The wish of the American people to see President Donald Trump debate former Vice-President Joe Biden is finally being granted. For Joe Biden, this debate is his first shot at hitting back at the notion that he is not fit to hold office. His campaign has seen many awkward moments, including h…
Every democracy has socialistic structures in their governments: Social Security and Medicare are socialist programs; the car you drive represents capitalism, but the road you travel on is socialism (tax dollars). The FDA, EPA, CDC, SEC, FAA, HHS, and FEMA are all socialist agencies designed…
Whenever our great country seems in a moment of crisis, I like to reread a short speech by Abraham Lincoln. Each crisis feels like our country is struggling once again with equality, or worried about our freedom, or fretting about our nation’s economic future, or all three put together.
Every week I receive lots of reader email. I especially enjoy hearing from those who disagree with me.
Before the last School Board meeting, I had the extreme honor of being sworn in for my second term as superintendent of Highlands County schools. Four years ago, I could never have imagined how my first term supporting our district would look. When Florida schools were tasked with reopening …
A Supreme Court justice, Ruth Ginsberg, has died, and President Trump has the obligation, according to our Constitution, to appoint a replacement. Notice that I said “obligation” because it is his constitutional responsibility and right to do so, regardless of time limitations.
It seems as if every day we’re getting slammed with bad news. Often said, bad news includes people behaving badly to one another.
When I read the headline, a long, slow whistle slipped over my teeth. Clearly this 2020 thing is, well, a thing, meaning that stuff we never thought could happen has happened. Could DST join the list and be a positive for this calendar year?
Something no one likes to talk about is the possibility of a war within our own borders. Yes, I really said that! You think that’s impossible and a crazy thing to say? If you are really paying attention, your eyes and ears do not lie. If you are only listening to CNN, MSNBC and the Dems in W…
Being someone who lives in North Sebring, I rarely find myself in Lake Placid. In fact, 99% of the time I am in the town is if I have a cross country or track meet. Prior to school starting, I took the trip to Lake Placid to purchase customized masks from Chic Chick Boutique. This store had …
Most Americans love our country. We cherish our “freedoms,” our liberty, our way of life, our traditions and enjoy a standard of living unparalleled anywhere in the world. Many would emigrate here to join us in our society to succeed and improve themselves as citizens of our great nation wit…
A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about how 10% of all the drivers on Florida roads are driving on a suspended license. This epidemic of suspended licenses is because Florida imposes heavy court fees we expect everyone to pay, regardless of their income. If you can’t pay your fees and fines,…
It’s apparent we have a group of people in Highlands County who don’t believe in trespass laws, or the First Amendment.
September is Suicide Awareness Month, a time when we come together to recognize and combat this tragic issue. Unfortunately, mental health issues have a significant effect on our veterans community, with an unfathomable 6,000 U.S. veterans committing suicide each year. What is even more alar…
I’m white, independent, but like everyone. I look at our present situation of Democrats and Republicans and see all this bickering and fighting and wonder where does everyone stand.
I have not written letters to the editor recently.
This week I’d like to share some stories that showed up on my radar at some point.
Having a pet reptile has brought renewed enjoyment into our home along with a whole bunch of stuff. Our newest freeloader has extremely specific living accommodations and dietary needs. These have led to a wide array of complementary products I wish I had thought of first. His cricket duster…
I have watched the antics of the Democrat party and Joe Biden, and I am about as fed up as I can get. The only thing the Democrats and their minions, mostly socialists, are concerned with, is slandering and destroying President Trump. They do not care what they say, whether it is another lie…
In the fall of 1959, I started to Virginia Tech — hoping to become a chemical engineer — and promptly flunked algebra and chemistry. I dropped back five and punted — on Feb. 16, 1960 I joined the U S Army; passed some sort of geometry test and was assigned to artillery survey school in Fort …
In the midst of the riots that our country has seen, one of the biggest counterarguments that have been used is, “riots will not accomplish anything.” I am not arguing this statement, as peaceful protests are what have always achieved change in our nation. Dr. Martin Luther King was an advoc…
The editorial published on Saturday, Sept. 5, from the Bloomington, Illinois Pantagraph, “We Must Begin Listening” is representative of the blind panacea that has deepened our current societal problems – no one’s right or wrong; truth is relative. Such thinking is subversive. The well-meanin…
You’ve been seeing campaign ads for Trump and Biden for several weeks now. You’ve read opinions from regular people about each candidate that range from each of them being worse than Hitler to each being suitable candidates for sainthood. It all makes for interesting and sometimes fun readin…
Reader T. wrote me the following note about what it is like to own a small business right now.
I like live theater. It is always amazing to me to watch local talent completely escape themselves and jump into a different character and entertain us. We happened to sponsor the performance of “The Addams Family” run over at Highlands Lakeside Theatre so it was a must to go see.
This week I’m going to express an apparently controversial opinion. I know this might offend some of you, but I feel strongly about this and given recent events I believe it’s time to take a stand.
Making the transition to vegan eating wasn’t hard for me as I had eaten mostly vegetarian for years. Mr. Harris definitely missed meat but embraced the healthier lifestyle for the most part. Achieving our health-related goals made the sacrifices worth it. Then some other health issues necess…
As an advocate for an individual who was caught up in this revolving door, I have seen in person the horribly flawed workings of the court system. I will digress here to mention a positive possibility for a person caught up in the revolving door. There are few paths one can take to extricate…
If you consider yourself a “Never-Trumper” and went along with the slogan, “Anyone but Trump,” I wonder, who do you like? Are you happy with Joe Biden? No, of course not. Everyone knows he is one step away from dementia. He is nothing more than a talking figurehead, barely at that, the Dems …
It’s rare that a simple tweet triggers in me the desire to write a column.
“How was your vacation?” used to be the standard query at Labor Day. Not this year.
As we continue to do all we can to make the best of our current world-wide situation, it is sometimes almost impossible to find anything even remotely lighthearted to write about. On the other hand, I am constantly reminded how very lucky we are, geographically, to be able to isolate right h…
It all started when one of my fellow writers proposed a virtual “write-in.”
The times are strange. Maybe the world is flat. We seem hell-bent on going over the edge. Common sense and common decency were once commonplace. Now all we are is common.
If you are feeling weary from all the stressors in life, please know you’re not alone. No matter who you are, you’re either managing the changes around us or dealing with those who are doing so. No one has been spared so maybe we should focus on weathering things better as the new normal str…
Here is some information and facts concerning your Social Security system. It really doesn’t matter if you are a Republican, Democrat or an Independent because it all applies to everyone. Here goes …
Two weeks after Highlands County schools reopen their doors for in-person learning, Florida’s statistics related to the pandemic have remained largely positive. Our positivity rate is continuously declining and the total amount of deaths has seen a slower increase than it was in July and ear…
“He without sin cast the first stone.” And no one qualifies, as we’re all sinners, for only God is righteous; but fools imagine a vain thing, as they selfishly search the Bible for reasons to substantiate their own delusional self-righteous. Knowing not what they do, “being ignorant of God’s…
Finish lines occur in many different places, and our Highlands High School Aviation Program crossed one this past week. The AirCam our students built for retired NASA astronaut Story Musgrave was completed and has begun flight testing. The AirCam is classified as an “Experimental Aircraft.” …
Driving for just 15 minutes on U.S. 27, I passed about 30 cars committing the same crime. Can you guess the crime?
In this month’s Superintendent’s Corner, I would like to provide the community an update on the return to school in Highlands County. This past week marked the end of the second week of school for our face-to-face and Innovative Learning Environment (ILE) students and the first full week for…
Despite the title of this column, I feel as if I owe the people of Texas, Louisiana, and the other states hit by this storm an apology. My excuse is that even though it has my name, I was not steering this stupid hurricane. Like me, it has a mind of its own.
NASA astronaut Story Musgrave working with project build manager Mike Halpern and our students.
I want to say thank-you to our county commissioners for keeping our freedoms in mind regarding the mask mandate. I hope they continue to do so and are not bullied or strong armed into issuing a mandate due to negative feedback they receive.
The survival of the Black Lives Matter movement will depend on a restatement of its core values. The television media would have us believe that there is a dichotomy between peaceful protesters and rioters, but recent events in Portland, Seattle, New York and Chicago make it clear that BLM i…
After one week of school, the most frequently asked question for students is, how is school going? It is a hot topic right now and for understandable reasons. We are not yet fully over this pandemic and virtually every public place has some regulation or rule to prevent the spread of this virus.
After watching the continuing rioting, assaults, destruction of property and burning of small businesses, one is caused to be concerned about whether our country can weather all the hate evidenced in the last few months.
