In a few short days, we will celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people around the world celebrate Easter.

The Laurel Hill sunrise service is 6:30 a.m. April 21 at Gene Clary Park, located on the corner of New Ebenezer Road and Park Street. Please bring chairs. Dress in warm clothing and consider bringing blankets if it is cold.

For Christians Easter is the pinnacle of our faith. 

We are in the midst of what is referred to as Holy Week right now. It began with Palm Sunday, which, in the Bible, is the point when the crowds were shouting, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!" as Jesus entered Jerusalem. The triumphant entry was followed by the Last Supper, Jesus' betrayal, his illegal trial by the Sanhedrin, trials by both Pilate and King Herod, being beaten and culminated in His crucifixion. What a devastating week for his followers.

Although Jesus had spoken of His death and resurrection, His followers didn't understand and were confused at this set of circumstances. Mary, Mary Magdalene and Salome, women who followed Jesus, got up early Sunday morning in order to wrap the Lord's body in spices as there hadn't been time on Friday before the Sabbath began. The women were concerned about how they would get the stone rolled away so they could enter the tomb.

Something miraculous greeted them — an angel in dazzling white and an empty tomb.

Matthew 28:5-6 states, "The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.'"

The women were terrified when they saw the angel, but filled with great joy at the news that Jesus was alive. How do we react when we hear that Jesus, once dead, is now alive? Do we rejoice at this news and share it with others?

Without Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection we would not have the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life WITH Him when we repent and accept Christ as our Savior.

Have a glorious Easter as we celebrate our Lord's resurrection. He is Risen!

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: Easter sunrise service scheduled in Laurel Hill

The wide-margin victory of Lori Lightfoot in the runoff election for Chicago mayor is no surprise, and neither is the reaction of many news outlets. In contemporary politics and society, the gender, race and personal life of Mayor-elect Lightfoot get major emphasis.

Meanwhile, there will be no escape from Chicago’s grim fiscal challenges. This is not alarmist rhetoric, but harsh reality.

Chicago historically was respected, indeed by many admired, as “The City that Works,” in several meanings of that word. Illinois poet and Abraham Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg described the metropolis as the “City of the Big Shoulders,” a reference to the enormous industrial manufacturing base that created jobs and contributed significantly to long-term prosperity for the Midwest and America overall.

Politically, Chicago’s durable political machine provided a reliable base of Democratic Party strength. Jobs were available for immigrant groups, especially but not exclusively the Irish, when widespread prejudice excluded them from the prosperous corridors of established society.

In the past, the Republican Party was also powerful, in the suburbs surrounding city precincts, and throughout most of the rest of the state. This gave Illinois status as a swing state in national elections. Both political parties as well as a range of other organizations held conventions in Chicago.

For two decades following World War II, Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago orchestrated and reinforced the strength of his city. This year, the mayoral primary election confirmed the era of Daley family political dominance has passed, at least for now. His son Bill Daley’s defeat in the primary is noteworthy.

Voters want change, which gave Lightfoot a crucial advantage. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, her general election opponent, represents Chicago machine politics, today a burden. Federal investigation of City Councilman Ed Burke, an ally, is a related wound.

Outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel grapples ferociously with massive financial shortfalls. Government overspending is the legacy of his predecessor Richard M. Daley.

In striking contrast to this Daley, the father was a brilliant manager. Richard J. Daley ruled city government, and the Democratic Party, from 1955 until 1976.

Daley Senior in leading Chicago combined an iron fist with a skillful hand. Earlier, he was Director of the Illinois Department of Finance and Clerk of Cook County. In both posts, he developed great skill in financial management, masked by his famous eccentric speaking style. Annual city budget reviews were legendary ordeals in discipline.

This Daley also had great party power. Unlike his son, he was also chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party. Chicago then loomed larger compared with the suburbs, and political practices were less scrutinized. Current party chairwoman Preckwinkle lacks this advantage, and Daley’s unusual skills.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter carried Chicago by a wider margin than John F. Kennedy did in 1960. In consequence, Mayor Daley called Carter to announce the election was in the bag. In fact, Carter lost Illinois but won the election, the first time the state had gone against a presidential winner since 1916. Daley died suddenly in December that year.

The real test of Chicago’s new mayor will be old-fashioned management, not gender, race and lifestyle symbolism. Mayor-elect Lightfoot has impressive related professional experience. She has been a senior partner at respected and influential law firm Mayor Brown LLP. An ally at the firm is Republican leader Tyrone Fahner, former Illinois Attorney General.

Metropolitan Chicago remains a global commercial center. Mayor Emanuel’s elections demonstrate decline of another historic prejudice: Anti-Semitism.

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: New Chicago mayor faces same old financial crisis

Spring break in areas like ours lasts for several weeks with all of our tourists and visitors. We have gone to Destin three times within the last month for a variety of reasons and the driving and traffic have been horrendous each time.

The worst trip was this week. Since we live in Crestview, we take the Spence toll way bypass to the Mid-Bay Bridge. We drove State Road 85 from Crestview to the bypass.

As we drove under the overpass at State Road 123, we saw an out-of-state vehicle just stop in the left hand lane of SR 85, as apparently they had missed their turn off. In what state is one allowed to just stop in the middle of the road on a highway with a speed limit of 65 mph? Fortunately for that vehicle, the other drivers on the road changed lanes and missed hitting them.

The bypass has a 55 mph speed limit which few seem to want to drive. My husband, Jim, sets the speed control at 55. Although this road has a double yellow line almost the entire way, vehicles passed us five times. Most had out-of-state license plates, but at least one was an impatient Floridian.

The Official Florida Driver License Handbook (https://bit.ly/2TRS0WE) states: "Double solid yellow lines. Vehicles moving in either direction must not pass/cross these lines (unless turning left when it is safe to do so)." The accidents we have observed n the Mid-Bay Bridge are scary and caused by tail-gating and illegal passing on the bridge.

Jim, who travels extensively, is not as surprised by this type of reckless driving as I am. It absolutely boggles my mind that others are so careless with their lives and the lives of others.

When we got off the bridge, another out-of-state vehicle was backing out of the Publix parking lot and blocking three lanes of heavy traffic, then proceeding to back up again and again until they were in the left turn lane for Destin Commons.

Has common sense left our visitors? Just because one is on vacation, the fundamental laws of physics have not been suspended. People can still be hurt very badly in a car accident, or destroy their vehicles, whether or not they are on vacation.

I checked with the Florida Highway Patrol. Passing in a no passing zone is a moving violation with a fine of approximately $166.

Is it worth getting a citation while on vacation? We locals need to pay close attention to our driving and others on the road during tourist season to keep everyone safe.

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: Be careful when driving, especially during spring break

As Democrats in Virginia, New York, Rhode Island and in Congress, just to name a few places, seemed to condone laws allowing babies born alive after botched abortions to die, pro-life activists have been emboldened. A legal case in Alabama may toss more fuel on their fire.

Ryan Magers has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against those who in February 2017 dismissed his objections and assisted with an abortion for his then-girlfriend, who was six weeks pregnant. The defendants include the doctor, the clinic that performed the procedure and the drugmaker that created the abortifacient administered to her.

A probate judge recently allowed the lawsuit to proceed, heartening Magers and his pro-life cheerleaders.

Magers’ case is a long shot. Courts routinely have smacked down men’s “reproductive rights” since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973.

But other factors are in play that raise questions about whether the status quo can hold, if the case goes far enough: the high court has a new conservative majority; many are repulsed by the Democrats’ increasing radicalism on abortion specifically, and on cultural issues generally; and recent polling by Marist College indicates Americans by a 2-1 margin want tighter restrictions on abortion

So, with the glare of the Democrats’ outrageous position in the born-alive debate still burning bright, Magers’ case, which his lawyer claims breaks new ground legally, could be a game-changer in two ways: highlighting the “personhood” movement, and pursuing fathers’ rights.

The lawsuit is built on a 2018 state constitutional amendment, adopted by 59 percent of Alabama voters, that recognizes legal rights for the unborn from the moment of conception. Besides Alabama, Kansas and Missouri also have personhood laws.

But activists behind such laws are working in every state. Any progress by Magers will encourage them, and invite a counter-reaction by pro-choice forces. Again, if Magers makes enough headway, the court might have to revisit Roe to define when life begins.

On a different front, since Roe, the issue of fathers’ rights has been less than an afterthought, as reinforced by two major decisions over the past 46 years.

Just three years after Roe, the court struck down a Missouri law that required a wife to obtain her husband’s consent for a first-trimester abortion.

“We are not unaware of the deep and proper concern and interest that a devoted and protective husband has in his wife’s pregnancy and in the growth and development of the fetus she is carrying,” Justice Harry Blackmun wrote for the six-justice majority. “Notwithstanding … we cannot hold that the State has the constitutional authority to give the spouse unilaterally the ability to prohibit the wife from terminating her pregnancy, when the State itself lacks that right.”

The court revisited the issue in a 1992 decision involving abortion regulations adopted by Pennsylvania.

The majority found that a father’s-consent mandate created an “undue burden” on pregnant women. “A significant number of women will likely be prevented from obtaining an abortion just as surely as if Pennsylvania had outlawed the procedure entirely,” the majority held. “Furthermore, it cannot be claimed that the father’s interest in the fetus’ welfare is equal to the mother’s protected liberty, since it is an inescapable biological fact that state regulation with respect to the fetus will have a far greater impact on the pregnant woman’s bodily integrity than it will on the husband.”

In Magers’ case, pro-choice activists predictably predict doom for women everywhere. But the lawsuit may cast new light on the biological fact that a father’s involvement in pregnancy begins long before birth.

Family court judges are notoriously and commonly biased against men. Had Magers’ situation been reversed two years ago, every family court judge in America would have compelled him, rightfully so, to financially support the baby for 18 years, as well as likely giving the mother custody most of the time. Yet, although Magers was ready to step up to his responsibility, his girlfriend, her family and the law denied that, asserting he had no say whatsoever.

Armin Brott, author of several books on fatherhood, once summed up this issue fairly succinctly: “A woman,” he said, “can legally deprive a man of his right to become a parent or force him to become one against his will.”

Many women believe without much proof that their hard-fought gains for equality are perpetually at risk with Donald Trump in the White House

Yet on abortion, men truly are second-class citizens, and pro-choice activists and judges have ensured they remain so. Magers’ case could lead Americans to rethink that.

Bill Thompson (bill.thompson@theledger.com) is the editorial page editor of The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Pro-life lawsuit rightfully acknowledges a man’s right to be a father

I’m old enough to remember when Kelley Williams-Bolar of Akron, Ohio, was sent to jail for falsely registering her two kids so they could attend a better school.

In 2011, Williams-Bolar illegally used her father’s address to gain access to Copley-Fairlawn public schools rather than send them to Akron Public Schools.

For her crime, Williams-Bolar spent nine days in jail. Later, Gov. John Kasich used clemency to reduce her two felonies to misdemeanors.

What Williams-Bolar did was wrong, even if was for the right reasons, so it will it be interesting to see what happens to the dozens of wealthy parents who were charged criminally last week, all because they don’t want to accept the fact their kids are average.

The adults are accused of paying $6.5 million in bribes to buoy the lie their kids were scholars and athletes, thereby gaining admission into elite college and universities. These actions go far above and beyond fraud-by-address.

Courtside seats

The scandal makes a mockery of Americans’ foundational belief in meritocracy and confirms what we really already knew: Money equals power, and power equals access and privilege.

After all, it isn’t plumbers and bartenders who are sitting at courtside.

This latest case rudely reminds us that rich people rigging the system is as old as the scriptures, even in a country built on the proposition of equal treatment under the law.

There’s a whole, different America where the rules of consequence and gravity don’t apply.

You could almost call this scandal the stuff that movies are made of, except that in the movies, the honest and upright tend to win in the end.

Among those charged is TV actress Lori Laughlin, whose daughter Olivia Giannulli, a student at the University of Southern California, has admitted she’s not even interested in attending college other than for game days and parties.

In this week’s episode of “Things You Can’t Make Up,” young Miss Giannulli found out about the charges against her mother while spending spring break on a yacht owned by the chairman of USC’s board of trustees.

Because it’s 2019 and everyone is fighting about everything, there are accusations the people being charged are nothing more than Hollywood elites and limousine-liberal hypocrites, but gaming the system is no respecter of politics.

Gentleman’s ‘C’

Conservatives finagle their underachievers into good colleges, too. Former President George W. Bush readily admits he earned “Gentleman’s C’s” at Yale, where he was a “legacy” admission. Had he been born George Walker, the bus driver’s kid, he would have been lucky to land at Trump University.

Meanwhile, legacy admission Malia Obama has been caught acting normal while at Harvard, so it remains to be seen if she’s burning up her parents’ money.

If the accused parents are found guilty, we already know they won’t serve time like Williams-Bolar, though what they did was far worse because they have unlimited options. They wanted the prestige, bragging rights and connections that come with having a kid at an Ivy, USC or Georgetown.

Real estate developer Charles Kushner, for instance, didn’t donate $2.5 million to Harvard out of the goodness of his heart. It was to get his son Jared admitted, even though he wasn’t qualified, according to his teachers.

Weird how the only people who are told they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps are the same ones who can’t afford to pay for boots and tuition at the same time.

And who got bumped out of Harvard because of that Kushner check?

This scandal forever puts to rest the argument that undeserving minorities have an unfair advantage, when it has been the wealthy and connected all along who are hiding in plain sight.

Reach Charita M. Goshay at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Real color of affirmative action? It’s green

After talking, I hung up the phone and sat motionless except the tears running down my face.

It has been 48 years and I am trying to find a hero who changed my world forever. The conversation with a fellow Army veteran and dog handler left me reflecting on the past.

It all started when my infantry platoon was flying into a corn field in the middle of the jungle along the Laotian border in Vietnam. It was crawling with NVA soldiers. The two Hueys carrying my 24 souls were noisy and straining as we came in fast. We had other choppers laying smoke alongside to protect us from the NVA snipers.

We swooped down, with a hill above us one side and thick jungle around the perimeter of the field. As the Hueys leveled off just a few feet from the ground, we jumped and ran to the jungle edge to seek cover. As quickly as they came, the Hueys were gone and the silence was eerie.

I pulled out my binoculars and scanned the area opposite us. There they were. A dozen or so NVA were scrambling fast to get into position. Maybe they wanted to ambush the next flight of Hueys that did not come. Instead, as my platoon lay hidden and ready behind me, I called my commander and told him we had found the enemy at their supply point.

He ordered me to attack.

I wondered if there were many more enemy hidden in the jungle. I called for the “Firebirds” or Cobra gunships to rake the hill. Moments later, they made several passes firing machine guns and grenades as we made our way around the corn field and positioned at the bottom of the hill to attack.

It was a classic rush up the hill online with yelling and screaming while firing and grenades exploding. It was nothing less than surreal.

When it was over, the bodies were rolled down the hill and we set up in their foxholes for the night. Incredibly, we suffered no casualties. I looked out over the corn field and realized that we were at a higher level than the Hueys that had brought us. If the NVA were ready, it would have been a turkey shoot.

We loaded up a command helicopter with the weapons we captured. The Major was quite pleased.

Soon, another Huey came to drop off a scout dog and its handler. We would use them on our next patrol to search for enemy locations.

Speaking to the handler, I learned the scout dog was well trained, but the handler was new, in Vietnam only a few days. This would be his first combat mission. I was concerned. I asked myself whether I could trust them.

The good-looking German Shepherd was breathing heavily due to the heat and humidity. I felt bad for such an animal with all his fur to be in this climate. Heck, I felt bad for us in this climate.

It was not going to be easy. Our “Point Man” had to hack through the thick jungle as we left the hill. It was tough going, sweating, tripping on vines, picking off branches and bugs from our bodies while trying to stay alert.

A few hours later, we broke through a wall of foliage and to our shock, we realized we were on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was a curved tunnel cut through triple canopy jungle and a path wide enough for trucks to follow.

“My goodness!” I said to myself. All my warning signs lit up. My heart raced faster.

Having seen this exact scenario during training in the Panama Canal Zone at Jungle School for officers going to Vietnam, I quickly reorganized.

I would put the scout dog and handler “on point” leading the platoon. In second place or the “cover” position, Private Larry Gatliff would follow. I would be third in the line of march with my machine gunner behind me and then the rest of my platoon.

I took one squad and had them go back into the jungle alongside the trail and move quietly as possible in parallel to us. They would protect our right flank.

My squad leader thought it was a terrible idea and did not want to do it given the strain, heat, aggravation. With no uncertain terms, I got him to do it.

Once we were ready, we slowly made our way toward a small hill. There was no wind and the air hung heavy. Not good for the dog’s senses.

I was thinking of every possibility. I was so grateful for the training that told me how to approach this classic, “OK, Lieutenant, now what do we do?” challenge.

As we got closer to the top of the hill, the NVA lay in the road and opened up with AK-47′s.

From complete silence to explosive automatic gunfire, all hell broke loose.

I dropped like a rock and found Larry falling backwards nearly hitting me. He was shot through the head.

I heard the dog yelping, obviously wounded and leaped down the hill to our left. Just then I heard the handler screaming that he was shot.

I yelled back at him to fire at the enemy to keep them from coming down on top of us.

The handler got his M-16 and fired his whole magazine in the air toward the enemy.

The enemy was determined. They ran to our right and were so anxious that they did not see my squad who was fully alerted to the danger and cut them down immediately.

Even knowing more enemy might be in the area, I had to get both Larry and the handler out. I called for a Medivac who miraculously held his helicopter steady while dropping the basket through triple canopy jungle so thick I could not see the Huey.

We loaded up Larry. Then on the second drop we put the handler in the basket. He was shot through both his legs.

He whispered to me to find his dog.

I said nothing.

As the Medivac pulled away, I thought about the options. The NVA knew where we were and know the terrain better than us. Can I risk more lives looking for a wounded dog? Even if I found it, would it live? Would I want to call and risk another Medivac for the dog?

I decided to leave the area. My heart was heavy. Larry was a good boy, only 19 and always wanting to help others. Neither Larry or the handler ever saw it coming. I also knew the dog was out there somewhere alone and injured or dying.

My conclusion is that the German Shepherd spooked the NVA to firing sooner than planned and gave me enough time to drop down and hug the ground. As a result, the dog saved my life.

I often think of him as the Lord accompanying me as my shepherd.

I feel those words of prayer, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.”

Today, I continue trying to locate the handler and reach out to various Veteran groups like the Vietnam Dog Handler Association. I realize it has been over 48 years.

On the phone, a Veteran reminded me of the famous poem, “Rainbow Bridge.” It is easy to find in a search on the internet. But a couple lines are especially emotional: “Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.”

In time, I hope to meet him again on Rainbow Bridge.

John Shoemaker can be reached at shoerfid@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: The Lord was my shepherd in Vietnam

The yakkers who guide our political discourse have long argued the Republican Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump Organization. The Washington Post refreshed this point when President Donald Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference recently.

“Trump’s ownership of the GOP was on vivid display,” observed the Post, adding that “acquiescence to Trump is now the defining trait of the Republican Party.” A disgruntled GOP strategist even ripped the contemporary GOP as the “Trump cult.”

The reason is that Republican voters and lawmakers, including former Trump critics who’ve come around, readily dismiss his sordid past, gaffes, policy stumbles and general bad-boy behavior because they like what he’s done.

But to its credit, the Post also pointed out that the anti-Trump cult, otherwise known as the Democratic Party, is itself increasingly straight-jacketed by outsiders turned insiders.

Almost coinciding with its story of Trump at CPAC, a Post article suggested congressional Democrats are quickly becoming the wholly owned subsidiary of AOC, as in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the admitted socialist freshman House member from New York.

During a closed-door airing of the grievances on Feb. 28, some Democratic “centrists” — a species many of us believe is as rare as the Northern hairy-nosed wombat — griped about the radicalism championed by AOC and other new Democratic darlings who hold the media spellbound. These “moderates” believe, with justification, that nonsense like the Green New Deal, open borders and exorbitant tax rates on upper income Americans will hurt them in 2020.

Twenty-six of these alleged centrists — 22 of whom actually flipped Trump-leaning districts last year — triggered the showdown by voting with Republicans on a gun measure.

The overarching bill, which concerned background checks, passed along party lines. But GOP lawmakers got, with the help of these Democrats, an amendment that mandates gun dealers to notify ICE if an illegal immigrant wants to buy a gun.

Nonetheless, the Post reported AOC threatened Joe McCarthy-style to put the rebels “on a list” to garner primary challengers in 2020. Speaker Nancy Pelosi then sided with the AOC wing. She lauded the “courage” of those whose votes supported ICE not learning when illegals buy weapons. And Pelosi admonished the Dirty Two Dozen: “We are either a team or we’re not, and we have to make that decision.”

According to the Post, the AOC-led Democrats “argue that the party has been too timid, caving to Republican pressure and failing to inspire voters with calls for sweeping change.”

Of course, we saw time and time and time again when those mealy-mouthed, malleable Democrats marched in lockstep with Trump, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan on matters like cutting taxes, cracking down on people who entered our country illegally or repealing Obamacare. Insert eyeroll here.

The Post found John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster in Alabama, to try to shore up the centrists.

Anzalone said his data show Democrats aren’t “enthusiastically liberal.”

“There is, without a doubt, a myth that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez somehow represents the narrative of Democratic primary voters in the country,” he told the Post.

Not sure if Anzalone is trying to convince Post readers or himself with that comment. Either way, it sounds hollow.

Captured by the telegenic audacity of AOC and other Democratic “fresh faces” on Capitol Hill — like Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and to a degree Sen. Kamala Harris — our swooning national media will promote their leftist agenda at every opportunity.

Thus, much to Anzalone’s chagrin, they look like the leadership. And the San Francisco Kid’s willingness to stifle the “moderates” and urge them to join the “team” shows Pelosi understands the risk of not accommodating AOC and Co.

Thus, Democrats have a bigger problem than does the GOP “cult,” which no matter what will be forever cast as racist, sexist, homophobic bigots — whether the party leader is a Trump, a Bush, a Gingrich, or a Reagan.

Democrats want to sell themselves and their ideas as mainstream, inclusive and broadly appealing. Yet the Pelosi-AOC slapdown of the moderates shows who’s in charge, and the party’s continued leftward drift.

Thus, just know that if Democrats are willing to squash those who want to be a moderating influence on their leaders’ increasing radicalism, they have no incentive to seek common ground with Republicans, or to listen to the millions of Middle Americans the GOP represents.

Bill Thompson (bill.thompson@theledger.com) is the editorial page editor of The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Democratic Party being overtaken by AOC and her radical cult

My husband Jim and I drove to the VPS airport and along South Ferdon Boulevard, I noticed that Popeye's has paved access to the road and has a sign posted about hiring employees. It looks as though they will open soon and we will get a chance to taste their fried chicken.

Even with the photo-enforced red light tickets, we are still experiencing aggressive driving in Crestview. With illegal driving maneuvers from dangerous U-turns into oncoming traffic, impeding traffic while making a right turn on a red light, running stop signs and so on, I hadn't realized that we had an auto raceway in Crestview.

We need to slow down and drive responsibly and courteously. Pay attention to your surroundings as well as the traffic. Continually check your mirrors and keep your eyes on what is happening ahead of you.

Don't allow someone else's poor driving cause you to be in an accident. We watched a vehicle drive right in front of a fire truck because the driver was talking on his cell phone and totally oblivious to the sirens. I guess he thought the other cars pulled over to make way for him.

When driving in heavy traffic, watch to see which lights may change, slow down, use your turn signals and be courteous.

Since our goal is to get to our destination safely, drive in a safe manner. If being on time is an issue, get up earlier so you don't feel so rushed. Always err on the side of caution.

Scam calls 

This week, we have received an "emergency" call every day from different unknown phone numbers stating our "Microsoft Windows License Key" has expired and if we don't call back immediately our computer will quit working.

Microsoft doesn't operate this way. These are thieves looking for people from which to steal money. Phone call scams occur more frequently during tax refund season.

Please do not call the phone number back if they leave a message and don't answer calls from unknown phone numbers.

IF you find yourself speaking with a potential scam artist, give them no information, verify nothing and hang up.

If you gave out any type of financial information, call the Crestview Police Department at 682-3544 or the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office at 689-5650 to report the incident. Then call your bank's fraud department and alert them.

Remember, your best defense against any scam is to ignore a phone call from an unknown name or phone number. Valid callers will leave a message if the call is important. 

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: Traffic woes, scam calls on the rise

In 1857, Americans — well, American men — elected James Buchanan, a president who hid behind states’ rights and did virtually nothing to stop the spread of slavery. He allowed his cabinet of cronies and pro-secessionist southerners to run wild in their corruption.

As the nation hurtled toward civil war, Buchanan left it up to his successor to find a way out.

Sometimes, you get the president you need. Despite his generals’ best efforts to lose the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union, freed 3.1 million people from slavery and still managed to build the Continental Railroad.

Plenty of people, north and south, thought Lincoln was a dolt and a rube who couldn’t figure his way out of a burlap sack. Some newspapers went full racist, calling him “Abraham Africanus,” along with criticisms and accusations that would have broken a man of today.

But Lincoln was the president America needed, even if America didn’t know it.

Herbert Hoover had the know-how to keep Europeans from starving after World War I, but Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president Americans needed to rescue them out of the abyss of the Great Depression and to lead the country at the onset of World War II.

Hoover wanted to let the economy correct itself. Roosevelt knew people needed more than their own bootstraps.

They needed a president willing to help those living closest to the ground.

Law and order

Sometimes, when you vote your anger and fears, you get the president you deserve. In 1968, Richard Nixon wrapped his campaign in the “Southern Strategy,” tapping into the vein of white, working-class resentment, all while dog-whistling promises to restore “law and order.”

He was re-elected by a country that initially gave Watergate little thought, but he did generational damage to a nation that couldn’t conceive of their president as an unrepentant criminal.

Sometimes you need a president who reminds you of the importance of being an active and engaged citizen; lest we forget, we live under the single-most ingenious form of government in human history.

Because it is, the American presidency has withstood ineptitude, corruption and self-interest.

It has endured private misbehavior and public blunders.

The office was crafted with the understanding that presidents would make mistakes. We seem to be in a space right now where presidents either are flayed for every flub or people are pretending they didn’t hear what they just heard.

Power by virtue of our vote

Pundits and columnists get paid to opine, but time, tide and history reveal the true measure of a president. Following a temporary deal Jan. 25 to reopen the government, ultra-conservative pundit Ann Coulter tweeted that Donald Trump replaces the late George H.W. Bush as “the biggest wimp” to serve as president.

At 19, Bush flew 58 combat missions in World War II, including one in which he was shot down by the Japanese.

The closest Coulter has come to combat is once getting hit in the face with a cream pie.

The American presidency is at its best when it’s respected and understood by those who occupy the office. What makes America exceptional is this: Presidents possess power only because we allow it by virtue of our vote. If we fail to remember this, if we fail to be vigilant when granting them that power, we have only ourselves to blame for what happens next.

James Buchanan, by the way, tops most historians’ lists as the worst president. Ever.

We’re still here, aren’t we? 

Reach Charita M. Goshay at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Presidency makes America special

Nov. 2017 Gallup  poll: "58% of millennials prefer socialism/communism/fascism over capitalist system."

Politico (2017 ): "Poll finds majority of Democrats say socialism has positive impact."

It seems the party of John F. Kennedy would not even consider nominating him these days. It has moved so far left that even JFK’s “A rising tide lifts all boats” speech would be booed by the new Democrat Party as a capitalist statement.

We know now that modern-day “progressives” are just rebranded Marxists or, best case, socialists. And we are again seeing how socialism plays out in a rich nation like Venezuela. After not letting his duly elected opponent take power, using the might of the central government’s military President Maduro’s strong-arm tactics prevail, as they always do in socialist/Marxist countries. As the people starve, inflation rages and chaos escalates, the U.S. is trying to help Maduro’s duly elected opposition leader, Juan Guido. It is not a good sign when Maduro’s opponent returns a call from the U.S. from inside the trunk of a 1978 Datsun.

Lenin said, “The goal of socialism is communism.” In that quote, the “Father of Soviet Communism” acknowledged that totalitarian rule is so disgusting to people in free and prosperous capitalist nations that it must be quietly slipped into those societies in bits and pieces over time. It is through that incremental process that socialism serves as an under-the-radar, transitional gateway to the inevitable oppression: communism.

The immigration debate is at the center of our country’s pivotal moment. The premise of the new “AOC” (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) progressive wing of the Democrat Party is that the U.S.A. is a mean, misogynistic, hate-filled, racist, white-privileged and exploitative country.  They want to welcome as many illegal immigrants as possible to our shores to enjoy this wonderful country.

One has to wonder.  When Elizabeth Warren tell us that there is such white privilege in America, why did she pretend to be a minority Native American to advance her academic career?

We saw the hypocrisy of the left in Virginia when racist white Democrats failed to be honest about blackface pictures from their past. Virginia Governor Northam said he put on blackface and moonwalked. He was just one step away from moonwalking at his press conference when he was stopped by his smart(er) spouse.   Maybe “moonwalking” should replace the donkey as the Democrats’ mascot. Moonwalking best describes their devastating policies, where they make it appear they are walking forward (progressing), yet in reality they are moving backward.

The “Green New Deal” proposed by AOC and Senator Markey (D-MA) is a naïve and idiotic move toward total government control. Some of the gems in this resolution:

1. No more meat.
2. No more airplane travel, few cars, only train travel (bad news for Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii who signed on; I’m not sure she thought that one through).
3. Free jobs for those who want to work, and income for those who do not want to work.
4. Taxes as high as 70% on those who do choose to be productive. Then they are taxed again on assets and when they die.

If they pass this, Democrats will have to build a wall to keep productive people IN the country.

So what happens when AOC walk into a bar? It’s lowered.

The childish notion that government can solve any problem in twelve years (because that is when AOC says the world will end), is stupid. Government never solves anything.  We still have troops in Germany, Japan and Korea.

Poor results in overdose crisis management call for a shift to harm reduction

Finger wagging and virtue signaling are the new Democrats’ go-to moves for attention and advancement in their party. Never mind that their ideas will not work, nor have they ever worked when tried in the history of mankind, yet they always fall like candy on the tongues of the gullible.

Straight from being a bartender, AOC has only been in Congress for a couple of months and she already has her picture on the Cuban one dollar bill.

To achieve their agenda, the Dems must convict Trump of manufactured crimes with their deep-state friends. Their narrative is that the GOP loves the Russian communists now; the Democrats are Middle East war hawks and deficit cutters. It is like a football game where they switched sides at halftime.

The new left of the Democrat party will not win with such unreasonable arguments. And they will not stop Trump. But libs can take comfort in that California liberated the world from plastic straws.

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

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: This Ain't Your Father's Democrat Party No Mo!