOP congressional leaders to go along with President Clinton on Social Security is a positive sign for the nation.

Feb. 20 -- E-mail lessons by Angela and Bobby (Ellen Goodman Column): BOSTON -- Somewhere between the double luge and the triple axel comes another Olympic moment: the minidrama of Angela and Bobby Templeton.

Feb. 20 -- Record being set straight on Nanking: WASHINGTON -- Something beautiful, an act of justice, is occurring in America today concerning something ugly that happened long ago and far away. The story speaks well of the author of the just act, and of the constituencies of conscience that leaven this nation of immigrants.

Feb. 19 -- Federal ban on 'paparazzi' not the way to go (ARN Editorial): It didn't take long for the latest mass mobbing of Monica Lewinsky to inspire yet another misguided federal move against "paparazzi."

Feb. 19 -- Lowering the stakes (ARN Editorial): Whatever the outcome of the Oprah Winfrey trial in Amarillo, it's unfortunate there will be no decisive court test of Texas' 1995 food defamation law. The federal judge on Tuesday tossed out that part of the case, allowing cattlemen to continue their lawsuit over comments made on Oprah's talk show about mad cow disease only as a simple disparagement suit.

Feb. 19 -- Searing study of American meanness (Molly Ivins Column): As we were saying when we were so rudely interrupted ... B.L.L. (Before L'Affaire Lewinsky), we were trying to have this national dialogue on race.

Feb. 19 -- The lessons Watergate can teach us (Cal Thomas Column): One of Watergate's convicted co-conspirators tells me that the Nixon team had a plan in 1973 for dealing with independent counsel Archibald Cox, which he thinks is relevant to Bill Clinton's battle with Kenneth Starr.

Feb. 18 -- Pray for success, plan for failure (ARN Editorial): For a politician prone to drifting into policy wonk mode, President Clinton on Tuesday delivered a clear and direct explanation of what's at stake in Iraq.

Feb. 18 -- Can Utah top this? (ARN Editorial): The legacy of the 1998 Winter Olympics is shaping up as an odd collection of offbeat happenings.

Feb. 18 -- The ADA enters the sports world (Linda Chavez Column): The PGA never had a chance in its battle with Casey Martin, the disabled professional golfer who last week won the right to use a cart to ferry him around the course in PGA-sponsored tournaments.

Feb. 18 -- Voices in parents', grandparents' ears (Bob Greene Column): ORLANDO -- It was a rainy day in Florida, I had a few hours before I had to be somewhere, and I didn't feel like hanging around the room.

Feb. 17 -- Nixing the line-item veto (ARN Editorial): Judge Thomas F. Hogan may be right as a matter of strict interpretation of the Constitution, and if so, the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold his denial of President Clinton's authority to veto line items in spending and taxing bills.

Feb. 17 -- Looking down the dimly lit ethical alley of cloning (Ellen Goodman Column): BOSTON - To be frank, I've had a little trouble taking the business of human clone-making seriously. Consider the most celebrated would-be clone-maker: Richard Seed. Would you take your infertility problems to someone named Dr. Seed?

Feb. 17 -- Is there anything reasonable about the tobacco 'settlement?' (George Will Column): WASHINGTON - People commenting on, and concocting plans for spending the proceeds from, the tobacco settlement often neglect to mention that there is no settlement. But, then, there is no reason anything should be reasonable about a tobacco policy that rests on the peculiar premise that government is a victim of smokers. Or of tobacco companies. Or something.

Feb. 16 -- Presidents Day not to honor all presidents: (ARN Editorial) Maybe you think Presidents Day is a day set aside to commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln simultaneously. You would be wrong.

Feb. 16 -- Beating the tax bite (ARN Editorial): With Congress having further complicated the tax code rather than simplifying it last year, accountants are sure to find themselves busier than usual during this time of tax return preparing.

Feb. 16 -- They're coming to take away our SUVs (Cal Thomas column): First our guns, now our sports utility vehicles! Big Government seems poised to further intrude on our freedoms in light of a study published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Feb. 16 -- The Sensible Center still fond of Bill (Joseph Spear column): Pollsters and pundits are perplexed by Bill Clinton's soaring popularity in the wake of relentless reports that he carried on a sexual relationship with a White House intern.

Feb. 15 -- Plenty for African-Americans to stop and ask 'why' about (Emily Bolton Guest Column): African-Americans have never said "Why?" They have just gone with the flow. If you are thinking why, then there is a problem.

Feb. 15 -- State taxpayers about to be skewered by unreasonable attorneys' fees (Troy Fraser Guest Column): Lost in the circus-like atmosphere of the Texas tobacco settlement in recent days is a simple, stark, shocking fact: Texas taxpayers are about to be the victims of some slick legal maneuvering by five plaintiff's attorneys, who, with the help of Texas Attorney General Dan Morales, are about to walk off into the sunset with $2.3 billion of Texans' money.

Feb. 15 -- Rules for transporting prisoners (Jim Grigsby Guest Column): In recent articles about the death of a prisoner being transported to Abilene from Post and also your Feb. 6 editorial in reference to sheriff's deputies acting like Keystone Cops, that is probably true to a point.

Feb. 15 -- Story was unfair to gun owners (Robert Cole Guest Column): I want to voice my objection to the kind of irresponsible journalism represented in your Feb. 10 front-page article, "Crime numbers increasing."

Feb. 15 -- Independent counsel is exceeding call of justice (Jack Townsley Guest Column): May God help us. This should be the plea of outraged citizens everywhere because it appears that our Department of Justice is sick!

Feb. 15 -- Surplus marked 'Fragile: Handle with great care' (ARN Editorial): The safety-conscious voter might want to stay out of the way of the president and Congress so as not to be trampled in the stampede to claim credit for the latest economic good news.

Feb. 15 -- Kinder, gentler IRS (ARN Editorial): The Internal Revenue Service is easing up on its definition of "innocent spouse." When a couple signs a joint return, both spouses are liable for the full amount of taxes. If one spouse can't or won't pay, the IRS goes after the other.

Feb. 15 -- Sentencing teens to Sunday school (Steve Ray Column): Fourteen-year-old Zack Smith struck a blow for separation of church and state earlier this year.

Feb. 15 -- When schools make really stupid moves (Dale McFeatters Column): In addition to access to computers and the Internet, President Clinton may want to amend his education goals to include access for every student to his personal attorney, Robert Bennett, or some other high-powered lawyer.

Feb. 15 -- A thank you to the many who helped (Sharon Randall Column): This is a column I'd hoped never to write. And I have no idea how to write it.

Feb. 14 -- Reporter-New Salutes: Honoring groups and individuals who make a difference in the Big Country

Feb. 14 -- Wear a smile as they throw you out (Bob Greene Column): COLUMBIA, S.C.-- For all my fellow Americans who were born between the years of 1946 and 1964, I have a warning:

Feb. 14 -- What's so right-wing about this machine? (Joseph Spear Column): Bill Clinton's predicament is not, in Hillary's unfortunate phrase, the product of a 'vast right-wing conspiracy.' It is, in the apt locution of conservative savant William Kristol, more the work of an 'attack machine.'

Feb. 13 -- Best days of Grace are yet to be reached (ARN Editorial): Today we say goodbye to the Museums of Abilene, which on Saturday become officially known by the name Abilenians have called the three-in-one facility for years - the Grace Museum.

Feb. 13 -- Keeping boys out of our exercise turf (Ellen Goodman Column): BOSTON - In days of yore, when the late, lamented Equal Rights Amendment was slogging through state legislatures, there was always some opponent around to warn that "if we have an ERA, we'll have to have unisex toilets."

Feb. 13 -- Making Saddam a lower priority (George Will Column): WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein's promises are made of pie crust, so why use force to produce more of them? This question arises because America lacks a convincing connection between its political objective and the military assets - including national will - it has to achieve it.

Feb. 12 -- Romantic hues certain to color today's Artwalk (ARN Editorial): Just in time for Valentine's Day, today's Artwalk is sure to be a sweetheart.

Feb. 12 -- Time to think of letters (ARN Editorial): The primary elections will be upon us sooner than you might think. Early voting for the March 10 primaries begins Feb. 23, which is only a week from Monday.

Feb. 12 -- Democrats fiddling while Romer burns (Cal Thomas Column): The left-wing conspiratorial strategy for diverting attention from allegations about President Clinton's wanderings from the marital bed is becoming clear: Expose other Democrats, reinforcing the view that "everybody does it," and so long as the economy remains strong, none of us should concern ourselves with what a public official does in private.

Feb. 12 -- Taxpayers must fund Bush challenge (Molly Ivins Column): AUSTIN - I don't know about y'all, but I'm starting to think maybe the country would be better off if we put all the politicians into Bedlam and let them carry on from there.

Feb. 11 -- Social Security 'reserve' isn't really a reserve (ARN Editorial): One of President Clinton's flashier sounding proposals is that the projected budget surpluses be put into a "reserve" for Social Security against the day that fund is swamped by retiring baby boomers.

Feb. 11 -- Not just 5-cent problem: The resurgence in cigar-smoking has inevitably caught the attention of federal regulators.

Feb. 11 -- Starr may yet redeem legal profession (Linda Chavez Column): "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Suggested as a cure for government corruption during the reign of Henry VI in Shakespeare's play about the hapless 15th century English king, it's a sentiment that will find sympathizers even today.

Feb. 11 -- Carl Wilson: the death of a Beach Boy (Bob Greene Column): The last time I saw Carl Wilson was on a broiling, breezy night last summer in northern Nevada. He no longer had the stamina to stand with his guitar for an entire show, so he was sitting in a chair on stage while he sang and played. His bandmates were on their feet on either side of him, making their music.

Feb. 10 -- Congress needs cautious steps on cloning bills (ARN Editorial): Both Democratic and Republican members of Congress, no doubt thinking they are riding an issue that will carry them close to the hearts of voters, are rushing to ban human cloning. This is nonsense, seeing as how the federal government is already willing and empowered to prevent any attempt to clone a person.

Feb. 10 -- A time to every purpose (ARN Editorial): Springlike days have pulled us from our ordinary winter confinement, and excursions outdoors have left us yearning for the real thing. But veteran Big Country weather observers feel an undertow of foreboding amid the joyous celebration.

Feb. 10 -- Tucker made allies of polar extremes (Ellen Goodman Column): BOSTON -- Death came to Huntsville, Texas, as a spectacle.

Feb. 10 -- Unions' political muscle may be at risk: NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- The most important voting this election year will not occur in November and will not award any office to anyone. It will happen June 2, when Californians vote on the Campaign Reform Initiative that would bar unions from spending any portion of any member's dues on political activity without the member's written consent, renewed annually.

Feb. 9 -- Cable incident in Italy calls for full investigation (ARN Editorial): As President Clinton has pledged, the United States must carefully and honestly investigate how it was that a Marine Corps jet sliced a cable at an Italian ski resort, thereby causing 20 people aboard a gondola to fall to their deaths.

Feb. 9 -- There they go again (ARN Editorial): Congressional Republicans honored Ronald Reagan's 87th birthday by overriding his principles.

Feb. 9 -- More money down public school drain (Cal Thomas Column): President Clinton's proposed "balanced budget" is like the forecast you get from a palm reader. It's full of predictions based on hopes that will not necessarily come true, but which make you feel better while you're being suckered into paying the price.

Feb. 9 -- A feminist on president's character (Molly Ivins Column): WASHINGTON -- OK, the feminist thing. Into which I did not want to get, mostly because the discussion so far is just a silly sideshow.

Feb. 8 -- Clinton budget puts surplus on endangered list (ARN Editorial): At the very outset of his budget, President Clinton states his strong belief that "we should not spend a surplus that we don't yet have."

Feb. 8 -- Hope remains that warmongering won't intrude on the Winter Olympics (Dan Thomasson Column): NAGANO, Japan " The skies above this mountain city may be clear, but there is a major cloud on the horizon for the Winter Olympic Games.

Feb. 8 -- Bush shows leadership, then stumbles (Steve Ray Column): On Tuesday, Gov. George W. Bush exhibited the kind of leadership that makes many Texans consider him a great governor and the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000.

Feb. 8 -- French take own slant on Clinton affair (Dale McFeatters Column): The Europeans and especially the French are taking their usual patronizing attitude toward our latest sex scandal.

Feb. 8 -- Black History Month can initiate on-going examination (Kimberly Gaither Guest Column): Over the years I've been led to believe that Black History Month is "the time" to read and learn about great black leaders of the past and present. Time and time again, I listened to reports and speeches about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and other well-known black activists/leaders -- well-known being my main point.

Feb. 8 -- Improvements reported in military health care program (Charles Stenholm Guest Column): A little over a year ago, I brought together representatives of the Department of Defense, the Air Force, Foundation Health Federal Services, Dyess Air Force Base and the Abilene community to resolve concerns about the implementations of TRICARE, the military managed health care program, in Abilene.

Feb. 8 -- Expanding access without addressing system's structural needs could make a bad situation worse (Drew Schebede Guest Column): Texans age 55 to 64 have the second-lowest rate of health insurance (after young children) in the state. This subpopulation, which academics call the "near elderly," is less healthy than younger groups, yet is too young for taxpayer-subsidized Medicare.

Feb. 8 -- Death penalty unfair because not administered evenhandedly (Martha Boggs Guest Column): This is a plea to Americans to think about the death penalty.

Feb. 7 -- Reporter-News Salutes: Recognizing groups and individuals who make a diference in the Big Country

Feb. 7 -- Veggie Libel Laws: We need open discussion of food safety: You deserve a break today, so I've declared this column a sex-free zone. I'm going to write about our right to beef about beef.

Feb. 7 -- Washington cries 'Wolf' once too often: They called Ronald Reagan the Teflon President because nothing stuck to him, no allegation of wrongdoing could hurt him. Well, next to Bill Clinton, Reagan is Velcro.

Feb. 7 -- Gap between punishment, crime too long in Tucker case: The execution of Karla Faye Tucker was wrong not because she was a woman, nor even because she seemed rehabilitated. The execution was wrong because her crime, though heinous, was committed 14 years ago, and the reasons justifying the cold-blooded, premeditated killing of a human being by the government could no longer be met.

Feb. 6 -- Incident here shows need for state guidelines (ARN Editorial): It resembled a Keystone Cops script or a Barney Fife farce -- except that a man was killed.

Feb. 6 -- Don't forget to register: Just a reminder: Texas' primary elections are March 10. You can't vote if you're not signed up. And Monday is the last day to register.

Feb. 6 -- Not playing with a full range of choices (Ellen Goodman Column): BOSTON -- Would someone please explain how a tale about a president's fidelity and veracity has spiraled into a fight over feminist ideology and hypocrisy?

Feb. 6 -- Clinton brings stain of the vulgarians (George Will Column): WASHINGTON -- Some Clinton supporters defend him with a masterpiece of political minimalism: "Watergate was worse." Which is true. Watergate involved attempted corruption of institutions to punish a president's enemies and aggrandize his power.

Feb. 5 -- Tobacco deal's lawyers should be paid in full: Would you pay an employee $2,000 to make you a $15,000 profit? Sure you would - and gladly. Especially if that were almost twice the profit you'd been hoping for. So why are Texas politicians trying to block payment to the attorneys who landed the state a $15.3 billion settlement from the tobacco industry?

Feb. 5 -- It's truly time for mourning in America (Cal Thomas Column): When King David of Israel committed adultery with the beautiful Bathsheba and sent her husband off to the front lines to be killed in battle, the prophet Nathan confronted the king and exposed his immoral behavior. This led David to confess his sins and repent. Today, David would have hired a good criminal defense attorney and used his palace staff to spin for him and smear the prophet.

Feb. 5 -- The looting of our retirement savings is the product of altruism: President Clinton has announced that the precarious Social Security system can be saved by giving it first claim on future federal surpluses. His top priority, he told the nation, is to ensure that "Social Security will be there when you need it."

Feb. 4 -- AISD teachers set new course of leadership (ARN Editorial): Those of us outside the public school system, whether we're politicians or parents or just ordinary taxpayers, remain concerned about what's going on inside our classrooms.

Feb. 4 -- Dropping dime on rates (ARN Editorial): For an aging generation, "to drop a dime" means to tip off the police, the expression coming from pay phones that were uniformly cheap and reliable.

Feb. 4 -- Message of faith in Duvall's movie (Linda Chavez Column): In a cynical, scandal-driven Washington, it was a surprising reaction: a Saturday-night movie audience breaking into spontaneous applause for a serious film about religious faith.

Feb. 4 -- Hello and greetings from the Pee Dee (Bob Greene Column): FLORENCE, S.C. -- Newspapers, down through U.S. history, have trumpeted their philosophies and their self-images in the mottoes they have chosen to proudly wear across their front-page banners.

Feb. 3 -- Texas case pits 1st Amendment against itself (ARN Editorial): As Americans, we've been brought up to honor the First Amendment, which distinguishes our country from others by guaranteeing the freedoms of religion, speech, public information and peaceable assembly. We'd stake our character as Americans against whatever forces threatened those basic rights.

Feb. 3 -- GOP will torture, not topple, Clinton (Morton Kondracke Column): Ringing with pride in his accomplishments and plans for the future, President Clinton's State of the Union address was a sad reminder of the damage Clinton has inflicted on his own presidency.

Feb. 3 -- Madness clear from D.C. to Amarillo (Molly Ivins Column): AUSTIN - For those of you keeping track of the steady drip of new lows by the media, here's a lovely item. A right-wing guest on CNN's "Inside Politics" on Jan. 29 twice referred to the presumed relationship between Monica Lewinsky and the president as sexual "assault." No one corrected or even questioned the usage.

Feb. 2 -- Social Security most important item on the list (ARN Editorial): Easily the most important item in President Clinton's recent State of the Union speech was his call for Social Security reform and his request that any future budget surpluses be dedicated to the program's salvation.

Feb. 2 -- Presidential newspeak in State of Union (Cal Thomas Column): Only President Clinton would try to sell the American people the idea that more is less, bigger is smaller and taxpayers should shore up the economies of other nations so they can buy stuff from us. Instead of being the policeman of the world, we are now going to be the banker.

Feb. 2 -- A right-wing conspiracy? Of course (Donald Kaul Column): President Clinton gave a perfectly wonderful State of the Union speech Tuesday. First he told us all the great things he'd done for us -- balancing the budget, lowering the crime rate, giving us jobs. Then he told us all the great things he was going to do -- save Social Security, make our kids smarter, enable us to brush after every meal. It was great.

Feb. 1 -- Hockey team would enliven city's offerings (ARN Editorial): Handed a chance to make the puck stop here, Abilene ought to grab it.

Feb. 1 -- Bombingham's horrid image lives on (James Denley Column): The city earned the nickname Bombingham during the Civil Rights era.

Feb. 1 -- Tale about Harding demonstrably false: The letters began coming early in Warren Harding's presidency, imploring him to pay hush money to a young admirer with whom he had an ongoing affair.

Feb. 1 -- Joe Media feasting away on scandal: My name is Joe Media, and I am an addict.

Feb. 1 -- What do you call it if it looks and walks like a duck? (Dorothy Wiseman Guest Column): I am deeply disturbed over an article in the Jan. 13 Reporter-News concerning the "demotion" of Carl Lockett, city planning administrator, whose duties included outlining cases for the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council.

Feb. 1 -- Older generation finds its values discounted (W.H. "DUB" JACKSON Guest Column): I am a slow learner, but at 73 and obviously too late, I have finally seen the light. All of my life, my parents, church, school, community and country preached to me that the truths of the Bible were the most important truths we have.

Feb. 1 -- Memorable first experience of a 'West Texas haircut' (Jerry Starr Guest Column): As the 20th century begins wrapping up its affairs, an emerging pattern is for people to experience one or two career changes along the way.