Editorial

Another day in America, another gun crime.
Last month, barely a week before Christmas, the nation was shocked and horrified when a young man armed to the teeth with semi-automatic weapons blasted his way into an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., then proceeded to shoot and kill 20 children and seven teachers.  
The killing spree ended when the police showed up and the gunman took his own life.
In the weeks that followed, we were treated to almost daily reports of gun-related crimes and violence from around the nation.  
This should come as no surprise; in 2009 the United States ranked among the top ten nations with the most firearm-related deaths, with 10.2 per 100,000 people.
 

This year's presidential campaign season is reaching a fever pitch as President Obama and Mitt Romney continue to ramp up their attack strategies. Obama continues to criticize Romney as a crooked capitalist and a friend of the wealthy, using his influence with Bain Capital and big business to make millions at the expense of the middle class. Romney, for his part, has responded by criticizing just about everything there is to the Obama administration, from taxes and jobs to foreign policy, border security, education and social issues.
 

The last few weeks, gay rights have stolen the stage as the key social issue facing this country.  While the Supreme Court has heard arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition Eight, conservative states have attacked a separate social issue.  With changing views on gay rights, conservatives have begun looking elsewhere to advance their political agenda.  Since the election, Republicans have tried to find a conservative solution to a changing demographic.  Many have suggested a more moderate stance on social issues could be the answer, but red states continue to stick to their socially conservative core.
 

I don't know whether to hug them or smack them.  I'm talking about the 11,000 Omahans who, according to a recent report in the Omaha World-Herald, signed the recall petitions but didn't vote in the actual election on Jan. 25.

With every major storm, there is some sort of emergency to alert the masses. With winter storm Q, it was just the same. Why the hysteria for a storm that has been known about for days or even over a week? We heard the severe intensity of the storm, how massive it was going to be, what supplies were needed. It was like we never experienced a storm before. Some might have bought into the hype a little too much, preparing to be snowed in and running to the store and stocking up on survival supplies.