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The Malheur Enterprise Newspaper

[There is a small newspaper in Vale, Oregon that has caught my eye. It is the Malheur Enterprise. Malheur County is of about 33,000 people. I believe the Enterprise is the way newspapers and honest journalism will survive and grow in our time of propaganda major media. There is a similar paper, The Carroll County Comet, in Flora, IN, in a county of about 20,000 people that follows a very closely similar path.]

The Enterprise has a few points to make:

Why Pay for News: Newsrooms across the country have cut back in recent years. Reporting the news is costly. We won’t last as a business by giving away that work. Here are the benefits of paying for our work.

Be a better citizen: Our award-winning journalists help you stay informed by covering your community — schools, elections, businesses — every day.

Get 24/7 coverage: Every subscriber gets our newsletter and breaking news alerts so you never miss the latest.

Your government watchdog: Our reporting holds powerful officials accountable for how they use their power — and your money.

Trustworthy journalism: We’re open and honest about how we conduct ourselves as journalists.

Clutter-free website: Easily get caught up on news — on computer, phone, or tablet — without the popups or auto play video.

———————————————

And How We Work as Journalists: We want to be open and clear with you, our reader, about the standards that guide our work every day. We strive to meet every one of these. We never intentionally disregard these principles. When we fail, bad information, speed, or inadequate experience is to blame.

Accuracy: We strive to be certain that every fact — every number, every date, every name, every quote — is true. We will never knowingly publish false or inaccurate information. We will honestly and quickly correct any factual error.

Clarity: We want our reporting to be understandable, free of jargon and vagueness. You can expect us to gather the necessary information and develop sufficient expertise to produce stories clear about issues, agencies, and people.

Fairness: Our stories will honestly represent views and issues, never mis-characterizing or distorting facts and developments. We want those we write about to feel they were fairly treated.

Fact Checking: We follow our own customized fact-checking protocol to guard against error. That includes a requirement to reach out to subjects of stories as possible to verify the accuracy of our intended reporting.

Bias: We know full well that readers now come to news reports suspicious that they might encounter a deliberate tilt by the news organization. Our intent is that you never detect a political, economic, or social bent in the stories we serve to you.

Facts Over Fancy: Our primary job is to gather the news. We devote every dollar we can to reporting. That means we don’t divert time and money into making our stories glitzy or stunning in design. We are certain you would prefer accurate news over flashy presentations.

Professionalism: We can get better, and we will. We will always — always — work to sharpen our journalistic skills. We will become better interviewers, data analysts and writers. Our professionals are intent on getting as good as they can, not for awards but to better serve your needs.

Citizenship: We don’t consider ourselves distant observers. We take pride in the community — its people, institutions, and traditions. We engage in issues that matter. We identify problems, but we will always seek solutions as well. Like you, we want our community to improve, to be welcoming and safe, to be economically vibrant.

Without Fear: Our reporting can and will put us at odds with people who hold power or those who can and do abuse the public in some fashion. We will pursue difficult stories because they are important stories. We will not be scared off of or intimidated from doing any necessary story — ever.

Without Favor: We owe allegiance only to you, our reader. Our work is not done in service to any special interest. We are beholden to no party, no business, no individual, and seek no special treatment from any. We are beholden only to the truth.

Trust: The most valuable possession of our team is your trust. We know we can’t exist without it, that we will not otherwise succeed as a business and as a news organization. We are relentless in earning and keeping that trust.

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Kokomo Tribune on Censorship

On October 10, 1968, The Tribune’s front page stories appeared with several paragraphs missing and its editorial page was blank except for one editorial which listed a government agency’s suggestions concerning fires in homes.

Sections of page one stories dealing with an Apollo space flight, the Vietnam w    ar, Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey were lifted, leaving large white holes in the accounts. Except for the one editorial, the editorial page was blank, carrying only the headlines of columnists and items normally appearing on the page.

In a front page editorial The Tribune stated, “So that we at The Tribune and Tribune readers everywhere might gain a better appreciation of the value of freedom of the press, today’s front page and editorial page have been censored according to standards practiced in many repressed nations of the world.”

The editorial also said, “As you read the news accounts on The Tribune front page, you will, of course, note how incomplete they are in terms of what Americans are provided in the way of information in a free society. The Tribune will not reprint any of these stories in full. What is lost in this ‘censored’ edition is lost forever. We, the American people, can live with the loss of news for a day. But could this nation survive in freedom if we had to live with censorship every day?”

[This message could not be more loudly needed than today. Too many of the major news media — print and electronic — have become political tools with objective, unbiased reporting becoming more and more difficult to find.]

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Thanksgiving 2021

It was time for all to pause to think about our blessings. Our country and the world is in such turmoil now that one wonders if it will end somehow. We all live on a blessed, sacred planet floating in space. Yet we seem to want to do terrible things to each other and have throughout human history. We live in the greatest country the world has ever known, yet there are forces that want to destroy it. We must not let that happen.

Marcia and I have a wonderful home and are blessed beyond measure by our relationship. What one would usually call “family” decided some years ago that she and I did not fit into their family. Both of us do have extended family through our brothers and Marcia’s sister but they live rather far away. Getting together for Thanksgiving was not possible due to both distance and China Virus restrictions.

Our Thanksgiving Table

Marcia encouraged us to celebrate Thanksgiving at home in our own way. She prepared dressing, cranberries, rolls, an apple pie, a jello dish, and more. I did the mashed potatoes. Our turkey was range fed locally. I did manage to carve the turkey. And we had wine: Chablis. We sat down to beautiful table she had set using our family china and crystal. But first, we bowed our heads, held hands, and Marcia said a prayer to thank God for all we have been blessed with and to pray for the healing of our country and world. Then like the first Thanksgiving, we feasted!

Full bellies and our hearts overflowing with love; does it get any better than this?

God bless us one and all.

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Tom’s Note Books

There is man from Richmond, Virginia, who has had an enormous but quiet impact on the lives of reporters across the country and, subsequently, on the stories told to readers and viewers everywhere. The man’s name is Tom Edwards.

Tom was the proprietor of a shop called, The Stationers Inc. It was from that shop that Tom manufactured and sold wire bound writing pads called the Reporter’s Note Book. It was 4 inches wide by 8 inches tall; the perfect size to fit into a purse, hip pocket, or jacket pocket. It was in these note books that reporters wrote the information they needed to eventually write their stories.

I have no idea how many note books Tom sold over the years. It had to be thousands. I only know that I have saved in my desk drawer note books from 1995 which is 13 years after I left the Kokomo Tribune behind me for a while. I remember having Tom’s note books with me during the 20 years between 1961 and 1982 while there.

I talked on the phone with Tom in 2015 when I ordered 2 dozen note books. He told me he was the grandson of the original owner. So, only Lord knows how many note books have come from the Stationers, Inc over many, many decades. I ordered 2 dozen to keep some and to hand out to some journalism students at Indiana University Kokomo. They loved them.

I tried to order more a few months ago only to learn that Stationers Inc no longer existed. Tom had died at the age of 66 in December 2020. The store was closed. So, an era has passed.

Tom’s little Reporter Note Books will forever be remembered by hundreds if not thousands of reporters. In his own way, Tom and his family have helped to make freedom of the press in our country real.

God Bless and Rest in Peace, Tom.

Kent H Blacklidge Ph.D.
Past Publisher, The Kokomo Tribune

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Senator Kennedy Wisdom

Senator John Kennedy often comes out with some words of wisdom. What follows are some of his most current observations….

“We all know President Biden is in trouble… and, therefore, America is in trouble. Measure it any way you want…

The debacle in Afghanistan which has emboldened Russia and China and Iran
The unbridled inflation
Gas prices
Open borders
Crime
A Justice Department that thinks parents are dangerous ‘domestic terrorists’
A Treasury Department that wants access to the checking account of every American that has a job

No wonder the American people are so angry. It’s no wonder that so many Americans think this administration does not care about them or their lives or their future.

Now, I say this with respect… with all the respect I can muster, but my advice to the President is this…

Mr. President, you just got to try harder not to suck ……”

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Vaccine Insanity

Biden says all must get the jab or there will be consequences. There could not be a more moronic, maniacal dictate. Biden and his totally incompetent administration are doing their very best to completely destroy our country. The mandatory vaccine jab or be fired is at the top of the list.

Biden’s mandatory vaccine order extends to the military, all federal employees, and all companies that are contracted with the federal government that have more than 100 employees. The mandatory vaccine mandate has been adopted by hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and more. The result: the loss of thousands of experienced, dedicated people and a catastrophic decline in civil safety, health, and education.

We are learning that up to 25% of Navy Seals will be leaving. Thousands of other soldiers, sailors, and marines will the drummed out of the military with purported dishonorable discharges. They all will lose pension and VA health care benefits. All of this because of a completely ignorant — or maybe intentional — dictate by what now appears more to be a dictator than a president. I cannot think of anything more unjust to those who will be dumped out of their dedicated services.

The truth: millions of folks have made the decision to be vaccinated for Covid-19 even though the vaccines are experimental. Millions have chosen not to be vaccinated, but have contracted Covid-19, been sick, and have recovered; many not even knowing they had the virus. Biden insists even those now with a higher degree of immunity than those vaccinated still get the jab. Idiotic. And what is coming next is a dictate for boosters since we now know the current vaccines are not durable and are leaky with break throughs.

Biden’s dictate supported by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Godfather of the Wuhan Covid-19 virus, is in fact doing exactly what is biologically required for selecting even a more virulent, more dangerous, virus. Do you remember Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and now Delta strains with more to come.

The way to manage the Covid virus now is to stop the Biden/Fauci heavy handed tactics and fear mongering; let Covid run its course combined with a dedicated strong focus on therapeutics to help people when they are sick. From the very beginning, drugs such as Hydroxychloroquine, Invermectin, Remdesivir and others have been used effectively along with the administration of Monoclonal Antibody treatment. The Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics lists close to 20 drugs or treatments that are under study for treatment. None have had time for long term studies as Covid therapeutics, but neither have any of the vaccines. Several are drugs used for years for other illnesses safely with the best example being Hydroxychloroquine which for Covid treatment is classified as an off-label use. Now, some pharmacists are refusing to fill prescriptions by medical doctors for this and other drugs. More insanity.

It is time for people to say enough. It is time for all of us to say, “NO”.

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When All Are Gone

When all the trees have been cut down,
When all the animals have been hunted,
When all the waters have been polluted,
When all the air is unsafe to breathe,
Only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
—Cree Prophecy

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2020 Election Fraud

It is always interesting that those who are the loudest with claims there was no fraud or cheating in the election of 2020 are the cheater deniers when the evidence is overwhelming there was rampant fraud and cheating. Further, you would win a bet the deniers are staunch Democrats.

There was a prime example of this in two columns that appeared in the Tribune on the same day, Monday, October 4th. One column was by Kelly Hawes, a CNHI columnist, and the other by Brian Howey, from the Howey Report. Both have a track record of supporting the causes and position of Democrats and criticizing Republicans. The problem with denying fraud and cheating in the 2020 election, though, is it is an expression of ignorance or worse. And, of course, both want to blame President Trump and his crazy supporters.

Hawes states “there was no evidence of millions of ballots being cast illegally”. Judicial Watch (JW), The Navarro Report, and The Public Interest Legal Foundation (based in Indianapolis) beg to differ. For example, danger flags should go up high from a JW report that found “that 352 U.S. counties in 29 states managed to have 1.8 million more registered voters than eligible voting-age citizens”…..and none voted? In Pennsylvania, JW found up to 800,000 registered voters that should not have been on active rolls. In California, again through court action, JW found more than “3.5 million ghost voters on the rolls.”

Democrats seem to like fraud. They promote reckless tactics with voting like mail-in voting, ballot harvesting, same-day voter registration, abolition of voter ID requirements, out-of-precinct voting, abolition of voter residence requirements and opt-out automatic voter registration. Many Democrats even support illegal aliens and other non-citizens being able to vote.

Hawes went on to complain about the forensic audit taken place in Arizona. He calls a recount of ballots an “audit” which it is not. A simple recount counts good and bad ballots twice. A forensic audit weeds out ineligible votes. The results will be what they are, but my guess is Arizona will be de-certifying their Electoral College vote. It appears the same may be true following forensic audits for Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and maybe more. Time will tell.

Then Hawes says, “The sitting president lost the election and then started scheming to stay in office. He bullied election officials to change vote totals. He incited supporters to storm the Capitol. He exhorted his vice president not to certify the results”. I have heard all this crap before. There were tens of thousands in Washington in support of President Trump including my wife. They did not “storm” the Capitol. What tapes have been released show people wandering around the Capitol; even invited in. No guns were ever found and only one unarmed person was killed by Capitol police, Ashley Babbitt. And why are not all the tapes released???? And why are persons in isolation in jail with no speedy trial. It has been months.

Howey says Hoosier voters have a choice of “whether to be willing to accept the fate designated by hundreds of thousands, if not millions of voters, or whether to sign on to the corrupt motives, cudgels and bargains of the autocratic former president Donald Trump”. I would agree except substitute the last four words with, “current president Joe Biden”.

Frankly, I cannot think of one single matter that the Biden administration has not totally screwed up. More about that later. As Howey states, “The fate of the republic hangs in the balance”.

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The Hunters

I will confess, I am pro guns. Think about this….

The world’s largest army …. America’s hunters! I had never thought about this…

A blogger added up the deer license sales in just a handful of states and arrived at a striking conclusion. There were over 600,000 hunters a recent season in the state of Wisconsin. I repeat: over 600,000. Over several months, Wisconsin’s hunters became the eighth largest army in the world. More men under arms than in Iran. More than France and Germany combined.

These men deployed to the woods of a single American state, Wisconsin, to hunt with firearms and no one was killed.

That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan’s 700,000 hunters, all of whom returned home safely. Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia and it literally establishes the fact that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world.

And then add in the total number of hunters in the other 46 states. Its millions more.

The point?

America will forever be safe from foreign invasion with that kind of home-grown firepower. Hunting… it’s not just a way to fill the freezer. It’s a matter of national security.

That is why all enemies, foreign and domestic, want to see us disarmed. Food for thought when next we consider gun control.

Overall it’s true, so if we disregard some assumptions that hunters don’t possess the same skills as soldiers, the question would still remain… what army of 2 million would want to face 30, 40, 50 million armed citizens?????

Thank God for the 2nd Amendment.

[Message found on the Internet]

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Election Consequences

Colonel Richard Kemp, now retired, was once the head of all British operations in Afghanistan. In an interview on the Mark Levin show, he said what the United States has done is the worst debacle in foreign and military policy he has seen in his lifetime. He not only thought Joe Biden should be impeached, but as the Commander-in-Chief of all US forces, he should be court-martialed.

General Keith Kellog, a retired US General, was in the White House for over 1,000 days during the President Trump administration. He served as the Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States National Security Council for Trump. He said the Trump administration had plans for largely leaving Afghanistan that was carefully staged with conditions for Taliban behavior. The US was to leave a small force in country which included keeping the major air base, Bagram, in US hands. Any misbehavior of the Taliban had planned, expressed, and immediate consequences.

President Joe Biden did none of this. He simply had our forces leave unannounced. He abandoned Bagram air base and all the most modern military weapons our country has. He abandoned all the allies that had forces in country. He abandoned all US citizens there as well. Now there is a monumental scramble to try to rescue both US citizens and those of our allies and Afghans that supported the US over years. All are in danger of death at the hands of the barbaric Taliban. All could have been prevented.

That is not all. Biden has screwed up everything he and his administration have touched. Look at the massive movement of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens coming over the southern border. Look at the loss of US energy independence. Look at the rise of inflation. Look at the proposed trillions of dollars of expenditures that not only adds massively to the US debt, but may well put the country into bankruptcy if enacted. Look at the teaching of critical race theory in schools and now even in the the US military. And on and on.

We are in trouble. Nothing Biden works. And we have a Vice President Harris who has spent much of her time flitting around the Pacific rim while smiling, nodding her head, and giggling while our country is in flames.

I have no idea how anyone who supported Joe Biden in the 2020 election or who supports him and his administration now can show his/her face in public. This includes the Brian Howeys and the John Krulls who call themselves journalists.