I’ve mentioned before that House Speaker Chris Welch has said since the day he was elected to his chamber’s top job last year that he is fully committed to protecting all of his incumbents, whether in the primary or in the general election. That wasn’t always the case with his predecessor, House Speaker Michael Madigan.

James Hickman's essay "The Media Has Been the Number-One Cause of War Since 1989" cannot be overstated enough. One is reminded of the scene in what Reader movie reviewer Mike Schulz calls “the best movie of all time”: Citizen Kane. The classic film is all about William Randolph Hearst and depicts him effectively starting the War in Cuba that Hickman refers to. In the film, Hearst's retort to the field reporter who told him there was no conflict there is legendary: "You provide the prose poems; I'll provide the war."

In 1895, a 32-year old entrepreneur in New York City bought a failing newspaper and hatched a bold plan to turn it around. The newspaper industry was cutthroat, especially in New York. There were at least 16 other daily newspapers in circulation, and there was fierce competition for readers’ attention. But the young entrepreneur had an idea: thrill readers with tales of death, destruction, and brutality in the Cuban War for Independence against Spain.