He must know I write a column; he obviously hasn't read it.

When I questioned his wisdom, the principal said, "Just give the kids some sound graduation advice."

I asked, "Should I tell them I hear the Monsanto plant is hiring?"

"No," said the edu-crat. “Encourage them. Tell them they can do anything.”

"So I should lie? Have you seen most of these kids? They can’t do anything.” Most think Sharia law is a no-nonsense, daytime TV judge show.

That’s the problem. Kids are getting pie-in-the-sky advice and, judging by obesity rates, they are also eating the pie.

Should I turn into Maya Angelou and tell entitled kids who graduated because of grade inflation, who think Mao Tse-Tung is the Asian equivalent of French kissing, who don’t read newspapers and who can’t find Syria on a map, that they can do anything? Or would a healthy dose of reality be preferable?

Guess which one I am going with.

Students should prepare for a job. Maybe instead of taking the fifth field trip to the Trail of Tears site, do one to learn about real jobs in the area they might want. Let them attend more Take Your Children to Work days — unless their parents work in the adult film business. That’d just be awkward.

John Maloney is right about the misinformation we get as kids. Growing up, I really thought from watching TV cartoons that quicksand was going to be a bigger problem than it turned out to be. I was not prepared for real-life problems, like relatives who want to borrow money.

The top 5 percent of students in that class do not need me telling them they can do anything.  They get it. The damage comes in pandering to the bottom half of the class who are led to believe, “Just be yourselves and the world is your oyster.” They then say, “Why trade school? I’m told I’m the best white rapper in Calhoun County.”

That sort of coddling false confidence is why half of American workers are unhappy and disappointed when they have to work hard at something. They inevitably view themselves as "victims" (a.k.a. Democrats). Intuition tempts us to call this “compassion,” which is really feel-good lies fed to kids that take the onus off them and put the blame on others. It becomes a perpetual excuse.

Boys go to work out of school and are blindsided by reality. They never know what hit them; it’s like marrying a Kardashian.

Unrealistic expectations may be the reason suicide rates are up among middle-aged Americans, now outnumbering automobile accident deaths. Suicides among whites rose 40 percent from 1999 to 2010. This is the generation of ninth-place "participation" ribbon recipients who post a picture of the sandwich they had for lunch on Facebook. They confuse any effort with success, and their parents often don’t have the guts to let their kids face consequences.

Students are victims of a giant fraud: the government-run education system that has molded them for 12 gullible years. Public schools are government-run; teachers are government-hired; and government determines standards, pay, curricula and graduation requirements. Government seeks to produce compliant citizens it can someday rule without much pushback. Smart, independent thinkers are not wanted. Blowing smoke up your graduation gown serves government well.

The result is kids who are not prepared for life or for the workforce.  Twenty million young "adults" between ages 18 and 34 still live at home with their parents. 

Members of the Greatest Generation were saving Europe from the Nazis at age 19 and asking nothing in return.  Now, kids stay on their parents’ health  insurance until age 27.  Kids are voting for socialist Bernie Sanders in droves, scared to death they may have to pay for something some day.

They have been conditioned to believe that hard work is for chumps. "Why work? The government or my parents will take care of me." Kids watch reality TV shows like “The Deadliest Catch” and marvel at men who work hard each day.

Few schools teach lessons on the value of hard work, ingenuity, gumption and entrepreneurship.

Teachers today spend more time helping students decide which bathroom they “most identify with” using, rather than which job they should prepare for to support a family.

We need to start teaching the tenets of economics so kids will stop being tenants in their parents’ basements.

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

!—HUB NOTE: IGNORE BELOW—-

By Ron Hart

An Emory University degree just went down in value — again.

I’ve never been a fan of any Emory undergrad I’ve met. Emory is an expensive, whiny Northern rich kid’s college. Around Atlanta, its graduates are called "Em-roids" because of their entitled attitude — and they just proved why.

Emory students and their president are all in a prissy tizzy because there might be one or more Trump supporters on campus. When someone wrote in chalk “Trump 2016” around the campus, the school was all but locked down. Students cried and said they felt “unsafe.” They chanted protests to the president: “You are not listening! Come speak to us; we are in pain.” The president immediately had the admissions office look into how a Republican was admitted to Emory.

Responding to their Em-roid-rage, he then sent out a letter saying that he felt their pain. These princesses were offered grief counseling for the worst trauma of their lives: seeing Trump’s name.

The students then went into the Emory quad and played hacky sack (with helmets for safety) because it just felt right.

I never trust a college that doesn’t have a football team.

The First Amendment has died a slow death on college campuses, strangled over time by their left-wing bureaucracies. If our Founding Fathers came back to life today, they would (after visiting New York's Times Square theater district to catch the musical "Hamilton") be appalled at this Emory thing.

Campuses were supposed to be places where ideas are debated. Today, they are where opposing speech is labeled “hate” and shut down. Many college campuses cannot stand the idea of free speech unless it is speech they agree with; if they do not like what is said, they seek to silence the speaker.

The whole idea of free speech is that people are allowed to say things you do not agree with.

This weak millennial generation got participation trophies and expects us to applaud and positively reinforce the little they do. Jugglers, street mimes and community theater actors need applause; real leaders don’t. I cannot imagine Generals Patton or Eisenhower putting up with this. I just hope this generation does not have to go to war.

We know the left on college campuses love Bernie Sanders and hate Donald Trump. At a recent college campus rally, a woman took her top off, saying "Vote for Bernie Sanders."  She also made a nasty anti-Trump gesture. Men in attendance who watched her said she made two compelling points.

Sanders has the love of the narcissistic millennials who are not good at economics. (which means all millennials?). To them, Sanders is a rock star.  What is amazing is that he is the first person revered by this generation without a single nude selfie posted on social media.

And why do millennials always want to take selfies or film everything — even sex — that they do? I’m just the opposite. When I am done with sex I think to myself, "Well, at least no one had to see that."

The Emory kerfuffle came during the same week as the bad optics of President Obama doing the tango in Argentina while ISIS bombed Belgium and Iraq.

We may look weak and feckless as a world power these days, but we are still the world’s undisputed superpower when it comes to televised dance contests. 

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HART: A reality check for millennials

The thieves are at it again with the phony IRS phone calls.

My husband, Jim, got 10 phone calls in three days on his cell phone from a man that called himself Officer Shawn White, stating in a very stern (pre-recorded) voice, that if Jim didn't call back immediately there would be a federal arrest warrant issued and the consequences would be on Jim's head.

This week, we have gotten several phone calls on our home phone stating that we needed to call 440-732-6189 (listed as an Ohio call) or a federal tax lien would be issued. Since I know that we do not owe any taxes, this was an obvious attempt to extort money.

The IRS sends letters if you owe back taxes. They rarely call, and if they do call, they never demand immediate payment by phone, threaten a lawsuit, or your arrest.

One of the many signs that such a call is fraudulent would be the request that payments be made in the form of bit coins, gift cards, prepaid debit cards, or iTunes cards.

This is not the way the IRS operates — it is how thieves steal money. These scams work because people are afraid of the IRS and when they hear that a warrant is being issued, or a federal lien is being processed against their property, they are willing to do almost anything to avoid problems with the IRS. This fear is what these thieves play upon.

WHAT TO DO

If you suspect that you have received a fraudulent call, contact the IRS at 877-438-4338 and report the suspected fraud.

Here is a warning I received by email from the Internal Revenue Service: "REMEMBER: No legitimate United States Treasury or IRS official will demand that payments via Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire transfers or bank deposits be made into another person’s account for any debt to the IRS or Treasury. Hang up on these fraudulent callers and go to the TIGTA scam reporting page to report the call."

On a more positive note, I hope that many of you were able to attend the CHS choral concert. The choirs were fabulous and the variety of music was wonderful. The concert was amazing.

We have so much talent in Crestview and it was displayed well. Thank you choir members and Mr. Lusk for an outstanding, enjoyable performance.

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: CROSE: IRS phone scams escalating — here's how to respond

The spring concert for Crestview High School's bands is 7 p.m. Friday, May 13 in the Pearl Tyner Auditorium at the school.

The bands are under the leadership of Director Jody Dunn and Assistant Director Charles Andersen. Admission to this concert is free, however seats fill up quickly, so you should get there early to ensure your party is seated together.

This program promises to be full of musical variety; the CHS bands are excellent and they always do a great job. According to Mr. Dunn, music will be played from the Big Band swing era to jazz to orchestral transcriptions for band, as well as contemporary wind based literature pieces. With such a wide variety of music, there will be enjoyment for all.

The groups performing in the concert are:

•The Bone Heads – a trombone ensemble

•Concert Prep Band

•Concert Band

•Jazz Ensemble II

•Symphonic Band

•Jazz Ensemble I

•Wind Ensemble

The traditional finale will be the senior band members singing "Bless This House."

It is inspiring to see the talent these students have and their dedication. Many hours of practice are required to skillfully learn to play "their" instrument, and many of them also take private lessons to increase their musical skills.

These musical skills will stay with the students their entire lives. Playing an instrument and choral singing teach one to efficiently multitask; strengthen eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills; sharpen math skills and memory; and increase discipline as one must practice in order to become proficient.

Students also learn cooperation with others.

The band uniform fund is still short by about $20,000. We, as a community, can really help put this debt to rest.

Contributions are deductible and can be made to: Crestview High School (CHS) Band Uniforms, c/o Jody Dunn, 1250 N. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview, FL 32536. Please consider a generous contribution today to help the band reach their goal.

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: CROSE: Crestview High bands plan spring concert; accepting uniforms donations

Editor's Note: These are the most thoughtful comments from our Facebook page and crestviewbulletin.com and do not necessarily reflect the newspaper management's views.

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Traffic relief before Armageddon?

Four-lane PJ (Adams Parkway)/Antioch Road to Highway 90 by 2030. (Yes, that is the timeline). They are talking about a "study" (not an actual exit mind you), that will probably happen around 2040.

So, if the study shows it can actually happen, we'll have another exit basically around the time the sun absorbs Earth. Hopefully we get a Dairy Queen before then also.

Jeffersonii Van Vrancken

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We must save Crestview Manor

Absolutely necessary we do all we can to keep this place going. They provide a much needed service to the seniors and disabled that have nowhere else to go. And they do it with care and grace you won't find in any other assisted living facility. (Manor Director) Becky Brice-Nash is a hero in our midst.

Greg Bradt

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ESPN had the right to fire Shilling

Curt (Shilling) didn't have his freedom of (speech) taken away, he had his ability to work at ESPN taken away. There is a big difference.

He had the right to say what he said, which he did, and ESPN exercised their right to terminate his employment.

Please don't confuse constitutional rights — which signifies government involvement — with corporate rights. The government did not tell Mr. Shilling he couldn't express his personal beliefs.

Chris Ward

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HUBBUB: Readers' thoughts on traffic relief, saving Crestview Manor

With new FAA regulations requiring most fixed-wing aircraft, and potentially even hot air balloons and gliders, to have an ADS-B — automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast — system by Jan. 1, 2020, there may be an opportunity for aerospace jobs in Crestview. 

This system will have to be installed by avionics technicians at a maintenance, repair and overhaul depot, of which we have three at Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview.

The ADS-B system will receive an aircraft's position, speed, heading and altitude from a GPS satellite. It will broadcast this information so air traffic controllers, and other pilots in planes appropriately equipped, have this information, which could help avoid mid-air collisions. 

This information is much more accurate than radar, as it is continuous, while radar sweeps only provide information every few seconds. 

For jet planes traveling over 450 mph, this introduces a margin of error of over 2 miles. Having this extra information will help lighten the load for air traffic controllers and potentially improve flight safety. The FAA will also send weather information via the ADS-B.

Third-world countries embrace this technology, as they don't have to install complex, costly radar systems.  A huge benefit to this system is avoidance of airborne collisions between planes flying too close to each other.

Although this is great technology, the cost to private plane owners is a huge drawback. The equipment costs between $5,000 and $10,000, plus installation charges; so this is a huge investment for civil aircraft owners, many of whom have aircraft worth around $48,000.

With Crestview’s aerospace companies, it seems a perfect match to this new FAA requirement. There is a potential for the local aerospace businesses to offer a complete avionics package at discounted rates by teaming up with a single avionics supplier.  

Here is hoping that Bob Sikes Airport will get some of this potentially lucrative business and our area will gain more civilian jobs. 

This is a great opportunity for retiring veterans — jobs that their prior training allows them to easily fill.

See http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb/faq/#1 for more information.

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: CROSE: New FAA regulations could lead to more Crestview jobs

Dear Editor:

With the 47th annual observance of Earth Day just around the corner, this is a great time to explore more effective ways of slowing climate change and conserving Earth’s natural resources for future generations.

A 2010 United Nations report charged animal agriculture with 19 percent of man-made greenhouse gases – more than all transport – and recommended a global shift to a vegan diet. A subsequent World Watch study placed that contribution closer to 50 percent. Meat and dairy production also dumps more water pollutants than all other human activities combined. It is the driving force in global deforestation and wildlife habitat destruction.

Last fall, England's prestigious Chatham House declared that reducing meat consumption is critical to achieving global climate goals. A report from Oxford University found that global adoption of a vegan diet would reduce greenhouse emissions by two thirds. The 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has recommended reduced meat consumption and an environmentally sustainable diet.

Just as we replace fossil fuels by sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar, we must replace animal foods with the more sustainable vegetables, fruits, and grains. Being mindful of this can help us make better choices at the supermarket.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: LETTER: Eating sustainably, on Earth Day and every day

For the past several years, there has been one position or another verbalized regarding vehicular traffic on State Route 85 through our fair city.

Picture, if you can, for I experienced the following happening several days ago, and perhaps the irony of some of the stated positions will become clear.

I was motoring north from southern Okaloosa County with a trunk full of groceries, for I had a few moments earlier departed the Eglin commissary, and as the hands on my watch indicated that 5 p.m. was rapidly approaching and I had to hurry to get things unloaded if I wanted to get to the church choir rehearsal on time. 

I made it through the construction on State Route 123 without any difficulty, and the ridiculous “speed trap” just north of the newly built flyover, and all was going along smoothly.

Just about a mile south of the exit leading to Duke Field and the 7th Special Forces cantonment area, traffic came to a screeching halt!  Both northbound lanes were backed up, and forward progress was at a snail’s pace.

It took more than 30 minutes to travel the 4 miles (approximately) to the Shoal River bridges.

Just before arriving at the northern end of this traffic jam, I noticed that two patrol cars — one of a deputy sheriff and the other of a state trooper — were parked in the grass between the northbound and southbound lanes. 

There were no other vehicles, but obviously the gawkers had slowed to view something that did not exist.  Perhaps there had been an accident earlier, but if so it had long been cleared up!

The time in this predicament gave me an opportunity to ponder the several solutions to Crestview’s traffic problem. As I sat listening to 1940s music on Sirius XM, I thought about the solution espoused by one county commissioner — to open the road that passes the Lowe’s store to Arena Road. 

“Wow,” I thought, “that would really solve this problem!”

Then I thought about the solution that I had voiced at a meeting of the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization when I was a  Crestview city council representative thereto, only to have another county commissioner — since moved — ask, “Where are you going to get the money?”

I suggested that the traffic problem does not start inside city limits, and any project initiated therein would be a waste of money and fruitless. I envisioned then, in 2009, that a reduction in the traffic count had to begin far south of the city, on the other side of the river!

My proposal, which obviously has been ignored by the OWTPO, was to erect a flyover leading to Rattlesnake Bluff Road, paving that road westward for approximately one half mile, turning north to a bridge to be built, and then connecting with Antioch Road near the elementary school.

By having such a road, all those wanting to travel to Milligan, Holt and Baker would never have to get into the traffic jams that develop daily long before traffic gets to PJ Adams Parkway. (The only time folks from other parts of the county would have to head north any farther on SR 85 would be if they needed to go to WalMart, Lowes or some dining establishment.)

Ironically, at the same meeting that I was told there would be no money for such a project, considerable time was devoted to discussing a TPO plan to erect an elevated road, five-eighths of a mile in length, from Danny Wuerfel Road eastward, so that traffic on U.S. Highway 98 could flow smoothly through that congested area while not affecting commercial establishments on either side of the existing highway!

Not only was my suggestion “shot down” because of a perceived lack of money, but it was expressed that the Air Force would never allow such development.

This may be true if the Air Force was never asked, but the Air Force was asked! I and another city councilman in attendance at a League of Cities meeting at Hurlburt’s Soundside Club spoke to Eglin’s division commander and summarized the concept.

Without blinking an eye, this two-star general stated, “You’ve got it.  We don’t need it.”

This was subsequently reported to the TPO, but apparently it has fallen on deaf ears.  Or, perhaps there is no money, just like there apparently is none for an elevated highway east of Destin.

Crestview’s traffic problems do not begin at WalMart Road. Traffic lights at Liveoak Church Road, PJ Adams Parkway, John King Road, and the I-10 overpass all help to magnify the problem. 

In my opinion, it is too late to try to avoid the bottleneck after one has been in it for a half-mile or more! 

The solution is to get out of it before one gets in!

Bob Allen is a former Crestview City Council member.

What's your view? Write a letter to the editor or tweet @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ALLEN: How to solve Crestview's traffic problem

Editor's Note: These are the most thoughtful comments from our Facebook page and crestviewbulletin.com and do not necessarily reflect the newspaper management's views.

Include more arts education

The arts are not important due to their career-making and wealth-building properties. Starving artists frequently come to mind when I consider all of the wonderful and often undiscovered talent that lives on your street and throughout your city.

Will painting and music yield your family the next Da Vinci, or will they have their solo debut on the stage of Carnegie Hall? I will most likely say no.

The same response can also be applied to every sports program throughout every middle and high school in our communities. No, your child will not gain a full ride to college, and chances are even (slimmer) they will take care of your long-term care needs via their NFL salary.

Horrible basket to have your eggs in.

However, the unequivocal and scientifically proven benefits of world-class arts education cannot be debated against! The arts open up wonder and interest in every subject … I've never met a well trained artist in either painting, music or writing who didn't have a strong understanding of the world around them.

Denying performing arts education in all of its genres is not only a disservice to the enrichment of your child's education but you are denying the future of untapped creative thinking!

We have to incorporate more arts education!

Ryan Mabry

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Pick up the trash, Crestview

Maybe we should revive Woodsy Owl and the “Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute” campaign because I have never lived in a place where so many lazy people find it acceptable to throw their trash on the ground.

Kaye Beck

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HUBBUB: Readers' thoughts on arts education, littering

After directing the Catholic Church’s focus away from gay marriage, and saying even atheists who do good deeds can go to heaven, the new pope has now decided to lighten up on divorces.

Pope Francis granted more leeway for clergy to give Holy Communion to divorced people. This is evidence the Catholic Church, under a liberal pope, is wrestling internally to evolve its moral teachings.

Full disclosure: My wife is very Catholic (I think she is a Shiite Catholic), which makes me biased or objective. I’m truly not sure which.

And in further disclosure, I lean toward taking my annual Communion at Rosemary Beach Church or the Buckhead Episcopal churches because they offer extensive wine lists — no one can better pair the right wines with Kashi Grain sea salt crackers than an Episcopal priest.

Divorce can be good for Christian kids who want to celebrate two Christmases every year. But the Catholic Church has historically taken a firm stand against it, doing all it can to discourage divorce in favor of keeping families together, which is smart long-term.

The Vatican released the 60,000-word apostolic exhortation (which is like a papal executive order) titled “On Love in the Family.” It is like the Bible and the iPhone User Agreement; we just automatically click “I agree.” It’s much easier that way.

Previous church doctrine said divorced persons could not receive Communion until a church court grants an annulment of their last marriage or they abstain from sex with their new spouses. Both seem practical and workable propositions. Annulments take time and lots of money (interestingly, paid to the Catholic Church or its lawyers). Rich Catholics have famously paid millions for annulments.

Grounds for annulment can include “failure to consummate the marriage.” Annulments are also approved for “psychological immaturity” — a condition affecting nine of 10 American men.

The pope said marriage is “a mixture of enjoyment and struggles, tensions and repose, pain and relief, satisfactions and longings, annoyances and pleasures.”

He is quite the salesman for marriage.

Basically, for every good thing there is an offsetting bad thing. At best it's a 50-50 proposition, which is why kids today are postponing marriage.

It has always interested me that the most prolific sources of advice on marriage and child rearing have been unmarried and childless: Jesus, priests and Oprah. 

The church has modified some of its views on birth control, which historically was: just have unprotected sex and pray for the best. But with the Zika and AIDS viruses, the pope has allowed some leeway on condom use.

He did ask kids today to spend less time on social media and more time on their spirituality. Today's youths cannot understand why Jesus had so many followers when he wasn’t even on Twitter. Having said that, the pope joined Twitter for the first time in an effort to get his message out to young people. 

Social media is so easy today. When I was young, connecting socially was difficult. I had to walk 50 feet through thick shag carpet to the hallway and dial a rotary phone to be online socially. Dialing a rotary phone was difficult. If a friend had more than one 9 in his phone number, I refused to call him.

The Catholic Church has grown worldwide and provides many great outreach programs. The church does produce Mother Theresa-types who do good deeds, educate and care for more people worldwide than any other religion.

The Bible has modern-day appeal with its stories of violence, death, revenge, family fights, debauchery, treachery and adultery — so much so that Fox would like to turn it into a mini-series. The story of the Virgin Mary, if played out today, would be on “The Maury Povich Show.”

Yet the church, while making strides under this liberal, Bernie Sanders-like pope, remains contradictory. 

Its logic is often confusing. The pope is still stridently pro-life and wants his flock to have many kids. Yet he opposes in vitro fertilization and forbids the use of a surrogate mother to have children.

But because the Vatican paperwork would be so extensive, it refuses to excommunicate the Virgin Mary for this.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HART: The pope knows marriage

Residents should be able to choose

Why does the county have to dictate what garbage company we use? Residents should be able to pick and choose the company they want. Should be an open market. Whether it be Waste Pro, Waste Management.

Todd Lawrence

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Give Crestview’s police chief a raise

Give this guy a raise! Much deserved after reading his accomplishments! He has come up with ways to save the city money by refurbishing patrol cars instead of purchasing new ones!

Being a cop is a challenging, dangerous job. To be the top cop, I could not imagine the difficulty.

Thank you for your service!

Julio Escobar

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First, improve the drug problem

I would like to see them improve the drug issues we have in this town. Our young people are finding it way too easy to get their hands on drugs — any type of drug.

How ’bout a raise for those type of improvements instead of a raise for doing what he was hired to do to begin with?

Barbara Williams-Seeley

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HUBBUB: Readers' thoughts on garbage pick-up, police chief raise