Opinion: To Be or Not to Be a Sanctuary City?
By Richard Eber One of the reasons that I favor what transpires with local government in Concord compared with some other nearby communities, the…
Editorials
ELECTION FALL OUT
CONCORD TO PICK COUNCILMEMBER by Edi Birsan Councilmember Tim Grayson was elected to the Assembly and will be sworn in on December 5th. He leaves…
What a Mess!
by Colleen Coll Something went wrong. How could the final selection process to determine the Master Developer for the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS) Project…
Let’s Embrace School Choice — Not Destroy It
By Neil McChesney Public charter schools are schools of choice allowing parents to determine what’s in the best interest of their child. Throughout California, parents and community members are leading…
ARGUING RELIGION IS ARGUING A HOLE IN YOUR HEAD – EDITORIAL
Recently, I read a social media post about the Mormon faith, calling it a cult. Previously I had read a similar comment about other Christian denominations. Reading comments on any post about religion or LDS in particular, results in a barrage of negative comments about "stupid people believing in fairy tales", regardless which faith they are connected to. Granted, in many ways, the whole concept of social media should be more aptly termed "unsocial media" because far from being an open exchange of ideas for the betterment of mankind, it usually devolves into a cesspool of factions each ramming home their opinion. This is true for political as well as lifestyle issues that dominate these forums. Should that be a point of concern? To offer no response would be to silently accept anything written as factual. To respond opens the door to a terrible wave of attacks from all sides.
WHAT EXACTLY IS FREEDOM?
What exactly is freedom? When you live in a country backed by a founding document that guarantees a variety of freedoms, from freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to representation, freedom for the pursuit of happiness, liberty and life; at what point do you wonder whether those rights have been eroded away, piece by piece, unnoticed until they're gone?
These days you have to be careful what you say, you have to choose your words with political correctness, with a balance of sympathies, regardless of your opinion to which you have a right. As recent news headlines have revealed, cartoons mocking the Islamic faith, results in terrorism internally, results in death, and results in the media asking the question: just because you have the right of free speech, should it be exercised? Why do we permit these bobble heads on TV even question the basic rights we hold dear?