Scared by President Trump's bombing of Syria and Afghanistan, evil dictator Kim Jong-un tried to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile, but it barely made it off the launching pad.

By way of background, the mid-30s Kim Jong-un is new to the evil dictating business. The 35-year-old Lil’ Kim inherited the role from his dad, Kim Jong-il, who got it from his dad, who acquired North Korea in a hostile takeover in 1948.

They are all ruthless.

Kim Jong-un — the third son of Kim Jong-il, who died a few years back — blustered that he would use his high-tech missiles, which he says can reach Los Angeles, to obliterate America.

Trump has called upon his new bestie, the leader of China, to ask North Korea to chill. China does not want regime change or a war in North Korea because tens of millions of refugees would stream over the border to China.

Millions they would have to feed who don't even know how to make iPhones.

When North Korea threatened the United States, it was thought that fellow (supposedly) communist China would be the one who would calm things down. You’d think China would side with its fellow communist North Koreans.

But when the U.S.A. owes China $1.3 trillion, they want to make sure we are OK.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Concerning Kim Jong-un's failure to launch

We all kept looking for the evidence that, as the Democrats and their media kept saying, Donald Trump was in bed with the Russians.

As of last week, there was no evidence, and then he bombed Russia’s ally, Syria. So the final answer is: No.

Since most are disciplined and rewarded by the Democrat machine in many big cities, Dems stick to the talking points. There is never much independent thought, no breaking of ranks,  and no open debating of ideas like Republicans have; Democrats do what they are told by their party elders. 

I wondered why they were breathlessly advancing this narrative that Trump has Russian ties. Now we know. By surveilling Donald Trump and his campaign, then-NSA head Susan Rice (likely with orders or a wink from her bosses in the White House) used her spy agencies to “weaponize” our intel community for political gain.

They knew it might come out, so they want to act like they had reasons to sic the Feds on him. That is why they have frantically pushed the nonsensical “Russian ties” narrative they fabricated and continue to espouse.

Now it makes sense: to cover for impending Rice/White House revelations of spying on a political opponent. Next, Rice will need to testify before the Senate.

Like the way Barack Obama's Department of Justice went after his political opponents (as did the IRS with Lois Lerner’s targeting of Tea Party groups), history will record that the Obama administration used government power against its political enemies like no other.

Democrats are great at conflating issues. They conflate illegal immigration with immigration. If you are in favor of legal immigration, you are somehow a racist. We have one of the highest marginal tax rates in the world; if you think it should be lower, you do not want to pay your "fair share." If you oppose any wasteful spending program, you are racist and mean. The Dems have now conflated a hacking incident that had no bearing on the 2016 election into a big international conspiracy.

Prior to Russia’s invasion of Crimea, in Obama’s mind our nation’s biggest threats were the Koch brothers. Obama even mocked Mitt Romney in the debates when Romney said Russia was our greatest geo-political threat. Obama smirked and said, “And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back.”

This passive, “nice guy” diplomacy all started when Obama was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize before he was in office even a year. Putin was also nominated for the Nobel Peace, as was Hitler in 1939. 

The real story here is that there was no reason to investigate Trump and Russian ties. Democrats keep yelping about it to cover for using our government for their own political gain.

“Unmasking” Trump political operatives and leaking their names to the press was the crime. The Dems know that if the police find a reason to follow your car for 100 miles, they will find a reason to pull you over.

Democrats put their hate of Trump above what have been the laws of this country for years. One party does not get to use the blunt power of the federal government to go after rival politicians.

So Dems want to throw Republicans in prison for colluding with Russia, and Repubs want to send Democrats to jail for illegal surveillance and leaking.

All the facts contradict Trump’s "cozy relationship" with Russia. He has ramped up sanctions, he just bombed Putin’s buddy in Syria, he has never done a deal in Russia, and he hasn't even married a Russian woman — yet.

If Trump really wants Russian puppet Bahshar al-Assad gone from Syria, he needs to call on his corporate friends to forcefully remove him. 

I suggest he use United Airlines.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Democrats have mastered the Great Conflation

On Sunday, President Donald J. Trump used golf to woo a member of the more conservative Freedom Caucus into seeing things his way and to try to forge an understanding on moving forward on important matters like ObamaCare reform.

Invitee Sen. Rand Paul Tweeted: “I had a great time today with @realDonaldTrump and believe we are getting closer to an agreement on health care!”

Sen. Paul and White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney played golf at Trump National Golf Club in nearby Virginia to discuss such matters.

Hopefully, it is “an art of a deal” in the making.

There have been rancorous campaigning and debates on issues between Rand Paul and President Trump, but when wealthy WASPs meet to play golf, they are suddenly reminded that much more unites than divides them.

Trump is realizing that success in business does not translate into governing in Washington. Washington is a different world of archaic and illogical structures, egos (not just his), and entrenched bureaucrats. Trump is having a hard time “draining the swamp.” But he is serious about it.

Golf has long been the "sport" of the rich and famous. Obama played a lot of golf, but rarely for business. Politicians, government bureaucrats, executives and retired lawyers, in their latter years, usually play golf.

Obama, the first black president, did famously play with Speaker of the House John Boehner when they were having their differences. And they did gamble some. They ran up $19 trillion in gambling debts on the golf course, but true to form, laughed as they left the bill for some younger golfers behind them to pay.

Hopefully, as he retires we can also retire Obamacare, and Obama will now be able to play more golf.

Paul, an ophthalmologist and Tea Party darling, has his own Obamacare replacement plan. He and other conservatives feel Trump’s bill did not go far enough; they want to fully repeal and replace the 2010 plan. 

Paul's plan does more to spark competition and he thinks it is a better plan. He should know — he’s a doctor.

Rand’s dad was an MD too. Dr. Ron Paul was a gynecologist and kept trying to retire to become the leading libertarian in Congress.

It will be interesting to see if anything will happen in the wake of the match. It will probably be like watching golf itself: You rather expect something exciting to happen, so you watch. And it never does.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Trump’s golf summit more than a match

I dreamed I had come up with a solution to America's greatest problem: eliminate Congress.

Unfortunately, when I awakened, I was in greater distress because the television was on and Congress was in session haggling.

Tragically, my dream awakened to America's ongoing nightmare.

Politics and Congressional gridlock have come to dominate America's way of life. Americans have come to live and breathe the tension of Capitol Hill through internet and cable television. People have chosen sides or removed themselves totally from the fray to enjoy their remaining days of life.

Hold everything — now here is an idea: Totally shut off CNN, MSNBC, Fox, NBC and all news feeds from The Washington Post and New York Times and just simply have a marvelous day!

In the meantime, totally unplug from Facebook, Twitter and get away from the computer — because every time you log on, you are bombarded with something to incite you or suck you into the daily fray for all.

Hey, pal, is this really the life you dreamed of living?

My fear is if I keep my head buried in the sand that I will pull it out and ISIS will be driving down my road dragging my neighbors by their necks with a noose reserved for me.

I don't want that for my neighbors or for me.

I have to try to stay with it because, if all Americans go on our merry way neglecting what freedoms we have left, we will have no freedoms at all. 

So I say this to you, dear friend: Let us not give up on doing what is right. Little children in this country deserve a free and safe place to live. We must stay alert and do our part every day.

This doesn't mean that we don't get a little sick and tired, though.

Many of us were irked with how the new health care bill played out. I want a new health care bill as badly as anyone, but hold the phone. Buying insurance across state lines was not part of the new proposal.

If I had been there voting, I would have to say “no deal.” All we have heard about for two years is the promise to rein in these insurance businesses and give Americans a chance at more reasonable, competitive insurance rates.

Capitol Hill still has a lot of work to do on a new health care bill.

Medicaid has to be fixed. Medicaid should only be for the very poor and the truly disabled. There also should be a lifetime limit on Medicaid. Healthy poor citizens should be limited to a maximum of five years on Medicaid with never more than a two-year increment of Medicaid coverage. People should have to go off a year before coming back into the system.

When your five years are complete, then it's over. Five years should give people enough time to move to a part of the country where they can find a sustaining job.

Also, any health care bill that hints of bailing out insurance companies will not work. Those companies often make billions and must be responsible. Bailing out banks and insurance companies will only add to America's debt and lust for more of your tax dollars.

Find some ways to relax and live the life you have dreamed about. The first step is to disconnect from anything that plugs you into Congress and Capitol Hill.

But wait; don't stay unplugged forever because you might not have an America when you reconnect.

Glenn Mollette is an American syndicated columnist and author. 

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Congress is America's nightmare

I, as current president of the Crestview City Council, feel that I must respond with my thoughts on the presentation delivered before our City Council meeting on Feb. 27, 2017 by a Mr. Larry Harris, a representative from the Mason-Dixon Polling Company.

And myself, as officiating president, had to force myself to sit silent and allow Mr. Harris, a resident from some northeastern state, attack the people of my city, simply because he doesn't like or appreciate our form of government here in Crestview.

What was really hard to accept was not being able to review Mr. Harris' presentation prior to the meeting time of Feb. 27, 2017. I have never had a doubt that yes, possibly, we need some serious changes to our current form of government to meet the requirements, present and future.

At the beginning of Mr. Harris' proposal, I sensed the council body immediately realized that we did not have sufficient information to base or render any action on his proposal at this moment.

To have an outsider come before a public meeting of our City Council, and assault our city and my fellow team of elected and appointed leaders, alluding to just how much ignorance is in our leadership team — and its daily operational task that has been in force for now 100 years, (which) proves to me our system yet has merits.

I, speak(ing) for myself personally on this issue, will never allow the people that I honorably represent, approaching 25,000-plus, to be pressured into accepting this so-called proposal for change of our government without allowing the citizens of Crestview to have their say in this issue.

Let the people make the decision whether they desire to totally change our form of government.

If it is the wishes of the majority of our residents of Crestview to change our current form of government, I'll gladly abide by their decision.

Again, I take offense to the offensive approach on our city, and its leaders, that we heard from this representative from Mason-Dixon Polling Company.

Joe Blocker is the Crestview City Council’s president. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northeastern ‘outsider’ attacked Crestview

Medical care continues to dominate our attention in this nation. I hope we don't have millions of people without health care in the next year or so.

However, in reality we already do.

A 50-year-old told my wife and I that she seriously needs a knee replacement but she can't pay her deductible and 20 percent. Together, they would cost several thousand dollars; and, on her waitress salary, she can't afford the surgery.

She has medical care but she can't afford to have a very needed surgery.

If she falls over with a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital, her insurance will, of course, pick up a major part of her treatment but she will still be stuck with a big medical bill. That would be another crisis. I wonder if her heart would be able to withstand the shock of her medical bill.

The answer to medical care in America is to put everyone 65 and over on Medicare. We pay for it so we should receive it when the time comes. Make Medicare pay for everything and get rid of the supplemental insurance.

We pay into Medicare all of our lives and then have to worry about supplemental insurance at 65. Congress should eliminate that hassle. Medicare should cover everyone over 65.

Many will go throughout life and pay very little, if any, into Medicare. Obviously, our country has major debt. Therefore, we should take some of our foreign aid to cover anyone left out.

The very poor in America should be on Medicaid. Doctors and hospitals must be required to accept Medicaid patients. I realize they have to make money but a 10 percent to 15 percent load of Medicaid patients is not asking too much for a doctor. People with pre-existing conditions should be able to buy into Medicare. Allow working Americans to buy medical insurance across state lines so we can shop for affordable insurance that fits our budgets. 

Open pharmacies in Canada so we can shop for cheaper medicines.

Find a cure for cancer.

Give Americans a serious tax break if they keep their body mass index at 26 or below.

There is a further question as to whether we should keep poor senior Americans on Medicaid or, as I previously said, move them into Medicare as well. If Medicaid covers all medical treatment, it won't matter. However, if Medicaid is not accepted by all of the medical society, then we still have major issues.

Funding Medicaid and Medicare is the major part of this battle. It's time we start using casino taxes, marijuana taxes, cigarette taxes, alcohol taxes, fast food taxes, obesity taxes and soft-drink tax money to fund Medicare and Medicaid.

We could raise a lot of money and probably eliminate having two different systems, thus going to one system, which would be a national medical card for those over 65, those with preexisting conditions and the very poor.

Finally, make Congress shop for and buy their health care. Limit Congress to five terms and senators to two terms. Eliminate insider stock trading information, which is illegal for average Americans yet Congress racks up millions over the course of their tenures.

Many of our problems would be solved if Congress had to live like average Americans.

Another problem would be solved if insurance company and drug manufacturing company lobbyists are barred from Capitol Hill. Congress should be barred from receiving money in any way from these people.

Then they might make some decisions for the American people instead of what is in the best interests of their financial supporters.

Glenn Mollette is an American syndicated columnist and author.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Medical care answers for America

If the people who create scams to steal money from hardworking people and seniors would put their creativity to good use, they might be able to cure cancer.

One of the best ways to protect oneself from telephone scams is to never answer a phone call from "unknown" or from someone you don't know. If the call is legitimate, the caller will leave a message.

One of the newer telephone scams is this: A caller from an unknown number tells you they are with the NSA (National Security Agency) and it is a matter of national security that you allow this caller access to your computer.

If you allow access, the scammers now have control of any personal information on your computer, including your passwords and access to your online banking and credit card information.

Hang up on anyone claiming they need your personal computer for national security and notify the Crestview Police Department or Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.

The IRS published their annual scam list.

Here are two of the top scams:

•Phishing — Even if the email looks legitimate, if someone is requesting personal information, do not give it out.

If the email has the IRS or a bank logo, call the number from your bank statement or the IRS at 800-829-1040 and talk with them.

Generally, these emails are not legitimate.

In addition, if you receive an email from someone you don't know, it is best to ignore it and leave it unopened.

•The ever-popular phone scam, with criminals pretending you will be arrested if you don't pay an overdue IRS penalty immediately by gift card, iTunes card or wiring money to them.

Remember: The IRS sends letters through the mail. They don't call and threaten taxpayers. If you think you may owe taxes, call and speak with the IRS directly.

Identity theft is always on the rise around income tax time. Keep your Social Security card at home and only give your number to a trusted, legitimate income tax preparer. Many public libraries and senior centers have income tax help.

Never give any personal information that you are uncomfortable disclosing. The more private you keep your personal information, the better.

Be alert for potential scams.

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: Watch out for these 2 scams

I was about 4 or 5 years old when I remember my mother locking the front door. She said something to my dad about people "out and about" on the road we lived on in the country.

Our community was safe but occasionally we heard about somebody wandering around who sounded creepy. She and dad determined it was time to lock the doors of our house.

Today, many Americans lock their doors even in the daytime. No one wants to be surprised by someone suddenly appearing in the house. If someone comes by our residence, they can call ahead and make an appointment or politely knock as respecting, humane people do.

People who desire to enter America must come respectfully and legally. We don't owe people from other countries entrance into America. People do not have a God-granted right to enter our country to be housed, educated and fed. I realize that the work of churches and non-profits is helping and healing the hurts of humanity, but America is not a church. We used to be a Christian nation but about half of America no longer wants that label.

People from any country must come with passports, visas and fill out all the required documentation when entering our country. Be prepared to answer questions. It's a different world and we need to know as much about them as possible.

Almost every day or week brings more and more people to our country who want to immediately have everything that Americans have. That's not possible. People from Syria and other war-torn, ravaged lands cannot come here and expect to immediately have everything that Americans have worked 30 years or more to achieve. America is not responsible for granting to the rest of the world the American dream status as soon as they parade into our nation. Our forefathers came legally and worked hard to achieve the American dream. It took time.

Most of us are happy to welcome people from the world if they knock on our doors, identify who they are and fill out the required documentation. We don't want people who hate, resent and want to hurt us. We have to be honest and know that a lot of the world hated America long before President Donald Trump. Securing our borders, asking questions of those who want to enter in order to be safer is the right thing to do.

Thousands have been flooding our country.  It's only smart to lock the doors. It's tough on some people. It will be much tougher if we make a mistake that leads to someone entering our country and inflicting carnage on our people. Obviously, we have people already living here who are capable of carrying out something horrendous. Someone can be born and raised here and still hurt people. However, taking some precautions to try to head off any potential problems is prudent.

May God give our president wisdom and may we as Americans please try to calm down and work together during these difficult times.

Furthermore, never enter my house without me opening the door and inviting you.

Glenn Mollette is an American syndicated columnist and author.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Lock America's doors — and please knock politely

In search of any plausible, positive legacy item — even if they have to manufacture it — Democrats have advanced the false narrative that President Obama “saved the economy.”

It would be a neat thing if it were true.

Let me parse out the facts of this spin, echoed by the media and academia, as it relates to Obama's self-proclaimed "top" legacy item.

We are supposed to believe that the community organizer, with zero business experience, led us out of a recession and kept us from a “great depression” with his financial savvy.

Two very inconvenient truths refute this.

First, the economy officially came out of recession in June 2009, about the time members of the Obama administration had just completed their confirmations and about had all their boxes unpacked in the West Wing.

Second, they did nothing that the Bush administration had not already set in motion to right the economy. This included, if you believe they all worked (and I do not), TARP, bank and GM bailouts, quantitative easing, federal backstopping of some investment products, and finally some $750-odd billion in “stimulus” money.

In short, our government threw a lot of our money at a financial crisis it helped to create with the Community Reinvestment Act, which decreed that anyone who could fog a mirror or fill out fake bank loan paperwork could get a subprime home loan. Like all economic excesses, the markets corrected it and punished financially the bad actors who participated.

To prolong the middle-class misery, the Obama administration added mountains of job-killing regulations. And if the Community Reinvestment Act had not done enough damage, Obama let lefty Elizabeth Warren start the expensive Consumer Protection Agency. It proclaimed it would force lenders to make more "fair" loans to folks with bad credit and would not allow them to charge interest high enough to offset the risk. Sound familiar? I called the agency the "Department of the Cause of the Next Recession."

Using his infamous motto, “Never Let a Good Crisis go to Waste,” Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and his boss set about playing the blame game and using money the federal government was throwing around with those not-so-shovel-ready jobs to shore up their political base. I don't know about you, but I know of no federal project in the area I live in that came from that political boondoggle.

Once passed, Obama had the checkbook of stimulus money, often called the "Porkulus Bill." In the important swing state of Wisconsin, in fact, 80 percent of “stimulus” money from the Obama administration went to public sector unions, the ones whose members had job security and who showed up at his mid-day political rallies in any T-shirt they were told to wear.

Waste was everywhere. The DHS sent $30 million to Medicaid recipients who were dead. These dead people were important to Democrats, as they represented a large voting bloc in the 2016 presidential race.

The key thing to remember is that the USA has a recession every five or six years, and we always recover. In our history, we have survived about 50 recessions, a couple of depressions, and numerous boy bands. Coming out of that recession would have happened no matter who was president. Taking credit for it is like taking credit for sunshine after a two-day rain.

In fact, depending on how you interpret pre-Depression economic numbers, the recession Obama came in on in its last few months was not even in the top 20 in our nation’s history. Peak-to-bottom GDP during this so-called “Great Recession” was only 5.1 percent. We tend to over-dramatize events that happen to us, but the USA has endured about 20 business slowdowns of over 15 percent from the Panic of 1785 until now. Americans were just less dramatic back then. Nowadays we panic when our free Internet is slow.

Obama did nothing but dampen the recovery by raising taxes and adding unnecessary regulations. He used the opportunity to make more people dependent on government welfare. His real “economic legacy” was doubling the U.S. debt from about $10 trillion to $20 trillion — with nothing to show for it.

The other big legacy item Obama claims is “killing Osama bin Laden.” He had, indeed, been president for two years when Navy SEALs found and killed Osama bin Laden.

After years of tracking him down, our government found bin Laden — in his house.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Obama’s claim that he ‘saved the U.S. economy’ is demonstrably untrue

The new medical insurance premium for my wife and I will be just a few dollars shy of $2,000 per month for 2017. This amounts to $24,000 for the year. Should either of us have a serious illness or medical procedure, our out-of-pocket expenses will be $11,000. Therefore, we could potentially be out $35,000 in medical expenses in one year. I hope we aren't, but the potential is always there.

Of course, that would be better than a $100,000 medical expense or being shoved into bankruptcy because of medical bills. It is easy to rack up several hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses.

President Trump appears to be moving fast on his promises. I hope he acts fast on affordable health care because it's killing me.

I continue to hear from people who have achieved Social Security disability status. They were declared disabled by a doctor and were eventually legally approved. This not only means a nice monthly check from Social Security but it means medical care provided by American taxpayers.

I'm for anybody who is truly disabled to have this help from the American taxpayers. Sadly, there are many reports of people who have obtained crooked attorneys with connections to crooked doctors who know a crooked judge who help them be approved for disabled Social Security. It's bad for America when people lie and fake an illness to get a disability check. Unfortunately, when the government is writing checks, multitudes line up to get their share, whether they deserve it or not.

If I live a few more years, I can apply for a full Social Security check and I will have Medicare. We will only have to pay for my wife's medical insurance for a little while and thus life will go on. The point is that most of us are feeling the pain of health insurance costs.

Mr. President, we need help — fast.

Hospitals and doctors have been gouging the government and insurance companies for a long time. For years, the government and insurance companies have paid it, but things are changing some. Insurance companies are no longer paying for everything or paying the full price they are being charged. One doctor recently told me that he has to bill the insurance company about three times more than he would normally charge a patient to just receive close to the amount he needs for a procedure.

While our new government leadership is supposedly working on a plan to fix medical care, they need to fix the rising cost of a college education. Too many college graduates are racking up $60,000 to over $100,000 in debt with horrendous interest rates being charged by some lending institutions.

Colleges know they have a gravy train. Thousands of students across the country who meet the conditions can receive $5,815 in government money paid directly to their college of choice. Colleges then tack on thousands of dollars more that families or the students often have to borrow. Colleges, in turn, build bigger buildings and incur more debt that in turn requires more and more tuition from struggling students and families.

Many federally funded colleges pay big salaries. One college president in Kentucky made about $400,000 a year at a tiny private Christian college. That's not that huge, as some presidents today make close to a million dollars a year. What is interesting is that his board of trustees promised him this same salary package upon his retirement for the rest of his life plus medical insurance, an apartment, a car and even his cell phone.

Where does this money come from? The money comes from federal grants that we the taxpayers pay — and from struggling students who rack up big debts so that a retired college president can receive almost $400,000 a year and additional perks for the rest of his life.

Sadly, many academic institutions are crumbling across this country. There are numerous cases of campuses closing and being sold to bigger institutions or closing altogether.

Average Americans can't handle what we are being handed in medical and college costs. We need help fast.

Glenn Mollette is an American syndicated columnist and author.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Americans need help fast, Mr. President