Widespread voter fraud is a myth. 

I was tempted to begin and end this column with only that sentence, but I guess I will expand on this fact since so many people in power are trying to sell their voters extra Kool-Aid lately. 

Voter fraud is part of the "us versus them" racist propaganda intended to make older white people scared of minorities. The logic is that people of color not only disagree with their choice of candidate, but they are voting multiple times and illegal immigrants are flooding across the borders to vote for Democrats. 

Illegal immigrants do their best to remain invisible. You won’t find one in a voting booth. 

Kris Kobach knows this. He has degrees from Harvard, Yale and Oxford for crying out loud. 

He is one of the smartest people you will ever meet. He is also one of the people most dedicated to making sure brown people don’t vote because most don’t agree with him. 

If you can convince people you lost because someone cheated, you can create laws that make voting more difficult — especially for people who don’t tend to vote the way you want them to. 

In Kansas, they were so convinced that Kobach was right about illegal immigrants voting en masse for Democrats (even though Kansas is one of the reddest states in America) that the legislature made the unprecedented move to grant Secretary of State Kobach prosecutorial powers in cases of voter fraud.

Not only would he control the policy, he would be the police and prosecutor to stop illegal voting. In about five years, Kobach has nabbed nine illegal voters. One of them was a college kid who didn’t realize she voted in her home state primary and again in Kansas. She voted for Donald Trump both times, by the way. These are hardly the results Kobach promised when he pulled the wool over the eyes of willfully ignorant legislators who wanted him to be right. 

Now they share the egg facial with Kobach.

Like many unproven, outlandish conspiracies, like the guilt of the Central Park Five, Barack Obama’s citizenship, immunizations leading to autism and Saudi Arabia’s royal family not being involved in the murder and dismemberment of a journalist who lived in America, President Donald Trump loved the idea of widespread voter fraud. 

Even with the theory being completely unproven and any study supporting the idea being discredited, President Trump stands ready to act. 

He tweeted this weekend, "All levels of government and Law Enforcement are watching carefully for VOTER FRAUD, including during EARLY VOTING. Cheat at your own peril. Violators will be subject to maximum penalties, both civil and criminal!"

And all of the villains on Scooby Doo would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids. 

President Trump’s supporters don’t want to believe they are falling for a conman. Why does he try to discredit the press? Because they report on all of his improprieties. Why does he love the idea of voter fraud? So he can discredit the midterm elections if they don’t go his way. 

It is beyond intellectually dishonest. It is actually dishonest. He knows widespread voter fraud doesn’t exist. He has met with Kobach face to face. He knows if there was any indication, it would have been found and trumpeted across the country.

But it hasn’t been found. It won’t be. You are more likely to find Sasquatch feeding its pet chupacabra before you find a group of illegal voters getting away with it.

Kobach and Trump know this. But they know other people who don’t like the idea of brown people having a say in elections like to hear it too so they keep peddling the lie. 

I long for the day when Trump supporters reach the end of their rope. I would love to hear them say, "We supported you through all of these things, but no more." 

However, the further we go with this administration, the less faith I have in people seeing the light. True believers will continue to believe even when they find out something isn’t true.

Some studies have dubbed this "the backfire effect" to describe how a person who holds a preference-based belief actually becomes more extreme in those beliefs after being confronted with objective evidence. 

The Trump administration is thriving on people who want to believe he is a legitimate president, who want to believe Supreme Court candidates are innocent of charges and want to believe the United States of America isn’t participating in the cover-up of a state-sponsored murder of a U.S. resident who wrote for the Washington Post. 

You can add voter fraud to the list of things people want to believe so badly, that no evidence will ever convince them they are on the wrong side of the issue.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: President Trump takes a hard line on mythical crime

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Democrats latched onto the "Me Too" movement when the men accused of sexually assaulting women were President Donald Trump and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But when Democrats are accused of bad behavior toward women, Democrats aren’t the morally superior culture warriors they pretend to be when conservatives are in the crosshairs.

During the recent Supreme Court confirmation hearing, and subsequent rehearing, battle lines were drawn with respect to whether Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted one or more women when in high school and college. A lack of actual evidence forced Senators to make their decisions based on "he said/she said" testimony about events that were more than three decades old.

Believe it or not, Republicans believed Kavanaugh. Democrats believed his accusers. I’m sure both sides reached their conclusions based solely on evidence and not at all right down partisan lines.

One of the telling portions of the debate and discussion surrounding the argument over Kavanaugh was when President Trump mocked Al Franken for quickly resigning when he was accused of similar actions before becoming a Senator. Trump talked about how quickly Franken folded in the face of adversity.

Of course, if there had been embarrassing photos of Kavanaugh with some of his accusers, I’m sure the debate would have gone differently.

If Kavanaugh had been nominated by Barack Obama and those same accusations had landed on a Republican Senator’s desk, the same play would have been staged with all of the actors playing very different parts — although I’m sure Mitch McConnell would still have been a total jerk and James Lankford would have still spoken on both sides of the issue before voting how he was told.

Sen. Kamala Harris’ genuine concern for the woman whose life was thrown into turmoil by reliving a horrible life experience in a partisan environment that was ill-equipped to find justice for either side was nothing more than crocodile tears. It was great drama. The problem is that the college professor making the claims wasn’t trying to score political points. She isn’t positioning herself for a run for higher office. She had her life turned upside down and went from a silent victim to victim who told her story and wasn’t believed. I’m not sure which would be worse.

All you need to see to know that the battle was about partisan gamesmanship and not right or wrong, just check out Hillary Clinton’s most recent interview.

Many feel that telling Clinton to keep her opinions to herself is a sexist attitude intended to silence a strong woman. I’m sure that’s part of it. But could I be correct in believing it is also an attempt to keep literally the only Democrat capable of losing an election to a man who was recorded saying he liked to "grab women by the (not going to say it in this newspaper)" out of the headlines during the final three weeks before the midterm elections?

I can’t think of another person who could have lost to Trump. Republicans don’t even like him. But they like him a lot more than they like her. She has her own issues, but her handling of the Bill Clinton scandals in the White House and beyond wasn’t ideal.

Hillary shouldn’t carry blame for Bill’s indiscretions in the White House, but she is culpable for her own actions and reactions afterward.

Just this week, Clinton said she did not believe that her then 49-year-old husband having an affair with a 22-year-old intern was an abuse of his power.

He was 49. She was 22. He was the most powerful man in the world. She was an intern in his office.

That is absolutely an abuse of power. But Clinton stopped caring about women’s rights as soon as it was her husband and her party’s president that violated them.

Monica Lewinsky said she believes it was an abuse of his power even though the relationship was consensual. I guess Democrats don’t always "believe her."

Through her Twitter feed, Clinton criticized Kavanaugh for his behavior and her belief that he lied about facts in the case. But 25 years later, she still doesn’t hold her husband accountable for his actions or obviously lying about them. Maybe he didn’t lie. I guess that depends "on what the meaning of is, is."

Hillary had no problem with that and said Bill was right not to have stepped down. I think Kavanaugh lied too. The difference is, I would have held them both accountable, not just the Republican.

The world isn’t a better place than it was 25 years ago. If a woman gets sexually assaulted or harassed, she still has to hope that her abuser isn’t well connected or at least doesn’t belong to the party in power.

The Democrats love the "Me Too" movement as long as the accused is "them not us."

In the same way the guy who helped run a Christian campground in Oklahoma was able to cast his vote in favor of a man accused of sexual assault and lying to Congress, Democratic Senators would throw a woman under the same partisan bus if the situation were reversed.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Me too is fine as long as it is them and not us

I had a late lunch with a friend this week at Cracker Barrel. We visited for a bit after lunch and it was around 3 p.m. when we left.

I decided I'd better get on the road as traffic really backs up during the afternoon, rather than shop. Trying to make a left turn from Cracker Barrel Road onto State Road 85 was absolutely impossible given the amount of traffic, both northbound and southbound; so I waited for about seven minutes, finally made a right turn and managed to safely get into the left hand lane so I could make a U-turn at John King Road.

Adding to the confusion of making a legal left turn from Cracker Barrel Road onto State 85 is the fact that people in the Exxon gas station make illegal left turns, which makes the situation even more dangerous.

When attempting to make a left turn onto northbound State 85, one has to watch for drivers turning left onto Cracker Barrel Road, those coming from the hotel across the street, and cars driving southbound, as well as cars trying to turn left illegally from the gas station. These are accidents waiting to happen.

Something needs to be done at that intersection for safety — perhaps a stoplight? At the very least, flexible delineator posts need to be put up to keep people from turning left out of the gas station.

I was able to speak with Scott Bitterman, the County's engineer, who let me know there are several things in the works for this area of State 85 to help relieve the congestion we face.

South Crest Drive (Wendy's) and Cracker Barrel Road are city maintained roads, while State 85 is state maintained.

Improvements are coming in about two years to help relieve congestion. This intersection will have three-quarter access in which cars may turn left from State 85 into either Cracker Barrel Road and South Crest Drive, but no left turns will be allowed on to State 85 from these two streets.

This improvement should greatly increase safety and traffic flow. The intersection at John King will then have two left turn lanes allowing for U-turns, to increase safety. The city, Florida Department of Transportation, and the county are all working very hard to relieve the traffic stress in this area. At this time, FDOT is working on extending the northbound turn lane onto I-10 West to help clean up congestion.

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 relief is coming to south Crestview

Last week, the Bill Cosby we all thought we knew was put in prison by the Bill Cosby none us of knew existed.

It has been a jarring thing to learn America’s Dad was actually a predator who got off on drugging women to render them helpless.

All the achievements, all the influence, all the history and philanthropy, burned to the ground.

As Cosby was carted away, his publicist Andrew Wyatt declared: "They persecuted Jesus. Look what happened. Not saying Mr. Cosby is Jesus, but we know what this country has done to black men for centuries. So Mr. Cosby is doing fine. He’s holding up well, and everybody who wants to say anything negative — you’re a joke as well."

Sorry, you don’t get to play the Jesus card. Jesus never harmed a living being. As someone noted, Jesus didn’t "roofie" the wine he created from water.

On one point, Wyatt is correct: Countless black men falsely have been accused of rape — and worse — for centuries. In Montgomery, Ala., there’s a new national monument bearing the names of some of the nearly 5,000 black Americans who were lynched between the 1800s and 1968.

Wrong place, wrong time

We all know there have been too many instances to count in which black men have been accused falsely. When Susan Smith decided to drown her two young sons in 1995, she tried to pin their murders on a mythical black man. For all of her ignorance, even Smith understood that being a black man in America means people are more than willing to believe he did it.

But you know who actually was innocent like Jesus? Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was guilty of nothing more than being a black person in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So too were James Byrd Jr., Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Freddie Gray.

So was Medgar Evers.

Trayvon Martin’s only crime was wearing a hoodie and being a smart-aleck. How does that warrant a bullet?

Guess who else was innocent? Botham Jean, who couldn’t even be black in his own home, where he was killed Sept. 6 by a Dallas police officer who says she mistook his apartment for hers.

Wolf pack

In 1989, America bought into media descriptions of the Central Park Five as a "wolf pack" that raped and nearly killed a white woman jogger. Among those howling for their execution was the current president of the United States, who took out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for their deaths. He refuses to admit his mistake.

Wyatt and Cosby don’t get to play the race card, however, not after Cosby admitted to drugging women for sex, including the black woman on whom his criminal trial was centered.

Not when a black man is the one who outed his heinous behavior.

Wyatt, who likely has been suspected and feared merely because he’s black, needs to save his sympathy for Cosby’s daughters, black women whose lives have been ruined. He should reserve it for all the law-abiding black men and boys who can’t even drive, walk down a public street or enter an elevator without someone feeling threatened.

No doubt, there are people who are thrilled by Cosby’s demise for reasons other than his crime. But a better bet is that most Americans of all stripes were shocked, stunned and horrified that someone they long admired, who embodied family values and who achieved the American dream, has turned out to be nothing more than a woman’s nightmare. 

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: No cards left for Bill Cosby to play

One of my greatest joys are my sweet pets. I adore my collie and cats. They provide companionship, comfort, unconditional love and affection.

Kittens, puppies, birds, bunnies, and so on are so adorable and cuddly, but what does owning a pet involve? The obvious needs are physical, food, water, a clean litter box, a clean cage or a fenced in yard in which to run, play and take care of business.

Besides these basics, what else do pets need from us?

They need our time, love and willingness to care for them, while they are young and cute as well as when they get older and may need more care. Pets need to be taken to the veterinarian and healthcare costs money, a cost of pet ownership.

A pet is a responsibility, both emotionally as well as financially, and not just an impulse. All their needs should be considered before pets are brought home.

We don't abandon our family when we move or during a crisis such as a hurricane or tornado, so why would one ever leave a pet behind to fend for itself? Yet our shelters are full of pets that people have left behind when they move or find them inconvenient.

Pet shelters euthanize approximately 1.5 million pets in the U.S. each year, which is extremely sad.

Shelter and rescue pets are not defective: they are loving, kind and need a home with a caring family. When you decide that you have the emotional, physical and financial resources for another pet, please adopt through a shelter or rescue organization. Many rescue organizations partner with local pet stores for adoptions on weekends. The Panhandle Animal Welfare Society, 243-1525, and Save Our Cats and Kittens, 863-5756, are open during the week as well Saturdays.

Both dogs and cats are available from My Safe Place Pet Rescue, 306-1718, in Crestview. They also have a free roaming cat care and adoption center where people can meet the cats. Another organization, Min Pins and Mutts Rescue in Crestview, can be reached at minpinsandmutts@outlook.com.

Please be a committed pet owner – sometimes it isn't easy and may cost money, but think of the lives you are enriching, both yours and your pets.

All of the pets in our family and extended family are re-homed, from a rescue or shelter.

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: Having pets requires owner responsibility

Week three is over, and Hurricane Florence helped to wash away a few Atlantic Coast Conference teams' hopes for the ACC Title Championship with canceled games they cannot make up.

The Southeastern Conference has six legitimate teams running for the title, and it’s going to take the next four games to sort it out. No, Tennessee, you’re not in the mix. 

ACC upcoming games                               

Boston College Eagles versus Purdue Boilermakers: Boston College puts the moves on Purdue by 21.

Clemson Tigers vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, ACC Game of the Week: Georgia Tech has lost its sting, Tigers by a bunch, over 21 points!

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons: The victor on the field? Notre Dame. It’s going to be closer than you think, but they still win by three.

Pittsburgh Panthers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels: Florence is still influencing this game, but not in the Tar Heels' favor. Panthers win by 21.

Louisville Cardinals vs. Virginia Cavaliers: No swords can help the Cavaliers. Cardinals all the way by 20.

 Southeastern Conference upcoming games

Texas A&M Aggies vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: This is going to be a real tight game. Tide wins at home by 7.

Florida Gators vs. Tennessee Volunteers: The Vols have won two in a row. Unfortunately it’s all downhill from here for Tennessee. Gators by 3.

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Auburn Tigers: Can the War Eagles bounce back and become the winning machine? Absolutely they can, by 20.

Georgia Bulldogs vs. Missouri Tigers: It’s a great SEC match-up as both teams come into the game with 3-0 records. The Dawgs take a big bite out of the Tigers. Georgia by 14.

Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC Game of the Week.  Both teams come in at 3-0, and who would have ever thought that Kentucky would be that lucky in a season. Luck runs out as the Bulldogs eat up the Wildcats big time. Mississippi by 12.

TIE BREAKER: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Michigan Wolverines: Are you kidding? The Troy University Trojans not only upset the Cornhuskers but beat them good, and the same thing happens here. Michigan by 17.

TEAM/COACH TO WATCH: Florida Atlantic University Owls vs. Central Florida Knights: Florence knocked out the Knights' big game. They move around a lot, but can they knock the Owls out? Sure, but not without a fight. Knights by 10.

See you next week!

Bill Everett is a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He lives in Baker.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Third week of games includes Clemson, Kentucky

Florida's primary election was Aug. 28.

In Okaloosa County there are 133,025 people registered to vote. According to statistics from the Okaloosa Supervisor of Elections website, https://enr.electionsfl.org/OKA/Summary/1923, only 35,254 voted in this primary, or 26.5 percent of those eligible.

What a sad turnout. There were other issues on the ballot, besides Governor, U.S. Senator and Congressional Representatives. There were three school board positions, as well as local issues.

Less than 30 percent of eligible voters decided the issues for our county and cities.

It is very easy to vote in Okaloosa County. There are early voting days as well as convenient polling places near our homes.

Voting is a privilege, one that our forefathers fought a war over.

When King George III was on the throne, he and Parliament ruled the "Colonies" as the U.S.A. was known at that time. The colonists, who were British citizens, had no say in how their country was ruled, how much tax they paid and how the taxes were spent.

Taxes were gathered and spent the way the king and the British Parliament wanted, and in some cases taxes went into the royal coffers. The slogan in the colonies became, "No taxation without representation," meaning the colonists wanted a say in where there taxes were spent and taxation was one of the main points for the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.

The city of Crestview's voters decided to hire a City Manager who is answerable to the elected City Council rather than the taxpayers.

There were 1,683 who voted Yes; 1,132 voted No.

I looked up salaries and the median salary for a City Manager is about $86,376. Along with the City Manager's salary, there will be other costs, such as a pension, city vehicle, personal assistant and so on (https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=City_Manager/Salary).

I don't live in the city, however, for a city that has 23,567 residents (more or less), this seems a huge expense to undertake. A total of 551 votes decided the city would take on this financial responsibility.

When taxes, building permits and other city service rates rise, remember that to have a voice in taxation and other city matters, one must vote.

We are fortunate to live in a country where we can freely vote. We need to make our voices heard by taking the time to cast an informed ballot.

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: Voting is a privilege