Columns/Opinions

A Patriots Opinion

By Jim Snyder

There seems to be a large political movement in this country of young people who are jumping on the bandwagon of politicians like Bernie Sanders and demanding free stuff. They want free college, free healthcare, free rent, free food, free gas, free phones, you name it. They basically want everything free. Well, here’s a news flash for people of all ages: there is nothing free. The government, despite its best intentions, cannot give one person something without first taking it from someone else. Keep in mind that the federal government manufactures nothing. They have no product to sell to make money. So their sole source of income is revenue collected from taxpayers from taxes, fees, and penalties.

Boomer Musings

By Leslie Riseden

We sat in our tiny wooden desks, staring absent-mindedly at the initials and mild expletives carved by our predecessors. We listened intently to the teacher as she explained the steps we were to take for The Drill. “Put down your pencils, close your books and place them inside your desk. Push your chair back. (Quietly, please. No talking.) Now, crawl under your desk, pull your knees up to your chest and place your arms over your head, like this.” Seriously? This was our defensive action in the event of a nuclear attack? Hiding under our desks?

A Patriot's Opinion

By Jim Snyder

A beautiful and classy lady went to be with her soul mate this past weekend when former first lady Nancy Reagan passed away. The Reagan’s love story was one for the ages. She said one time that her life didn’t really begin until she met Ronnie. In a 1998 interview she said, “Thank God we found each other.” She also said many times that she didn’t know what she would have ever done without him. Michael Reagan said after her passing, “Nancy is where she has always wanted to be, with her Ronnie...Now she is at peace”. Her husband was probably my favorite president in my lifetime and probably the greatest president in recent history.

From My Perspective

by Toni Walker

You know, they say that laughter is the best medicine. From my perspective, I would have to agree. I mean, seriously, think about it for a minute. What other thing can be done to make pretty much any situation better?

I have become the time of person that, when I am faced with a dire circumstance, I tend to laugh. Now, I am not saying that I would laugh at a person holding a gun to my head. But, in what seems to be the worst of times, I find a way to laugh. I have been known to be the person at the funeral home, during visitation for a loved one, to come up with the most off-the-wall, craziest things to say to lighten the mood.

A Patriot's Opinion

By Jim Snyder

Ok, let me start off by saying: No, I don’t mean a decision on who you are planning on voting on for president, but it does have something to do with your voting patterns. I’m talking about making a decision as to what you truly believe in. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing folks who vote completely opposite of their beliefs. And yes, I mean everywhere in the U.S., even right here in good ol’ Morris County. So everyone put on your big boy and big girl pants cause some of you may get offended before this is over. So let’s begin.

Guns: If you own firearms and you vote democrat you really need to reexamine your thought process. Liberals (i.e. the democrat party) have been anti gun ever since I can remember. They have never done anything to support gun owners and they do everything in their power to restrict the second amendment rights of our citizens. So why would you support anyone who votes to take away your freedoms?

From My Perspective

By Toni Walker

Of all the memories I have from growing up, the ones I think about the most are from my time in Girls Scouts. Now, my girls are following my steps, and have both started Daisy’s this year.

Girl Scouts gives girls an opportunity to meet new people, learn new skills, and try new things. On Sunday, I got to watch as my two girls, ages five and seven, participated in Thinking Day. Thinking Day is where girls research one of the many countries that participates in Girl Scouting or Girl Guiding. I watched as my girls told a group of people they had never met about Peru, a country they have come to love, thanks to their Daisy leader, Kelly Holden. My five year old is fascinated with the fact that, in Peru, for special meals, they eat guinea pig!

A Patriot's Opinion

By Jim Snyder

Boomer Musings

By J. Leslie Riseden

Pandora. Spotify. iHeartRadio. Sirius. Uploading. Downloading. Streaming. Sharing. Music on your TV. Music in your car. Music on your phone. There are so many options for listening to music, it defies logic. Really? When we were kids, we had two ways to hear our favorite songs: radio or record player. Two ways. That was it.

We kept the radio on all day, just to be sure we didn’t miss it when they played the new Bobby Vee song. We suffered through commercials, news, contests, and more commercials. Then … finally… there it was. “Shhh. Everybody be quiet. Here it is.” “… ‘cause the niiiiiiight … has a thousand eyyyyyyyes.”

And we sat, rapt, for the 2.5 minutes it took to play. It might be hours before they played it again. No pause, no rewind, no repeat. We savored the moment.

A Patriot's Opinion

By Jim Snyder

Well, it is becoming painfully apparent that our government is operating way outside of the bounds it was intended to, and we are gradually becoming victims of our gullibility and stupidity. I dearly hope that anyone who fell for that whole “Hope & Change” thing has realized by now that you were duped.

Barack Hussein Obama promised he was going to “Fundamentally transform America.” Well, he did alright, and not for the better. Our entire government system is corrupted to the point of criminality. The president has appointed secretaries of nearly every government agency who are doing nothing more than doing the presidents bidding and covering for their illegal activity against us.

From My Perspective

By Toni Walker

There is an old Beatles song that was written by Billy Shears entitled “With a Little Help From My Friends.” The first verse says: “What would you think if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song, and I’ll try not to sing out of key. Oh I get by with a little help from my friends, Mm I get high with a little help from my friends, Mm gonna try with a little help from my friends.”

Throughout my 40 years, I have learned that, pretty much no matter what I am going through, there is pretty much nothing I can’t get through when I have friends by my side. I have had friends help me through some of the roughest patches in my life, and as I look back on those times, I know that it was the friends who helped me make it through.