Guest Column

Celebrities and Democrats follow the example of their "chosen one" Barack Obama

It seems celebrities and Democrats, in far greater numbers than any other group, follow the example of their "chosen one" Barack Obama, in issuing proclamations and opinions about a situation before all the facts are in. It may make good sound bites and eye catching tweets but otherwise it is just noise. It serves no useful purpose. We have a crisis on our hands, that is obvious. What isn't clear is the cause. And even more unclear is the solution. Are people radicalized, mentally ill, angry, despondent, attention seeking? All of those require different responses. And as a country, we sure don't agree on the solutions. Everyone, for the most part, agrees that automatic and semi automatic rifles are not something that citizens need to possess. But, you certainly won't get anywhere with trying to take them away while still allowing gangs and drug dealers free access to our country because they have those weapons. As long as there is no solution to disarming the criminals, I would suggest that there is every reason to allow law abiding citizens to have equal fire power.

Time to rely on private insurance after hurricanes spotlight NFIP faults

WASHINGTON, DC — Nearly 50 years ago, Congress made big promises when it established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). With this year's bad hurricane season sending the already indebted program deeper into the red, it's clear those promises haven’t been kept. The NFIP has proven an ineffective way to protect U.S. residents from flood losses. It’s high time to reevaluate the policy.

A 'soft-response' to North Korean threats

As North Korea ramps up its ballistic missile saber rattling, America should take a page from the teachings of the early 19th century military thinker Carl von Clausewitz who tells us, “The probability of direct confrontation increases with the aggressiveness of the enemy. So, rather than try to outbid the enemy with complicated schemes, one should, on the contrary, try to outbid him in simplicity.”

"It's a jungle out there. Disorder and confusion everywhere. No one seems to care.”

The lyrics from a Randy Newman song begins: "It's a jungle out there. Disorder and confusion everywhere. No one seems to care.” Well I do. Hey, who's in charge here?" That's all I can think when I watch the United States Congress in action. The icing on their dysfunctional cake is when they play it out in front of the whole world such as in the latest Healthcare Repeal or Replace fiasco. It's almost like they can't stop embarrassing themselves. If and when they ever get their act together on healthcare, I certainly hope they do their homework and have the votes for passage before it gets paraded out in front of the media and the American people. At a 13% approval rating, Congress should have gotten the message long ago, we are not happy with them.

Hurricanes not the result of climate change

A view of His Majesty's Ship Thisbe, Charles Dudley Parker Esq. Commander at sea in a Hurricane on the 23rd August 1798 in Latitude 44: 00 N & Longd 44: 00 West, by A. Hodge Second Lieutenant A Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Thursday shows that 55% of Americans think that the severity of recent hurricanes is most likely “the result of global climate change.” That people believe this is not surprising—we are told over and over: man-made global warming has made the Gulf of Mexico warmer and the air more humid thereby making tropical cyclones—called hurricanes in the North Atlantic—more frequent and more intense. ‘We must reduce our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to lessen the increasing hurricane threat,’ they claim.

The NFL "Rule Book" does not address behavior during the playing of the National Anthem

The NFL "Rule Book" does not address behavior during the playing of the National Anthem. The "Operations Manual" does address the issue saying the player will stand, face the flag, hold their helmet in their left hand and refrain from talking.

Government agencies are stretch to the breaking point

Houston, Florida, and now Puerto Rico all needing FEMA, emergency electrical linemen, food, water, and shelter- just to begin the recovery. Government agencies are stretch to the breaking point. The military has been called in to fly humanitarian supplies to Puerto Rico. It is 1036 miles OVER WATER from Miami to San Juan. All aid is dependent on aircraft which in turn are dependent on communications being restored to airfields. Linemen from anywhere in the continental United States can reach the Houston and Florida via highways in their equipment trucks. Aid that must be flown in is quite another matter.

False "friends of the people"

Watching the Democrat Party and their fellow traveler liberals, socialists, and progressives fight each other for seats aboard the latest PC bandwagon, I am reminded of a young Foreign Service Officer named George Kennan, who was posted to Moscow in the immediate post-WWII years. Receiving a request from his Foggy Bottom superiors for a short explanation as to what in the heck the Soviet Union was doing and why it was behaving in such a hostile manner, he rapidly crafted a classified cable in response, but upon further reflection began flushing it out in greater detail. His highly-classified missive came to be known in government circles as "The Long Telegram." It shaped America's foreign policy for four decades. Kennan unknowingly knocked it out of the park, on where the Democrat Party was headed, even way back then; and just how far they would go to achieve their goals. In his now declassified reply to his State Department superiors via the then War Department, you can find the following insight: "Among negative elements of bourgeois-capitalist society, most dangerous of all are those whom Lenin called false friends of the people, namely moderate-socialist or social-democratic leaders. These are more dangerous than out-and-out reactionaries, for latter at least march under their true colors, whereas moderate left-wing leaders confuse people by employing devices of socialism to serve interests of reactionary capital." Very astute young man, that Kennan lad.

Canadian Secuirty

Is there anyone at least half as embarrassed as I am of our ‘security’ level in Canada? Is there ANY Canadian surprised that our previous governments have decimated our armed forces ‘assuming’ the mighty USA has our back? And when the H of C committee was told that the USA would NOT stop a missile headed for Canada – led to ‘surprise’. REALLY!?

Don’t let the FBI get away with it!

As an Air Force retiree with over 30 years Military and Civil service as a communications intelligence collector,analyst and specialist, I routinely handled top secret sensitive compartmentalized information. If I had done anything near what Hillary Clinton and her staff had done, I would have been imprisoned regardless of my intent.

Rebuttal to diatribe on Trump's insanity.

Columbus, Galileo. the Wright Brothers, to name a few, were considered incompetent, dreamers, unrealistic, etc..Churchill was scorned initially,Yet all went on to outstanding accomplishments,and made fools of those who belittled them.. Granted, President Trump is certainly different from all his predecessors. THANK GOD! He is fulfilling his campaign agenda,to re establish the basis of our Constitution. The vows he promised the majority who elected him, and. in making America great again. Anger, discontentment, bitterness,and hatred have been spewed by the unjust, slanted, bigoted media and the Soros backed Communist agenda under the guise of Trump being unfit and incompetent. Rest assured Trump has the intellect, fortitude, perseverance in leadership in DC. The swamp must be drained and the march toward toward communism halted Only Trump can accomplish that at this time in US history. Triumph Trump !

The Deep State and End of America

If your report is true regarding the Deep State and its desire to take down Donald Trump by fomenting rebellion in the streets, what is the end game? What exactly does the Antifa, Deep State, and George Soros hope to accomplish if the government of the United States were to collapse or another civil war were to break out? What do they want this nation to look like when the dust settles and the United States of America is no longer united or a federation of states? What do they hope to replace it with?

If 94% of voters in a poll believe that we should learn from the past, then who are the 6% rioting?

If 94% of voters in a Rasmussen poll believe that we should learn from the past rather than erase it, then who are the other 6% that are rioting, vandalizing and grabbing headlines? They are the young, ill-informed, angry, hopeless and increasingly violent young people. That hurts my heart. At a time in their lives when they should be settling into the responsibilities of adulthood, building careers, raising families, and preparing a nest egg for retirement, they are seeking something that 95% of them cannot articulate. Sad for them, sad for us, sad for our country.

Sustainable Beef - pilot aimed at combating criticism

I applaud the “beef” industry for its first attempt to take a long hard look at how badly their industry has become. The greed and ignorance of meat producers has created ‘tainted beef’. And over the past decades this has created an attitude of ‘acceptance’ of poor practice and diminishing quality.

The polls being circulated about Confederate Statues exemplifies exactly what is wrong with this country

The polls being circulated about Confederate Statues exemplifies exactly what is wrong with this country. One is given a choice: leave them where they are or remove them. Wow, can't people in leadership or anyone with half a brain see another (or several other) options?

The double standards and division in the country is pathetic

The double standards and division in the country is pathetic. It represents bone-headed unwillingness to understand anybody else's point of view, anybody else's concerns, anybody else's rights.

Where’s the News about the FBI’s Investigation of the Clinton Foundation

With Hillary Clinton making the news again, with claims that she is thinking of becoming a preacher following her 2016 election defeat, it should remind Americans of one scandal that has not been resolved since the 2016 election: the FBI’s investigation of the Clinton Foundation.

Peace Rallies are great and all, but, does anyone not want peace?

Peace Rallies are great and all, but, does anyone not want peace? Maybe a few but I'm not sure those people will be turned into peaceniks by a rally. And I don't mean to imply that the folks who organize rallies have poor intentions. They certainly are motivated by the best of ideals. All I'm saying is that in a county of 178,00 or a town of almost 19,000, only 100 participants has to say something. My guess is that parading around in 90 plus degrees is not everyone's cup of tea. But, I also think if people thought it would result in actually moving toward peace in any way, shape or form, they would have turned out. There are 178,000 of us in Charlotte County. If we each act peacefully, especially in times of anger or frustration, the movement toward peace will be evident. Remember, we can only control ourselves. Let's try being intentionally peaceable.

I don't like David Duke or anything that he stands for. I don't believe in white supremacy

I don't like David Duke or anything that he stands for. I don't believe in white supremacy. I do, however, believe in their right to assemble. I know it is a headline grabbing event, filled with implications and pitfalls. But, did you ever wonder what would happen if Duke and others seeking 15 minutes of fame were simply ignored? Many protests and demonstrations that escalate from peaceful to violent would never happen if they weren't given print and air space. After the fact the reporting would likely be, 50 people showed up, a speech given and participants disbursed. When you put out a story like "Charlottesville police declare a state of emergency", it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Inviting counter protesters to jump into the fray. A lot of time they are young, passionate and looking for excitement. When we examine this latest tragedy, let's think about causes and prevention. Let's not start laying blame until all the facts are in. And let's think about ways to diffuse such incidents in the future.

The White House is receiving some much needed repair work.

The White House is receiving some much needed repair work. What I found interesting is that some of the work was scheduled to be done while President Obama was in residence but he opted to have the next President deal with the inconvenience. Of course, that follows his modus operandi on all things big and small. From the White House to the Korean peninsula, Obama avoided taking a stand and left the difficult choices (and inconvenience) to others.