Opinion

Severe weather conditions have caused people to prepare for the worst. Nolen is avoiding the bad weather by staying inside and catching up on reading.

Bush is fiddling like Nero did in Rome, while our country falls apart.

The slow-down has arrived. Over the past 10 days or so, the Missourian has published the numbers. Taxable sales in Columbia fell by $4 million last year, and they show no sign of turning around so far in 2008.

Missourian editor Tom Warhover encourages citizens to engage in debate about the state of the news media.

The Voter ID law is, in fact, “fear-mongering” by the conservative end of the political spectrum.

Places that are subsidized by taxpayer money, like the YouZeum, should be required to have lower fees to welcome more Columbians.

An Evangelical Manifesto urges evangelical Christians to focus on a biblical agenda, not partisan politics.

The interrogation techniques used on prisoners of war were authorized by the White House and should be considered war crimes.

References to Israel's 41-year occupation of Palestinian territories could be misleading, without some insight on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The fact that these companies have gotten away for years with raising interest rates and treating their customers like criminals when they fall behind in their payments has given us a fair idea of whose side the government is on.

Gloom and doom economic forecasts overlook the fact that the economy corrects itself - without government interference, too.

Medvedev appointed former president Vladimir Putin as his prime minister, but Medvedev has a different ruling style than Putin did.

Compete Missouri is a three-year deal that calls for the state government to increase university appropriations, and for the campuses to generate matching funds by cutting the payroll. But, it appears that the faculty raise pool for next year will be between 5.5 percent and 7 percent — a bonanza by recent standards.

The Sherlocks get an early start on their 2-month-old daughter Audrianna's college expenses.

The addition of a new downtown bike corral leaves Columbians wondering where the rest of the $21.5 million PedNet federal grant money is going.

While those who run for office are only human, they still need to think before they speak — and start focusing on real issues.

The easy political act of sending checks to taxpayers to buy products made in China will do little to stimulate our economy.

Staying busy and staying positive — as well as simple ways to save money — can be helpful during trying financial times.

The increase in food prices, specifically rice, has resulted in some panic buying in the United States. Some countries, including Brazil, have temporarily stopped the export of rice.

It isn’t every day — or even every decade — that Columbia gets a new attraction, so when I saw in the paper that the long-awaited YouZeum would open May 1, I decided I’d better get there early.