Gallup Sun

Friday, May 03rd

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Viewpoints

Santa is big business — too big

Friday, 07 December 2018 09:02 By Melissa Martin Guest Columnist

Before the 1840s, Christmas was about the birth of Jesus, get-togethers with family and friends, and celebrating the holiday with favorite foods.

According to the Pew Research Center, 33 percent of those who were surveyed dread the commercialism/materialism of the holiday and 73 percent of people agree that the true meaning of Christmas is being phased out in favor of new gadgets, new clothes, and new stuff. www.pewforum.org.

What happened? Do we blame commercialized Christmas on the “Coca-Cola” Santa Claus that styled and profiled in the Saturday Evening Post in 1920?

Dangling the carrot of instant gratification on television commercials, our children beg and plead for the...

Delegation equals liberation for small business owners

Friday, 07 December 2018 09:01 By Sandy Nelson Finance New Mexico

Sooner or later, an entrepreneur has to know his limits and acknowledge that some tasks can and should be done by others to allow him to focus on the bigger picture. That requires delegation — trusting others, whether subordinates, partners or independent contractors, to complete an assignment as directed.

As obvious as that sounds, an entrepreneur can have a hard time trusting others with his “baby,” ultimately defeating many business objectives and stunting the company’s natural growth.

Many businesses in New Mexico start small, with the owner doing all the work that’s required to get off the ground.

Success only increases the workload, and the owner who doesn’t...

Senators introduce bill to improve veteran health care

Friday, 30 November 2018 08:13 By Vanessa Valdivia United States Senator Martin Heinrich for New Mexico

Bipartisan legislation aims to develop technologies to solve complex problems

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, along with Senators Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Angus King, I-Maine; and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., introduced bipartisan legislation to help improve veterans’ health care by increasing collaboration among federal agencies and authorizing the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, to develop technologies that solve complex data challenges.

“We need to do everything we can to improve health care for our veterans,” Heinrich said. “This is a great example of how our Department of Energy national laboratories...

The white-washing of Santa Claus

Friday, 30 November 2018 08:12 By Melissa Martin Guest Columnist

For starters (spoiler alert) Santa Claus is an imaginary character—not real. The jolly guy in the goofy red suit is an American icon of popular culture. Although portrayed as magical—he’s mythical. The Santa story is a fabled fairy-tale—not true. A lavish legendary yarn. The roly-poly male with the white beard is a fictional character. Flying reindeer, a toy manufacturing center at the North Pole, and hardworking elves—not real. And Mrs. Claus is imaginary as well.

Santa is modeled after St. Nick, a real man, but what was the color of the bishop’s skin—and does it matter? Saint Nicholas of Mira, fourth-century Christian saint, was a breathing and sneezing person. Santa...

‘Follow Me’

Friday, 30 November 2018 08:11 By Bill Emmerling Pastor-Gallup Christian Church

“Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!’” John 21:22 (ESV)

John’s account of the life of Jesus does not end with the death, burial and resurrection. John continues to record appearances of the resurrected Jesus and His interactions with His disciples.

In John chapter 21, we encounter Jesus with His disciples along the shores of the sea of Galilee, in a sense, where it all began. Peter has led at least six of the disciples back to the fishing boats, back to the familiar — even though Jesus had commissioned them to share His message with the world.

In this encounter, Jesus has reinstated Peter from being His...