We are nearing the first-year mark of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president. Most would attest to the fact that this has been one of the most unusual first years by any president in memory.

The naysayers have been out in force and, if one believed what they said, it would be easy to visualize that our 241-year experiment in democracy was nearing an end.

However, this writer is not so pessimistic. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "Our demise has been greatly exaggerated."

I have been looking for that silver lining, that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and I have found significant reason for optimism.

First, why are things so negative? We know that we are living in a time when public figures say terrible things about others, when fake news on Facebook seems to become reality, when deranged gunmen shoot innocent people who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Such can happen anywhere at any time and we need to be constantly alert to potential problems.

Why is our news media loaded with bad news with not much good news to balance it? The reality of our news media is that they do not make the news. Instead, they report what others say and do. Unfortunately, much has been negative in our country over the past several months while our leaders in DC have found it difficult to get their act together.

Here is some positive balance that, perhaps, has not been at the front of your mind. One must go back several years to get a true perspective on what is happening, which is why I have traced our nation’s economic news back to 2008, almost a decade ago, to compare with our situation today.

• Unemployment: was 9.2 percent, is now 4.1 percent.

• Gasoline: was $2.69 per gallon nationwide, is now $2.48.

• National GDP growth: was -0.3 percent, is now + 3.7 percent.

• National debt: was $1.65 trillion, is $555 billion.

• Stock market: was 8,850; is now pushing 24,000.

There is also more good news not in comparison to 2008.

• High school graduations reached 84 percent in 2017.

• Cancer mortality has dropped 25 percent over the past 25 years.

• Issues related to terror are constantly with us but ISIS is on the ropes, as is al-Qaida.

So, shall we give President Trump credit for the improvements in our economic situation? Actually, presidents don’t have much leverage when it comes to the economy. They can’t tell business/industry how many people to hire or how many products to produce. We should remember that fact when President Trump is trying to fulfill his many campaign promises related to jobs and the economy.

Rather than crediting the president for past successes in the economy, we should credit innovations in the oil industry and the wisdom of our leaders following the Great Depression who envisioned circumstances similar to what became reality in 2008 and set up regulations to forestall any repeat of that national disaster.

The polls tell us that at least half of our population is concerned about future actions of our president. We should not be overly worried. Much of what he promised to do during the campaign is not in the purview of the president. He may influence change but Congress has control of new laws and the budget. The Supreme Court is still the protector of the Constitution. Change may come but it will be slow and measured, much less so than political rhetoric would lead us to believe.

Some may call me an eternal optimist, but from my perspective, any good news is worth celebrating. The improvement in our economic, health, and graduation numbers should cause us all to pause here at the end of another year and be thankful for significant successes in a number of areas of national importance.

Dr. Mark L. Hopkins writes for More Content Now and the Anderson Independent-Mail in South Carolina. He is past president of colleges and universities in four states. Contact him at presnet@presnet.net.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Good news at the end of 2017

Editor’s Note: Guest columnist Ron Hart shares his review of 2017 — as only Ron Hart can. Here is his list.

1. President Trump tweeted that our criminal justice system is a "joke." Maybe so. Retribution prosecutions abound. A man got in trouble with the law for offering a woman food in exchange for sex; he might be charged with four counts of Tinder dating.

2. Washington elites went after the president on manufactured Russian collusion charges in order to damage him. Like I said in June, Democrats need to be careful; when you go after a president, you might not get the one you intended. The most popular Christmas song in D.C. this year was "It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Nixon."

3. The NFL continued to decline. Sexual misconduct allegations struck about 44 players, including Jameis Winston, Ben Roethlisberger and Warren Moon. I guess when you are a quarterback used to running the triple option, just one marriage at a time becomes difficult.

4. I disagreed when Trump tore up one of the few achievements of the Obama administration: opening up Cuba. I visited Cuba last year. It was just like South Florida — before all the Cubans moved there.

5. The Trump Russian collusion witch-hunt has ruined the lives of two men on unrelated procedural charges. Mike Flynn, an Obama era holdover, had to plead guilty so he would not lose his home to pay his mounting legal bills. There are four things that always tell the truth: people’s personal emails they didn’t expect ever to be public, a drunk, a child, and skinny jeans.

6. Bob Corker had a dust-up with Trump and said, "Someone apparently missed their shift at the White House adult daycare center," which was classic. He was incorrect, though, when he presumed there is actually someone in charge at the White House adult daycare.

7. Powerful men were accused of sexual misconduct (now defined as anything from asking for a woman’s phone number to assault) in 2017, even 85-year-old Larry King. He denied the accusations and was referred to a sex therapist, who then referred him to a paleontologist.

8. The U.S. Women's Open was held at Trump National Golf Club and had good ratings. Trump was able to gin up interest in women’s golf by adding a swimsuit competition to the golf.

9. It was clear that the corrupt "deep state" is alive and well in the halls of agency leadership in D.C. The FBI and Department of Justice set their credibility back years with biased and corrupt prosecutions of political enemies. They sold the Russian collusion story as if they were Jehovah's Witnesses. There were two ways your pants were on fire in 2017: if you were a federal agency head testifying to Congress or if you had a Samsung cell phone in your pocket.

10. FBI credibility might be hard to regain. Drama queen Jim Comey did a lot of damage. But to be fair, it was a tough task to fill the shoes of J. Edgar Hoover, especially since they were high heels.

11. European countries that welcomed unchecked immigration endured perpetual Islamic terrorist attacks from within. Norway and Sweden are on edge. Some furniture collapsed in a Swedish building, sparking terrorist fears. Authorities blamed it on Al-Ikea.

12. The stock market hit more than 60 new highs in 2017, with defense stocks and Boeing leading the way. We made deals to sell to Lebanon weapons that can shoot down missiles we sold to Israel. Investing in grudges has always been a great business model.

13. Trump continued to be assaulted by self-righteous Hollywood types. I fully expect more at the Academy Awards, where they might replace the Oscar with a statuette of John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln would have retired with a full pension after two terms had he not angered an actor.

14. Tensions with Kim Jung Un rose and then fell. Now, with Trump and Un, we have two unpredictable, chubby leaders with bad haircuts. They just might not attack each other out of professional courtesy. The test will be when Americans are soon in South Korea for the Winter Olympics, which might get re-named the Nuclear Winter Olympics.

15. Poorly educated leftist Millennials don't seem to grasp the reality of a nuclear North Korea. If a nuclear attack happened in California, kids there would "totally" be taking selfies with mushroom clouds behind them

16. Under Obamacare, socialized medicine experienced setbacks in 2017 from its own fallibilities and from GOP legislation. The only way to get free drugs now has not changed: Move to Canada or attend a Harvey Weinstein party wearing a low-cut dress.

Ron Hart is a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.

What's your view? Write a letter to the editor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: My year-end look back at 2017

A super moon, if you didn’t know, is a full moon that occurs when the luminous orb is closest to Earth and thus appears larger than usual.

In case you missed 2017′s only super moon this past Dec. 3, one of the biggest and brightest in a long while, nil desperandum/don’t despair! There’ll be not one but two more super moons in January, on the second and 31st, and when there are two full moons in the same month (a word with the same root as "moon"), the second is called a "blue moon."

If that’s not enough, the moon will pass directly through the Earth’s shadow in the hours before sunrise on Jan. 31 and be eclipsed (though only folks in the far western U.S. will experience totality).

So the rare lunar phenomenon occurring at the end of January will be, at least for some on the planet, a Super Blue Moon Eclipse — an event that happens, well, "only once in a blue moon."

Expect a lot of craziness, just as the Romans did. They called the "moon" luna, as in LUNar eclipse, an occurrence one Roman poet called luna laborans, "the laboring moon."

Our Monday equals Moonday and was their dies lunae/day of the moon. They often identified dates by the number of days after a new moon; prima luna was the first day after, secunda luna, the second, etc.

They called the waxing moon crescens/crescentis, giving us inCREASing as well as CRESCENT, a synonym for LUNate. And a shiny moon-shaped ornament was a lunula, meaning "little moon."

The second-century satirist and fantasy-writer Lucian penned sci-fi tales about voyages to the moon, which in his native Greek was called selene, source of the girls’ name SELENa and the chemical element SELENium.

LUNacy and LUNatic, something like "moonstruck," come from that same Latin source and reflect the ancient notion that moonlight could evoke LOONy behavior. The sun god Apollo’s sister, Diana, the Greek Artemis, was goddess of hunters and the moon and as such reigned over the night, nocturnal rites, and woodland hunts and haunts. She represented also the power of femininity, was identified with Hecate, patron saint of witchcraft and ghosts, and is namesake of the neo-pagan religion Dianic Wicca.

Sleeping under a full moon can turn a man or woman into a wolf. We have numerous tales of shape-shifting lycanthropes from the ancient world. The Romans called them versipelles (as in reVERSe/PELt), "skin-changers." And we all know from Lon Chaney Jr.’s 1941 horror film, "The Wolf Man," that "Even a man who is pure in heart/And says his prayers by night/May become a wolf when the wolfs-bane blooms/And the autumn moon is bright."

The moon has long been associated, not just with the terror of things that go bump in the night, but also with love and romance. In Latin erotic poetry the moon lights the path to a lover’s abode, opens a mistress’ eyes, shines down on love-making beneath a clear night sky.

The moon is a prominent, powerful symbol of love and lust in Shakespeare’s "Midsummer Night’s Dream," a play rich in classical themes. There are popular love songs like the Doors’ "Moonlight Drive," Van Morrison’s "Moondance," Janis Joplin’s "Half Moon," Neil Young’s "Harvest Moon," and some things not so romantic like Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Bad Moon Rising" and the Pink Floyd album "Dark Side of the Moon.

To mention just a few of the literally thousands of books and films in which the moon looms prominently, there are Georges Méliès 1902 silent sci-fi movie classic, "A Trip to the Moon," which anticipated the U.S. moon landing of 1969 (and Michael Jackson’s moonwalk); Robert Lepage’s 2003 film, "Far Side of the Moon"; the works of Jules Verne and Robert Heinlein; and Margaret Brown’s beloved children’s story, "Goodnight Moon."

Among product names there are Luna Bars, Luna guitars, Nokia Luna phones, and Athens, Georgia, has the delicious Luna Baking. As a kid, there were few treats I loved more than an R.C. Cola and a Moonpie. And as an adult, I must admit to sipping moonshine once or twice.

We’ll be in Apalachicola, Florida, in January and on the 31st we’ll head over the bridges to the St. George Island Lighthouse for the monthly, this time extra shiny, Full Moon Climb.

And I’ll be singing this loony refrain from the Marcels’ 1961 No. 1 Billboard doo-wop cover of Rodgers and Hart’s 1930s moon-tune: "Bom ba ba bom ba bom ba bom bom ba ba bom ba ba bom ba ba dang a dang dang ba ba ding a dong ding … (in a slow, deep bass) bluuuue moon."

Rick LaFleur is retired from 40 years of teaching Latin language and literature at the University of Georgia, which during his tenure came to have the largest Latin enrollment of all of the nation’s colleges and universities; his latest book is "Ubi Fera Sunt," a lively, lovingly wrought translation into classical Latin of Maurice Sendak’s classic, "Where the Wild Things Are," ranked first on TIME magazine’s 2015 list of the top 100 children’s books of all time.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Regarding lunatics and January’s super blue moon eclipse

If you’re looking for an interesting escape during the holiday season, check out my top five courtroom noir movies.

The golden age of film noir was the 1940s and 1950s; however, there was a five-year stretch between 1957 and 1962 that produced some the most entertaining courtroom noir dramas of all time.

My top five movies starred some of the true heavyweights of cinema — Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda, Spencer Tracy and Charles Laughton, not to mention Academy Award winner Maximilian Schell, Lee Remick, Burt Lancaster and Marlene Dietrich.

Let’s start with "Witness for the Prosecution," released in 1957 and based on a play by Agatha Christie. The film adaptation starred Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich. Laughton plays Sir Wilfred Robarts, an aging barrister — white wig and all — in the Old Bailey, the British criminal court.

Robarts takes on Leonard Vole as a client, accused of murdering a rich widow who was smitten enough with him to make him a gift in her will.

Vole’s wife, played by Dietrich, is called as a witness for the prosecution. While a wife cannot be compelled to testify against her husband, her conscience forced her to tell the court Vole killed the old widow.

A mystery woman later emerges, Vole’s wife is recalled to the witness stand and another murder occurs in open court — I’ve already told you too much.

Also in 1957, Orion-Nova Productions released "Twelve Angry Men." The movie starred Henry Fonda with an ensemble cast that included many familiar faces. The movie takes place almost exclusively in a jury deliberation room, while 12 men — that’s right, no women — deliberate the fate of a young man accused of stabbing his father to death.

Lee J. Cobb and Ed Begley are marvelous as each of the 12 men in a sweltering, smoke-filled room reveal their prejudices, biases and inner-demons. Director Sydney Lament did wonders with one room, 12 men and no props.

In 1959, Jimmy Stewart portrayed a former district attorney, turned country lawyer who takes on a murder case in "Anatomy of a Murder." An army officer is accused of killing a man who raped his wife, played by Lee Remick. George C. Scott plays the hotshot prosecutor called in from the attorney general’s office.

The courtroom scenes are entertaining, but a bit unrealistic. Stewart’s argument about the underlying rape that invokes a metaphor of the "core of the apple" is worth rewinding and watching again. The movie’s judge is not an actor but rather a lawyer, Joseph N. Welch, who rose to fame challenging Senator McCarthy during his communist witch-hunt by bellowing, "Senator, have you no decency."

"Judgment at Nuremberg" was released in 1961. Stanley Kramer, who teamed up with the film’s star, Spencer Tracy, in another courtroom drama, "Inherit the Wind," directed the film. Maximilian Schell won an Academy Award for portraying a defense attorney and Marlene Dietrich appears — the only common actor in my top five — as the wife of an executed Nazi general.

The film centers on a phase of the Nuremberg war trials, dealing with the prosecution of German judges after World War II. The judges, the most prominent portrayed by Burt Lancaster, were accused of crimes against humanity for acquiescing to atrocities committed by Hitler and the Nazis.

Last, but certainly not least, is Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel adapted for the silver-screen — "To Kill a Mockingbird." Gregory Peck won an Academy Award for portraying Atticus Finch. The novel and movie are set in 1930s Alabama. Finch is cajoled by the county judge into representing Tom Robinson, a black man, accused of raping a white woman, a capital crime in Alabama and much of the South at the time.

The movie is told through the eyes of Finch’s tomboyish daughter, Scout. The movie tells a compelling story of race and class in the early 20th-century South. Scout’s simple but poignant action to diffuse a racist mob outside the county jail — set on lynching Robinson — is as riveting today as it was more than 50 years ago.

Grab some popcorn and your favorite throw and slip away into the wonderfully suspenseful world of courtroom noir.

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Escape into the world of courtroom noir

Another Christmas has passed. Did you take the time to enjoy your family and friends?

Jim, my husband, and I made the time to attend church on Christmas Eve and go to a Candlelight Service. These services reinforced the peace and love of the Christmas season.

Did you step away from the hustle and bustle for a few hours to experience the hope and joy that Christmas brings? I truly enjoyed this year's Christmas season despite having a challenging year.

Jim and I have always taken the time to read the Christmas story from Luke 2 on Christmas Day before we open any gifts. We then spend some time reflecting upon the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, who came to earth to be the Savior of the world in order to redeem sinful humanity. What a wondrous love story, one that only God could write.

Since Jim is on a short vacation, we have been sorting through old papers and items and have come across so many memories of the blessings from our past, some pictures and cards from people we have lost and other memories of our beloved pets. It was a nice remembrance to find these past memories.

Our time here on Earth quickly passes; we need to make the time to spend with those we care about now, so that we don't have regrets later in life. The timing may be inconvenient, but we need to slow down and go have that cup of coffee or lunch with that friend who is now retired.

Don't wait until it is too late and they are gone.

There is a quote by J.M. Barrie, "God gave us memory, so that we might have roses in December." These are good words to heed.

As I read comments on social media, I realize how very blessed we are to live in the United States where we can freely express our thoughts, opinions and our faith. We take this freedom for granted, yet we shouldn't.

Because of this freedom, as Jim has traveled for business this year, he has had the opportunity to share the true meaning of Christmas with others.

Most of them have been receptive to the Gospel story and thanked him for sharing with them.

Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Reflecting on Christmas, blessings

I like to study the characters in the Bible and learn about who they were and why they were included in the narrative. One group of characters that makes a fun study — especially at Christmas — are shepherds.

Abraham, Jacob and Moses all spent time working as shepherds.

David wasn’t always a king. Before he headed to the frontlines for a showdown with Goliath, he was just a boy watching sheep in a field. But he wasn’t some pudgy kid playing video games all day. Even young shepherds have a very particular set of skills that make them a nightmare for their enemies.

King Saul told David he was just a kid and the giant Goliath had been a solider for years. He told him it was too dangerous. David disagreed.

"Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."

Even as a young shepherd, David said he had killed both lions and a bears and he wasn’t scared of anything.

Looking ahead a few thousand years, the birth of Christ was announced to shepherds first. A lot of things about that announcement make no sense.

David might have been a hero but shepherds weren’t considered heroes in that society. They were rough and rowdy. They spent their time with sheep. I bet they didn’t smell like a Bath and Body Works commercial.

I would imagine that the shepherds who tended the field at night were especially tough. That’s when the predators would be most likely to attack the flock under the cover of darkness. With a rod and staff, these shepherds were ready for anything.

That is where the first unlikely part of the story happens.

An angel appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of the Christ child. The famous Christmas story from Luke Chapter 2 says the shepherds were filled with great fear when they saw the angel.

That should tell you all you need to know about the appearance of an angel.

This wasn’t cupid with a harp. If you fill a group of guys with great fear who are accustomed to grabbing a lion by the beard and killing it, you’re pretty scary.

Some of the first guests to meet Jesus on the first Christmas night were these shepherds who found the baby and his parents. After they told their story and worshipped baby Jesus, they headed back out to their flocks praising God.

I am left with so many questions. The main one is, "Why tell the shepherds?" The angel could have told anyone — religious leaders, shopkeepers, anyone other than a bunch of guys out in a pasture.

The answer that feels right to me is related to the fact that the Bible is a story about God relating to his creation and prominent figures in the Bible were shepherds to point ahead to Jesus; the shepherds were the first group to whom the birth was announced and Jesus later called Himself the good shepherd.

He told parables about a shepherd with 100 sheep who lost one searching until the lost sheep was found. He talked about how a hired shepherd was only concerned with making a living but the owner of the sheep would give his life to protect the flock.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who seeks and finds us and gave His life for us.

That’s the story in a nutshell. Shepherds are an important part of the story because that is where the story begins. The way they lived painted a picture of some of Jesus’ own messianic characteristics that would be revealed.

The Christmas story continued that narrative by bringing the shepherds to the manger to see the newborn Christ. Do you really think it was merely a coincidence that Jesus was laid in a manger — a trough used to feed animals — just before Shepherds came to see Him?

The story could have played out in 1,000 different ways. I think the path it took was specifically designed to reveal characteristics about God that we might miss otherwise.

According to verse 18 in Luke 2, "All who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them."

I’m sure they did. We still do today.

Kent Bush is publisher of the Shawnee (Oklahoma) News-Star and can be reached at kent.bush@news-star.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Shepherds share Jesus’ story

"Youthquake" arrives. The learned lexicographers at the Oxford English Dictionary have now selected this word as official Word of the Year 2017.

The august organization defines this odd term as, "a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people."

This word is what those who study and analyze language term a "portmanteau," meaning a word formed from the combination or compression of two other words. Other examples include "motel" combined from motor and hotel, "smog" combined from smoke and fog, and "brunch" derived from breakfast and lunch.

The word portmanteau also traditionally refers to a large suitcase divided into equal sections, as your grandparents or perhaps great-grandparents, or at least early 20^th-century travelers, likely would be aware. This word derives from the French "porte-manteau," which combines the verb for "to carry" (porter) and the noun for "cloak."

Young people in Britain registered and voted in exceptionally large numbers in the general election held on June 8. Their powerful support for the Labour Party upended the plans of the ruling Conservative Party for Brexit, a portmanteau for leaving the European Union. The Conservatives anticipated expanding their narrow House of Commons majority, but instead became a minority.

Prime Minister Theresa May is beleaguered, on the defensive politically and her days in office are probably numbered. She governs only with the support of the small Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, which complicates policy.

Also, because of the election, the Labour Party is on a rise, and party leader Jeremy Corbyn — who is 68 years old — has become something of a celebrity, especially among the young.

Ashley May writing about the OED Word of the Year in "USA Today" announces, "No, we haven’t heard of it either." She quotes Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Dictionaries, to the effect that, "the word was not an obvious choice" but that researchers at his institution determined that usage of the word has increased "fivefold," which is a lot even if measurement methods remain obscure.

The website Inews.co.uk further quotes Grathwohl to the effect that the word has positive connotations: "At a time when our language is reflecting our deepening unrest and exhausted nerves, it is a rare political word that sounds a hopeful note."

May (the journalist, not the prime minister) is part of larger good company. For example, the headline of a column in The Washington Post by Jennifer Hassan reads, "The Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year is a word nobody actually uses."

Hassan has also done due diligence, especially praiseworthy in today’s media, and reports that the term was coined in 1965 by Diana Vreeland, editor of the fashionable and influential Vogue magazine. She was using the word to underscore the important and rapidly changing impact the enormous, at the time young, Baby Boomer generation was having on music, the arts generally, styles in fashion and the wider society, and other matters.

Tremendous political as well as social unrest also characterized the 1960s, followed by long-term high inflation combined with high unemployment that lasted through the 1970s. In the United States, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy presaged years of domestic unrest and violence, in urban areas and on campuses.

Crime rates nationwide remained high throughout these years. The Vietnam War was intensely divisive.

Britain’s politics remain uncertain but nonviolent. Youthquake describes voting trends, not blood literally in the streets.

Arthur I. Cyr is a Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: What’s in a word? Consider ‘Youthquake’

Editor's Note: Here, guest columnist Ron Hart shares his Christmas wishlist. Items are as follows: 

• I hope Judge Roy Moore rides away on his horse, "Sassy." It is Christmas, and he can hang around the mall until the kiosks close. (I think malls there still have a place to tie up your horse.) Or he’ll continue to be a leader in Alabama; he currently leads the state in most proms attended. 
• Moore losing was the best news for Democrats since a generic version of Viagra came out. 
• I hope this rash of sexual harassment claims calms down and men and women can be less tense toward each other. Back in the day, Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) left a woman for dead at the Chappaquiddick bridge, and President Clinton had credible evidence against him for rape. Both became leaders in their party. Now, if a woman says you asked for her number, you are expected to resign. I think the lesson here is that there was a time and place for everything. They half-heartedly tried to get Bill Clinton on sex charges — close, but no cigar. 
• Liberals continue to grandstand on sexual misconduct foes, which is at odds with their secular, Darwinian view of man's origins. They can’t have it both ways. Men either descended from apes, or we didn’t.  
• My wish is that Mueller would clarify what is going on in his "Russian collusion" probe. Keep in mind, he and James Comey are good friends dating back to when they studied Manufactured Drama together in the NYU theater program. 
• As fingers start to point to Hillary, she has even said she hopes the investigation wraps up soon, or is deleted, or BleachBit-washed away, or smashed with a hammer — or whatever the FBI thinks is most plausible. 
• I hope we can get all this bickering behind us. Maybe the left will stop protesting the president. Trump has done more to get overweight Americans out walking than Michelle Obama’s "Let's Move" program ever did. 
• Washington D.C. will again be named by Men’s Health magazine as the "fittest city." Of course it is. Government officials there are always dodging subpoenas, walking back statements, hopping into bed, dancing around issues and jumping to conclusions — all good cardio. 
• Battles between pro-life and pro-choice activists and how to deal with terrorism will hopefully subside after the Alabama Senate race. No outside person should hold sway over whether an American lives or dies. That is the sole province of whoever is texting with you while you are driving. 
• I hope the tensions with North Korea subside. Trump and Kim Jung Un have such tension, which can only mean one thing: they once dated. 
• I hope that, as more states legalize pot, millennials don’t become less productive than they already are. Right now, city limit signs in Denver say, "Welcome to Denver, A Work-Free Drug Zone." 
• I hope Omarosa finds gainful employment after being fired as Trump’s point person on the African-American vote. Maybe she will find a less daunting job, like heading up black outreach for NASCAR. 
• I hope Melania Trump decides to use the Reagan china for this year's Christmas dinner in the White House. The Obamas used the Clinton china last year, and you could see where each piece had been glued back together. 
• Let’s hope the royal wedding goes well for Prince Harry and his American bride so millennials might start marrying. These kids are having a hard time determining just which person they want to stare at their iPhones with for the rest of their lives. 
• With all the sexual misconduct casualties, men in power will continue to be scared in 2018. They are all about as scared as a Kardashian with only 1 percent cell phone battery life. I hope Congress will be able to get a quorum. 
• I hope the sex rehab clinics have plenty of space. I noticed that most are near either wine country or Las Vegas, maybe so that patients can keep their options open. 
• I wish late-night comics would start being funny again. The main casualty of Trump's presidency is that we have lost all the once funny late-night comics  to vitriolic political grandstanding. 
• I'm wishing Al Franken well. Things are so bad for him that Harvey Weinstein just un-friended him on Facebook. 
• I hope Trump’s next move is to cut the deep state bureaucrats. They are like Christmas lights: frustratingly intertwined, not very bright and half don’t work. 

Ron Hart is a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.

What's your view? Write a letter to the editor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: My ADD Christmas wish list

It is hard to believe, but Christmas is upon us. In just a few short days we will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

We will also give gifts to show our love for one another and the love that God showed to us in giving us the Lord Jesus. Many of us will also have family gatherings and wonderful meals.

Are you ready?

Have you gotten your cards written and sent as well as your gifts mailed?

Did you complete your holiday baking?

Are all your gifts wrapped and under your tree?

Did you send the donations you wanted to make?

So many things to keep us busy at this joyous time of year.

This year, Christmas Eve is on Sunday, which means many churches will have a variety of opportunities to worship and serve others. The Crestview News Bulletin has a list of many Christmas activities.

First United Methodist Church, 599 Eighth Ave., will have their second annual Christmas "Acts of Kindness" at 9 a.m. in the Crossroads Center. The congregation will be "putting together and delivering gifts to firefighters, police officers, restaurant workers, and many others who find themselves working while others celebrate."

What a nice gift to the community. All are welcome to participate in this fun activity.

Then at 11 a.m. the entire church will participate in a combined service in the Sanctuary. The Chancel choir will perform a Christmas cantata followed by a message.

Many of our local churches will have Christmas Eve services. Here are a few:

•First Presbyterian Church: two candlelight services, 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

•First United Methodist: candlelight service at 6 p.m.

•Live Oak Baptist Church: candlelight service at 6 p.m.

•Our Lady of Victory: Christmas Eve services at 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and midnight

•Woodlawn Baptist Church: Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m.

•First Baptist Church: Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m. 

•Central Baptist Church: Christmas Eve service at 11 p.m. 

•Crosspoint, South Crestview: Contemporary Christmas Eve at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

•Crosspoint, North Crestview: Contemporary Christmas Eve at 6:30 p.m. 

•Lifepoint: candlelight service at 6 p.m. 

You may also check with the church of your choice as to the times of their Christmas Eve service. 

Have a very Merry Christmas! 

Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Get ready for Crestview’s Christmas Eve services

The author of this story is unknown and the tale has been told by many people throughout the years. [Editor’s Note: Perhaps Paul Harvey’s retelling of this tale, titled, "The Man and the Birds," is among the most well known.]

The gentleman to whom I’m going to introduce was not a Scrooge, but a kind, decent man and generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other people.

He just could not understand how or why Jesus came to earth to save us from our sin. It just did not make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise.

"I’m truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, "but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve."

He went on to say, he would feel like a hypocrite and this year he would much rather stay home. He would just read and wait up for them until they returned.

And so, he stayed as the rest of his family went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away, snow began to fall. He went to the window and watched as the flurries were becoming heavier and then went back to his chair in front of the fire to finish reading his newspaper.

A short while later he was startled by a thudding sound … then another, and then another. His first thought was that it sounded like someone throwing snowballs against his living-room picture window.

As he opened the front door to investigate, he found several birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, did not realize the glass barrier keeping them from entering the safety of his home.

Well, he could not just let the poor creatures freeze, so he had an idea that the barn, which housed his children's pony, would provide a perfect place from the storm.

If he could only figure out how to direct them into it.

Throwing on his coat and rubber boots, he headed out into the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on the light, but the birds did not move.

Figuring that food would entice them to come in, he hurried back to the house, grabbed some bread, and started making a trail of crumbs to the lighted stable.

But to his dismay, the birds paid no attention and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow.

Trying to catch them became comical as they were too fast, and then his attempt to herd them by waving his arms only made things worse as they scattered in every direction except where he wanted them to go.

Suddenly, he realized they were simply overwhelmed with fear.

"I’m sure I seem like a dangerous and terrifying giant," he thought. "If only I could think of a way to let them know they can trust me. If I could just convince them that I’m not going to hurt them and sincerely want to help them.

"But how? Whenever I move, they go into a panic and seem to be confused and suspiciously determined to not let their guard down."

Then it dawned on him: If only he could become a bird, he could mingle with them and speak their language. Then hopefully they could come to know him and learn there is no need to fear.

"I could show them the way to a safe and warm barn," he thought. "But I would have to be one of them so they could see, hear and understand."

At that moment, the church bells began to ring through the crisp stillness and, as he stood there, listening to the melody of "O Come All Ye Faithful," he thought about how most people, (including himself) are generally afraid of God and have a difficult time with faith.

Hmm. So this is why Christ came to earth — to become like us. The man realized the only way Jesus could ever save anyone is when they completely trust Him. Christ had to somehow prove His love and the cross became that way.

At that moment, the man humbly sank to his knees in the snow.

This year, even in the hustle and bustle of shopping and parties, let us rejoice in the real reason for the season.

From my family to yours, may Christ be the center of your holiday and have a very Merry Christmas! 

Dr. William F.　Holland　Jr. is a Christian author, outreach minister and community chaplain. Learn more at billyhollandministries.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Let every heart prepare Him room