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Top 10 most read opinion pieces of 2018

The Missouri Times has compiled a list of opinion pieces written in 2018 that drew the most attention throughout the year.

1. President Trump is planting the seeds of an agricultural revival

Kalena Bruce writes “Farmers and ranchers are forward-thinking individuals. We plant a seed, watch it grow for months, harvest it, and then usually store it until we can receive a better market price. To stay profitable in this environment you always have to be thinking ahead. There is no such thing as instant gratification on the farm. The same can be said about public policy.” This piece was shared by the President’s Facebook page, quickly shooting it to the top of this list.

2. Now that everyone knows what I’ve known all along about Eric Greitens 

Scott Faughn writes, “Also even if what the staunchest Greitens defenders or my harshest critics claim were true I had nothing to do with Eric Greitens, what happened in his basement, or taking the property of a veterans charity to use on his campaign.”

3. You Might Not Believe What’s Going on at the Capitol… Principled Public Service

Sen. Bob Dixon writes, “In a just world, only the wrongdoers would bear the burden of their malfeasance. In the real world, more often than not, it is a mark upon us all. Not only is this unfair, it becomes a sickness undermining our confidence in the people and institutions we have created to govern ourselves and to recognize and uphold our freedom.”

4. Missouri Girl to Manhattan Girl – Go Buy a Gun. Your Ex-Boyfriend Eric Schneiderman May Want to Kill You.

Jennifer Bukowsky writes, “Even as an adult, I remember guns being scary until I had hands-on experience firing them. And if I hadn’t been practicing criminal law, I may never have learned enough about them for it to have occurred to me to purchase one.”

5. What I learned when I got knocked off my horse

Scott Faughn writes, “One of the things getting knocked off my horse taught me was if you’re never sanctimonious, it’s hard to be hypocritical.”

6. Clean Missouri is a lemon of a deal

Blake Hurst writes, “The backers of Clean Missouri, Amendment One on the November ballot, are using the same tactics as the greasiest used car salesman, distracting us with shiny baubles in order to saddle us with a real lemon. Ethics reform is much to be desired and certainly the main selling point used by backers of the amendment, but, especially to rural voters, the price that Amendment One is charging is much too high. The payments will last a lot longer than the car will, and, after kicking the tires, Missouri voters should just say no.”

7. Claire McCaskill attacks Missourians who are critical of her campaign

Cindy O’Laughlin writes, “Claire McCaskill has been in Washington, DC way too long. Perhaps she attacks everyone she can to distract from her own record, or perhaps to avoid people talking about the remarkably disastrous record of her husband. Instead of attacking her own constituents, McCaskill could focus on the things that matter to us: Making healthcare affordable again, approving the appointment of the president’s nominee to the high court and pushing back against illegal immigration.”

8. Time to surrender in the war against medical cannabis for veterans

Joshua Lee with Rory E. Riley-Topping write, “To the contrary, in 2003, the Supreme Court held that it was within a physician’s First Amendment right to recommend obtaining medical cannabis as a treatment option in states where it is legal, as long as the doctor did not provide it directly.  Thus, the only thing standing in VA’s way is its own internal policies.”

9. The first editorial from the Missouri Times

The Missouri Times’ editorial board writes, “In today’s divided age, there seem to be fewer things that unite us as Missourians, the highways that we travel on are one of them. It’s why we urge all Missourians from all parts of the state to unite and pass Proposition D.”

10. The man or the agenda?

Scott Faughn writes, “You can say you are earnestly serving the state to advance an agenda you believe in, and you can say you are earnestly serving the state to advance the man Eric Greitens. As of February 22, 2018 you cannot honestly say both.”