If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. Someone will say to me, “I don’t watch the news because I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

Well, I’m a news junkie that watches, reads, and listens to the news, and I know exactly how they feel. Sometimes I don’t know what to believe anymore, either.

Senator Pete Ricketts recently held a tele-townhall and I listened in to see what the prescreened callers had to ask and how the Senator would respond.

As you know, most Senators and Congressmen are using the tele-townhall method instead of real town halls to avoid any confrontational questions or angry constituents. Depending on your point of view, the tele-townhalls are either a way for our representatives to reach the largest number of constituents or a way to avoid them.

I’ll be honest, I was curious if they were going to let any questions about the Epstein files get through.

Senator Ricketts spent a large amount of time touting the benefits of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”.

He promoted the tax cuts while avoiding talking about the increased deficit spending.

He said that there was money in the bill for rural hospitals, while not mentioning that one Nebraska rural hospital has already announced having to shut down due to the provisions in the bill.

So is the Big Beautiful Bill a good law or a bad law? I doubt it’s as good as the millionaire senator wants us to believe, but it’s probably not as bad as Bernie Sanders wants us to accept.

Who knows what to believe?

A caller finally asked a question about the Epstein files. The Senator made a halfhearted comment about being a big fan of transparency, but then changed the subject by mentioning what he said were more important issues that Congress must deal with.

And he’s right. Congress has some very important issues to deal with, but that doesn’t mean you can just dismiss the Epstein files and try to deflect by talking about other issues. These grown men and women in Washington should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

During the town hall, Senator Ricketts criticized the Biden administration on a couple of different issues. And while he didn’t mention the Biden administration regarding the Epstein files, I had to wonder what his answer would have been if all the details were the same except the president in the hot seat was a Democrat.

I have no doubt that if a Democrat were the one under the microscope, Ricketts would have had a much different answer. He would have been more forceful and demanded that those files be released now. He would have demanded that Congress subpoena the Justice Department to hand over everything.

But that’s only if a Democratic President had been best friends with a rich convicted pedophile.

I know it’s futile to ask, but do we need to be playing partisan politics when it comes to the trafficking of young girls? President Trump may or may not have been involved with these disgusting actions, but the way he and the DOJ keep changing their stories, he’s giving the impression that he’s guilty.

If we ever do get to the bottom of the Epstein files, people won’t know what to believe or not believe. Donald Trump’s story keeps changing. There are at least three different explanations as to why he and Epstein parted ways. Who knows what the truth is?

The Department of Justice keeps changing their story as well. A few months ago, Pam Bondi handed several far-right influencers binders she said had revealing details on Epstein. But everything in there had already been known. Then she said the files were on her desk and would be released any day now, before saying there were no files. Now I guess there are files, but they still aren’t being released.

And over at the FBI, two of the biggest opponents of the so-called “Deep State” are keeping quiet. Kash Patel and Dan Bongino were all for releasing the information when they were civilians, but now that they could release information, they are radio silent.

Who knows what the truth is?

I get it when someone says they’ve shut out the news. A lot is being thrown at us. And while we all need to take a break from it from time to time, we can’t stop paying attention altogether. The more informed we are from credible news sources, the easier it will be to know what to believe.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.