Opinion

W The Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., home of the Thomas Jefferson, the Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorials, is encircled by scenic cherry trees.

As a general internist who does primary care for adult and elderly patients, I talk to patients a lot about arthritis and joint replacement surgery. This type of surgery, also known as arthroplasty, is one of the most common types of elective surgery done in the United States. Knees, hips, and shoulders are the most frequently done arthroplasties, and most of those surgeries are done for severe osteoarthritis.

W As the 2024 tax deadline nears, Americans are well aware of the outsized impact the Internal Revenue Service can have on their time, attention, and pocketbooks. From supersized agency funding to new reporting requirements on Venmo and PayPal transactions which amount to a “Babysitter Tax” to expanding IRS efforts to take over Americans’ tax preparation and tell them what they owe, the Biden administration’s IRS has continued to expand its intrusion into the daily lives of American families.

WashingtOn d.C . Last week, I spoke at an exciting ceremony in York.

It’s easy to understand but hard to remember that the one task of the Nebraska Legislature is to pass a balanced budget during the 90-day session, and to make adjustments to, and pass that budget again in the 60-day session.

In 1966, the good people of Nebraska had finally had enough of the State Property Tax. Led by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, they collected the needed signatures on the initiative petition. They put the question to the people on the November ballot. By a margin of 50.89 percent to 49.11 percent the people of Nebraska passed a constitutional amendment that did away with the “State Property Tax.”

Last week, in the Legislature, was a productive one for my office. We advanced several important bills of mine relating to school security, elections, veterans, and public transparency.

The rule of law is foundational to our Republic. Enforcing the law and public safety is one of government’s main purposes.

Imagine if at the height of the last Cold War, the Soviet Union had control over the largest television network in the United States. Imagine if its surveillance network tracked the opinions, interests, and movements of millions of Americans. Imagine this propaganda and espionage campaign targeted the next generation of American leaders.