Serving the High Plains

Articles written by Elwood Watson


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  • Katie Britt speech an embarrassment

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Mar 20, 2024

    It was “The Stepford Wives” meets “The Handmaid’s Tale.” More than a week later, people are still talking about the State of the Union response given by Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, which has been widely mocked by politicians and pundits alike. It certainly didn’t require the skills of a futurist to realize her less-than-stellar efforts would result in a raw and ruthless parody on “Saturday Night Live.” One Republican pollster called Britt “creepy,” while a national Republican consultant told Rolling Stone, “I’ll give...

  • Christian nationalism trouble for Democracy

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Mar 13, 2024

    Historically viewed as a fringe belief system, Christian nationalism has become a considerable force in American politics, particularly as it relates to the current Republican Party. A new survey from Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution revealed more than 50% of Republicans believe the country should aspire to become a devoutly Christian nation by ascribing to the fundamentals of Christian nationalism, or, at a minimum, identifying with such beliefs. Christian nationalism is the assumption the United States is a...

  • Doubt Trump will appeal to Black people

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Mar 6, 2024

    Being the ever-menacing carnival barker that he is, former president Donald Trump said the four criminal cases he faces have garnered him significant support from Black voters. Why? He claims due to the historic injustices Black Americans have endured at the hands of the criminal justice system, they can identify with his legal dilemma. “I think that’s why the Black people are so much on my side now because they see what’s happening to me happens to them. Does that make sense?” Trump said at the Black Conservative Federation Gala in...

  • Future of current gen women positive

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Feb 28, 2024

    It should probably come as little surprise that a majority of American millennial and Generation Z women identify as liberal. A Gallup Poll released earlier this month indicated the ideological gap between men and women across various generations has increased over the past few years, and that young women today are much more liberal than young men. Some of their findings: • Women aged 18 to 29 are now 15 percentage points more likely to identify as liberal than men of the same age group. • Young men are slightly more likely to identify as...

  • Society must re-examine notions

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Feb 21, 2024

    From the Duchess of Sussex and actress Meghan Markle to former Harvard President Claudine Gay to Vice President Kamala Harris, Black women have been the target of severe attacks in recent months. The most recent example are the distasteful comments made by Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas toward his colleague, Democrat Cori Bush of Missouri. Nehls, an acid-tongued conservative, took it upon his shamelessly arrogant self to refer to representative Bush as “loud” and “mouthy.” Nehls also referred to Bush’s husband, a man who served...

  • Swift courageous, unapologetic

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Feb 14, 2024

    Several years ago, Taylor Swift was far from the femme fatale some members of the MAGA far right now consider her to be. Many conservatives used to revere Swift. In 2015, Republican lawmakers invited the pop icon for personal tours of the U.S. Capitol and offered to provide donors tickets to her concerts. Even Donald Trump stated she was “terrific” and “fantastic.” How times have changed. Swift is now political poison to the right, largely despised for her progressive viewpoints, her unabashed support of feminism and, perhaps worst of...

  • Resignation a right wing victory

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Jan 17, 2024

    Let’s talk about Claudine Gay, the first Black person and just the second woman to serve as Harvard University’s president, who resigned after months of turmoil. Many on the conservative right celebrated Gay’s resignation with delirious fanfare. Christopher Rufo, the far-right activist and charlatan, obnoxiously announced Gay’s exit by tweeting the word “SCALPED.” In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, he gleefully cited it as a case study in how conservatives can successfully manhandle left-wing institutions. Initially, it appeared that...

  • Opinion: Haley's debate behavior cowardice

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Jan 10, 2024

    Americans routinely plugged into the news cycle are aware of the fact that much ado was made about something (yes something) when Nikki Haley responded to a question from an audience member at a New Hampshire town hall about the cause of the Civil War. The Republican presidential candidate awkwardly (arguably intentionally) sidestepped the real issue that resulted in one of our nation’s most pivotal events – slavery! Rather than confront the truth head on and provide an honest response to the questioner, Haley attempted to dance around...

  • Give Gen X chance to be acknowledged

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Jan 3, 2024

    Latchkey kids. Slackers. Caffeine lovers. Grunge. That’s how a lot of people have referred to Generation X, the 46 million Americans, like myself, who were born between 1965 and 1980. We were a generation that has been perennially pegged as cynical, self-indulgent, aimless, contrarian, and often peripheral when it comes to life and other everyday matters. But if we’re being honest, there are a lot of good reasons why many of us are cynical and disillusioned with life. Turmoil and instability have been major factors in some of our lives....

  • How far Republican party has fallen

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Dec 27, 2023

    Most of us are aware of Donald Trump’s habit of routinely espousing devious and derogatory rhetoric. What we apparently were unaware of was the boundaries he was willing to cross, and his willingness to parrot the words of one of the most sadistic and scurrilous human beings to ever walk this earth. During a campaign stop at a hockey rink in New Hampshire, Trump echoed the words of Adolf Hitler with comments about migrants from mostly Africa, Asia and South America “poisoning the blood of our country.” This phrase is mentioned a number...

  • Trump showing exactly who he is

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Dec 20, 2023

    The late author Maya Angelou once stated, “When people show you who they are, believe them.” Nowhere is that saying more applicable than the latest rantings of Donald Trump. The former president was asked twice during a Fox News town hall if he would rule out any abuse of power as retribution against his critics if he ends up returning to the White House. “Except for day one,” Trump responded, noting he would use his presidential powers to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling. “After that, I’m not a...

  • Moms for Liberty too loud a voice

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Dec 13, 2023

    Do as I say, not as I do. This sort of Victorian philosophy seems to be par for the course among many of the so-called family values conservatives. Recent reports that Christian Ziegler, the husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, is under police investigation in Sarasota, Fla., following a rape allegation sent shockwaves through the right-wing echo chamber while eliciting eye rolls from many progressives and others on the cultural left. Local reporters for the Florida Trident interviewed a woman who said she was involved in a...

  • Far right must be stopped for democracy

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Dec 6, 2023

    Donald Trump is telling us he’s a threat to democracy. We just have to listen. Earlier this month on his Truth Social website, Trump threatened to “expel” and “cast out” government workers who oppose his radical views, describing them as a “sick political class” that hates the country. The 2024 election, he wrote, “is our final battle.” Sound apocalyptic to you? The former president’s use of the words “cast out” elicited a chorus of praise from his most loyal constituency: white evangelicals. That sort of term is commonl...

  • Confederate flag always symbol of hate

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Nov 29, 2023

    Recently, I was heading home from a local coffeehouse. Along the way, at one specific intersection, there were a few men in a pickup truck with a Confederate flag. Two men were sitting in the back of the truck, and one of them proceeded to yell at me, “Do you see this flag?!” I rolled down my window and delivered a blunt commentary to the guy, letting my emotions get the best of me. He responded with “White power” at the same moment the truck took off and headed down the highway. I was angry and irritated, and let out a loud yell to...

  • Republican culture war losing appeal

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Nov 22, 2023

    The ghost of political déjà vu has revisited the Republican Party, with the GOP suffering humiliating defeats in virtually all of their political contests. The one bright spot was Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves holding onto his seat in a state so ruby red no one expected Democrats to win, anyway. Ohio voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of guaranteeing women the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution. Interestingly, in November 2022, access to abortion measures won in all six state ballot measures where it was up for a vote. On...

  • Campuses becoming battleground

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Nov 15, 2023

    Debates over free speech have deeply immersed themselves into the fabric of our culture over the past few years. Wild and sharp finger-pointing has gone in both directions. This month, a Cornell University junior accused of posting violently threatening statements against Jewish people on campus was held without bail after his first appearance in federal court, as he should have been. Patrick Dai, from Rochester, N.Y., has been charged with using interstate communications to post death threats. The graphic, anonymous messages posted on a Greek...

  • More likely to jump Trump's ship

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Nov 1, 2023

    Well, well, well … look at what’s transpired in Trump World over the past few days. Two of Donald Trump’s most ardent defenders have decided to switch teams and testify against the former president. Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro have agreed to take last-minute plea deals, turn state’s evidence, and testify against their former boss. Chesebro has agreed to testify in future cases if called to do so. What a difference a few days before an upcoming trial can seem to make. After an unsuccessful attempt to keep Trump in the White House...

  • Right-wing lunatics running asylum

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Oct 25, 2023

    The nation and much of the world is reeling from the horrific and unsettling events that have occurred between Israel and Hamas. There’s also a war still going on in Ukraine, and looming overhead is the possibility the federal government may shut down in about a month. Amid it all, the House Republican majority is making a mockery of effective governance. As I’m writing this column, two weeks out from the removal of Kevin McCarthy, Republicans have yet to elect speaker to succeed him. Clown show doesn’t even seem the perfect term to...

  • US racial situation in state of crisis

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Oct 18, 2023

    More than a century ago in 1900, Black intellectual extraordinaire W.E.B. Du Bois stated the problem of the 20th century would be the problem of the color line. He was right on target. This prophetic message remains relevant today in the 21st century. If the past several years have taught us anything, it is as a country we’re in a perpetual state of crisis when it comes to the racial situation plaguing our nation. A Pew Research Center poll conducted in August asked more than 5,000 adults their views on the state of race relations in...

  • McCarthy's ouster of his own making

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Oct 11, 2023

    Oct. 3 will go down in American history as the first time a speaker of the House was expelled from Congress by his own peers. Kevin McCarthy, a man consumed of blind personal ambition and self-interest, was shown the exit door by his congressional colleagues. Eight Republicans – Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, Tim Burchett, Eli Crane, Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Nancy Mace and Matt Rosendale – joined all Democrats (who were unanimous) in voting out McCarthy. The American public witnessed Republican members of the House of Representatives engage in an...

  • Academic freedom crucial to democracy

    Elwood Watson|Oct 4, 2023

    Those of us who work in academia understand that academic freedom represents the cornerstone of successful colleges and universities. It epitomizes the right of freedom to teach, discuss, engage in research and freely publish your findings. It also means the ability to dictate one’s own teaching and scholarship agenda, the security of academic positions and shared governance to ensure independence. Despite such facts, the mission of academic freedom is under severe attack from varied quarters, resulting in ominous and potentially dangerous...

  • McCarthy cave-in shows tenuous position

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated columnist|Sep 27, 2023

    Get your popcorn ready, because a gut-wrenching level of drama has gripped the House of Representatives. To quote Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, “The Republican party is currently in a civil war.” Speaker Kevin McCarthy slid over to a lectern and called for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. After rabidly weaponizing the term “corruption,” he turned around and walked away, assuming he had performed another crucial task required of him, regardless of how absurd this effort was in his attempt to retain his...

  • Black women deserve better

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Sep 20, 2023

    Malcolm X said it best in a 1962 speech: “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is a black woman…” More than 60 years later, these words still ring true. Recently, it’s an apt description as it relates to footage of a horrific incident that occurred recently in Houston. Ro Bashe, a Somali immigrant, took to social media to show viewers her badly injured face. Bashe said a man hit her with a brick and then ran away. The...

  • Marriage not prerequisite of living well

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Sep 13, 2023

    It appears some Republican donors are really concerned that presidential candidate Tim Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator, is a 57-year-old bachelor — and whatever implications that may entail. Top party donors are raising concerns about the fact the conservative Black senator has never been married. and want some of their concerns about the matter addressed before they decide to become committed to his candidacy, according to Axios. Scott has never been known to talk about his romantic life. Apparently, his reluctance has “raised...

  • Song places blame where it belongs

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Sep 6, 2023

    After whipping themselves into a frenzy, conservatives have tried to do a rapid U-turn of their embrace of YouTube sensation Oliver Anthony and his hit song, “Rich Men North of Richmond.” The flip-flop comes after Anthony (real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford) derided Republican politicians, radio hosts, and conservative news outlets for brazenly adopting his song. “It was funny seeing that (Republican) presidential debate,” Anthony said. “I wrote that song about those people.” The tune, which Anthony uploaded to YouTube last...

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