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Thumbs Up Bavarian Blast is back Bavarian Blast is back in New Ulm. The entertainment began Thursday night and will continue through Sunday, which will include the Bavarian Blast Parade. This is the 20th year Bavarian Blast has been held in New Ulm. The festival has come a long way since it first began. Bavarian Blast began with an emphasis on traditional German bands, but has brought in the contemporary with evenings dedicated to country music and another dedicated to rock ‘n roll covers. The festival remains an impressive undertaking put on by a handful of dedicated ...

Another sham deal with Iran comes undone

An early period of World War II was known as "the phony war." What we may be witnessing now in the U.S.-Iran war is the end of a "phony peace." The nearly five-month-long conflict has featured a couple of sham ceasefires, each marked by supposed Iranian pledges to reopen the Strait of ...

The more things don’t change

The French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr knew what he was talking about when, in 1849, he coined the phrase "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose." (The more things change, the more they remain the same.) It has been repeated and attributed to different people, but he appears to have ...

‘Old folks’ and ‘rookies’ in politics

After what we have experienced recently I assure you America will never again hire anyone who would serve as president into their 80s. No blame can go to the founders of our nation who did not feel that it was necessary to put an age limit on the presidency. And then we had the "Joe Biden ...

Next Senators will face the Social Security decision

Americans will soon choose a set of senators who will take office in January 2027 and serve through early 2033. In the final months of that term, Social Security's retirement trust fund is expected to run dry and trigger benefits cuts of 22% -- not just for the wealthy, not just for new ...

Political Views From the Heartland

Madison, Wisconsin - This is my hometown, where it's consoling to be in a sane state in high summer. Since Maine Democrats fell for the oysterman hook, line and sinker, they deserve what they get in November. Choosing Graham Platner's rocky record over a seasoned woman governor, Janet Mills ...