Congratulations to all employees of the Fillmore Unified School District who were given special recognition by the School Board at Tuesday's meeting. We should recognize, especially, John Wilber for his extraordinary 32 years of service as teacher and principal at all of our schools. Thanks, John, for a job very well done.

****

It's great to see so much rain during the past month or so. Very gratifying to see Sespe Creek beginning to roar again after 5 years of draught. It may not be exactly roaring again, but it is flowing fast. I couldn't resist traveling up Grand Avenue to the beginning of Sespe access. As I slowly parked next to the County's newly constructed cable fence, I caught a snowy egret take off from the water. I haven't seen an egret for a long time. They feed of frogs and small fish while standing motionless in shallow water. It was a beautiful thing to see.

****

Two things that were not so beautiful to see were illegal signs prohibiting public access, and the County's new fence. The home owner at the first house at the end of Grand, adjacent to the Creek, thinks he owns the access property and continues to threaten anyone attempting to hike north up the Sespe. For years he has physically threatened such hikers, throwing rocks, at them, etc. The Sheriff's Department has tried to intervene more than once but the perpetrator doesn't answer.

His illegal use of threats and force to keep the public out of the Sespe Creek state and federal protected area must be stopped. I urge the public to assist in seeing this unlawful conduct prosecuted or otherwise corrected. While I was taking photos of the area this week a young man, serving in the Air Force, a resident of Fillmore on leave, asked me how to get to Devil's Gate and Swallow's Nest. I told him he would have to hike about a mile or so up the Sespe. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to make that hike again.

Recent rains have bowed back the willow thickets at the Creek entrance area. When things dry out a little I will attempt that hike again. Sespe Creek not only marks off the Condor Refuge but is "formed by one of more than 30 tributary streams before it empties into the Santa Clara River...." "Sespe Creek is indisputable the finest wilderness run south of the Sierra Nevada." "Class 1V and 1V+ rapids become common place, and a couple of challenging portages await all but the most brazen of boaters.”

In 2000 I sought the assistance of the American Whitewater group in Virginia. They provided substantial legal information concerning the obstruction of public access on Sespe Creek. In short they stated:
California's Constitution and accompanying case law are clear and unambiguous in regard to the matter of navigation. The simple fact if that California's state laws define all state waterways as navigable. The non-commercial public has an essentially unlimited right to float and recreate within the high water mark on any rivers..." "NO INDIVIDUAL...shall be permitted to exclude the right of way to such water whenever it is required for any public purpose, nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of such water..."

And that's all I have to say about that - for now.

****

Please refer to today's letter from our District Attorney, Greg Totten, concerning the danger of licensing any commercial marijuana activities within city limits. He lists the dangers clearly.

****

I'm short on space and haven't gotten to the politics stuff yet. A few short comments.

I hate to be seen as an alarmist, but, I think we will be in a shooting war very shortly. Iran will give us no choice. If it again harasses our war ships with its "fast boats" those boats should be blown out of the water. I'm assuming that Iran has been given notice to that effect.

Major problem: None of our carrier battle groups are deployed anywhere near the Middle East. We have little back-up. The USS Cole may finally have a chance at revenge; but it too needs back-up. Remember United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole on 12 October 2000, was bombed in Yemen's Aden harbor. Seventeen American sailors were killed and 39 injured in the terrorist attack. Shamefully, no counter action was ever taken.

****

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has always been recognized as the most liberal-radical federal court in the nation. The recent hearing on Trump's immigration pause is just repeating this history. The AG's office has represented the President in pathetic fashion. More next week. We are entering a Constitutional crisis. Trump should pull an Andrew Jackson, and ignore any negative 9th Circuit opinion. "Let them enforce".

Want to be heard on the issue of fees for permits to grow legal marijuana in Fillmore? Attend the February14 Public Hearing at city hall.

Proposition 64, which recently legalized recreational marijuana throughout California, will cause social havoc for generations to come. This ubiquitous weed will undermine law and order in thousands of different ways, mostly through stimulating crime, corrupting the morals of our youth, and seriously impacting their health. The deleterious effects, especially upon the mental development of young people, are absolutely indisputable.

The liberal Left can once again take credit for the wholesale popularization of this gateway drug. I think it will be many generations before the profoundly noxious consequences of this horrendous mistake can be remedied. Generations to come will suffer for our wanton stupidity. For true medical uses marijuana has a serious place. For general "recreation" it should have no place at all.

****

President Donald Trump keeps his word. No one should be surprised that he is doing what he said he would do during the primaries and up through the election. But the Democrats seem shocked at his early success and are determined to slow that progress for no purpose but to annoy the President.

Trump's cabinet picks are superb. Why Republicans should pay any attention at all to lectures by liberal Democrats about "mainstream" nominees, of their choice, should be obvious. Trump is now dealing with the new mainstream, the Middle American mainstream. The mainstream of forgotten Americans. The Dems have had 8 long years to diminish America using their "mainstream" politicians, media, and president. Now it's time for an infusion of common sense and traditional conservative actors and policies. It's time once again to reintroduce our traditional Judeo-Christian ethics and policies. The President is off to a great start with his nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. I can just hope that this will prove to be just one of at least 3 such nominations. He is surrounding himself with the very best people.

I wish him health and continuous success as he leads our nation back to strength and greatness. We should pay no attention to those Lefties behind the curtain.

I think most of you already know Bob Crum, long time friend and photographer for the Gazette. I'm happy to announce that Bob will now be writing a weekly column, and seeking photographs from our readers, as well as taking some himself. He has a free hand in organizing his space and is a true photo pro. Enjoy his introduction this week which includes a little autobiography.
Welcome Bob!

****
Congratulations to our police department (Ventura County Sheriff's Department) for another safe and peaceful year.

Fillmore Sheriff's Captain Dave Wareham told the Fillmore City Council last night that, once again, we our crime statistics are low, even lower than last year. He told us that last year Fillmore was credited with being the 17th safest city in the country.

Several arson fires were reported but they were attributed to a homeless man living near the riverbed. Wareham told the Council that response time on a 911 call was averaging about 6 minutes. That's fast!

Again, congratulations to the Department for a job well done.

****

Well, we have more good news concerning our new $9-million county firehouse. The steel structure is going up without problems, except for the rain, which I dare not call a problem

I took a few photos yesterday when the architect, manager, and contractor were touring the site. I was told the project would be complete around the end of the year.

****

Donald Trump is proving to be a man of his word. I have to be impressed with his energy and directness. For those who hate him I can only say, at least he is bold, clear, and truthful about his actions; he's keeping his campaign promises. He is not mousing around like Obama did for 8 years. I have to love it.

He has appointed the very best cabinet, possibly in the nation's history. They are, to the man (and woman) bright, energetic, and loyal. For conservatives, whose ideas have languished for so many decades in that swamp of Political Correctness -we're finally free to make America great again! Trump gives hope to our faithful friends, like Israel, and fear to our enemies.

I am especially hopeful and thankful for that Trump has acknowledged Almighty God in America; from his inaugural address to his first statements as our new President, he continues to acknowledge God as the foundation of our hope, protection, and success. He said it, "God will protect us." This is a primary reason the Liberal Left is acting so insanely. They hate the fact that America, from its beginning, has always acknowledge God. Our motto is "In God We Trust". As long as we stay on that track America will be blessed and victorious over its enemies.

We should remember that in speaking of enemies, our President's oath of office requires that he defend against "...all enemies, foreign and domestic" It's the domestic ones who now challenge our peace and tranquility. The Liberal Left is coiled and ready to strike. It demands abortion, and hates the privacy and safety little girls were once afforded when accessing their bathrooms. It's enough to acknowledge that Leftist-Liberals simply hate America's Judeo Christian tradition.

God bless America - pray for Donald Trump's health, safety, and continued success.

I had to laugh at DRUDG's banner photo of 20 White House staffers frowning at the camera, below a huge headline reading "Party's Over".

Indeed it will be this Friday. The eight-year nightmare is finally over. It's time for Christians and all true believers to celebrate America's Constitution and her foundational Judeo-Christian traditions again.

Long live our democratic republic; may she always know freedom through strength by proclaiming that In God Is Our Trust, and E Pluribus Unum (From Many, One - our first motto).

As Constitutionalists rejoice for the end of Barack Obama's misadministration, they face extraordinary threats from recalcitrant Democrat Party members and their radical Leftist anarchists.

Nothing tells more about the divide in national politics than the behavior of this large group of dissenters who loudly proclaim President-Elect Donald Trump's election victory to be illegitimate.

This claim that Trump's election victory is somehow flawed by the alleged hacking by Russia of Hillary Clinton's campaign Chairman John Podesta's private emails, is absurd. But the length to which the anti-Trump camp is willing to go in order to disrupt the inauguration is dangerous. They openly admit their intent to take numerous actions, including illegal, forceful activity to disrupt the peaceful transition of power from the Democrat Party to the Republican Party.

Law enforcement is taking them at their word and anticipates violence, possibly to Trump himself. This anti-inauguration group is determined to violate a fundamental part of our Constitution (elections) by falsely using another part of our Constitution (the Fourth Amendment) to cause disruption.

This wide-spread violent threat to a peaceful transition of power is creating a national crisis. It also clearly identifies the groups and individuals involved. These are the people composing the Clinton sympathizers. They are the scum that has to be removed from the swamp. That swamp is not confined to Washington D.C. This swamp fever has infected the whole nation. We might see ourselves as half swamp and half free- shades of our Civil War.

The Obama-Clinton establishment seeks to entangle our nation in oppressive laws and restrictions, regulations, overreaching departmental "legislations" etc. California and New York are prime examples of oppressive states which continue to impose extraordinary, intrusive laws and regulations which violate our Constitutional rights.

With a President Trump we have a good chance to de-regulate and reestablish those lost Constitutional rights. I have in mind especially the recent draconian, unconstitutional laws passed through Propositions, which violate Second Amendment rights. These sorts of unlawful restrictions (takings) came through a tactic called incrementalism - taking a right by increments rather than with all-out bans and restrictions. Even though the taking was done by state propositions, here it is still unconstitutional. A state (or its residents) cannot violate the clear wording of Constitutional rights to suit its whim. Using an ignorant electorate to do so does not change the result - it's still unconstitutional.

California cannot pass a law prohibiting free speech, for example.

It will take the full force of a new Supreme Court to set things straight here. Thank God we will soon have a new Constitution-respecting Court, another distinguished Antonin Scalia Court, an "originalist " Court which respects the clear meaning of Constitutional wording.

So there is great hope that violations of our basic law will be corrected by a new Court, and the Second Amendment will get full respect.

Thank God for our soon-to-be President Donald Trump.

I seem to recall that King George III made an entry in his diary, on July 4, 1776, which read "Nothing happened today". True or not, it seems that something similar could be noted this past week, except for the tragic house fire which destroyed the Ortega residence.

The new year has begun and, as is often the case, the news channels are slow. So slow that I might as well agree with that old monarch. Well, maybe next week things will pick up.

***

Ironically another historical fact can be appropriately used this week. When the Continental Army had won our Revolutionary War, the surrendering British troops played a popular tune of that day entitled "The World Turned Up-Side-Down". I believe that world is again Up-Side-Down.

I'm concerned that some world-shaking event will occur concerning President-Elect Trump and the transition of power from Democrats to Republicans. There are many who share the same worry, many more who are afraid to speak openly about it. This concern is that something will intervene, shortly before, during, or soon after the inauguration which might seek to invalidate the proceeding by declaring the election invalid.

This is an extraordinary belief to be sure, but hundreds of thousands of informed conservative thinkers agree that such a threat is possible.

Their concern is based upon the behavior of powerful members of the radical Left who hate Donald Trump with an unnatural, unholy intensity and who will never accept that he won the election. Leftist billionaires like George Soros, and his string of globalist anarchists have suffered such a brutal disruption of their agendas that they are psychologically incapable of accepting the results. - without attempting revenge. They have been absolutely flummoxed.

They reason, how could this be? We had the perfect scheme to plunge America into another eight years of Obamaculture, another eight years of socialism, military weakness, anti-Christian government, suicidal economics, and the forcing of little girls to share their bathrooms with perverted adult males. They thought they had the perfect governmental plan to obliterate our Judeo-Christian tradition and destroy our Constitution. They had that lean and hungry look for our Supreme Court, the key to their complete Leftist agenda.

But they didn't get it! And they are crazy angry. Just listen to the psychopathic lamentations of the Hollywood Glitterettes. (my word) and the "important" liberal people. The establishment took it in the chops, and I say Yippy!

So, like so many Americans today, I am anxious about the coming inaugural; the watchword should be "Beware".

***

Liberal Democrats cling to the notion that the election outcome is suspicious at best, and somehow invalid due to allegations that Russians hacked John Podesta's emails. The emails just exposed the outright corruption in the Democrat national organizations. But if this hacking is true, and it's disputed, the resulting embarrassment is well deserved. But such allegations have nothing to do with the validity of the election itself. If there was hacking it changed nothing at all.

***

Liberal-Progressives rant on about Global Warming incessantly. The "science" they tout to prove their fearful belief is contrary to the mass of contrary information. Global warming, they say, will end up destroying the world as we know it. They are talking not about normal climate change, without which we would really be in trouble, but alleged man-made climate change, which is what has made Al Gore a millionaire through his preaching. Now it is reported that scientists believe we could be entering a new Ice Age, following temperature reading below 80 degrees Fahrenheit in Russia. The Global Warming story is one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on mankind.

***

Drudge has reported that President Obama's farewell address to the nation was longer than the good-bye speeches of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush combined. He referred to himself 75 times. It's that pathetic legacy. His farewell could last until after the inauguration. Maybe he will take some free time to revisit all the heads of state he bowed to during his first unforgettable year in office.

The Gazette is a little smaller this week. We are working on some changes for 2017 as we enter our 28th year. Not only is the Gazette entering its 28th year, the publisher is also 27-years older.

The new year begs some historical reflection. The changes, at every newspaper level, have been extraordinary. Starting out with 3 Apple Mac Plus machines which could print-out a justified column of text on ordinary paper, then to be trimmed to fit on layout sheets, we left the hot wax and X-acto knives behind and advanced into the digital age. What was laboriously crafted and delivered by hand has evolved to screen composition and electronic transfer. No more "boards" to transport to the press room. No more need to develop film.

The Gazette survived the great Northridge earthquake of 1994. It devastated Fillmore, as well as much of Southern California, and drove the paper out of its original office at 400 Central Avenue, the old Masonic Temple.

Confusion reigned for the next five or six years. We worked out of a half-dozen places at first; our editor's residence, and 3 other homes, for 3 months. Then the city generously provided trailers and other work places. We were in the trailers for several years because so much office space was destroyed by the quake. The Gazette office later moved 3 times due to quake disruption. We have been at our current location for more than 10 years.

Very many challenges were met successfully by the Gazette.

The town has changed dramatically since the Gazette appeared. Most of Fillmore was pretty well camouflaged by groves of orange trees, so much so that traffic on Highway 126 could barely notice the town. Now, in every direction, homes and businesses have sprung-up and the groves are mostly gone. City development has been dramatic during the past 27 years, but it has been a struggle.

Today the Gazette has the best equipment that science has provided for newspaper publication. Compared to those days of film and hot wax, the transition has been extraordinary. I don't miss those days.

One important part of the newspaper is the Gazette online. I do regret it has not been utilized more by our schools. Special attention was paid to the design of our website in providing a page for each and every school and each classroom. There have been few takers of those free opportunities.

For all of our readers and viewers I wish a Happy New Year!

Pray for the success of our new President-elect!

This is the last edition of the Gazette for the year 2016. The old year is worn down, as is this publisher.

We have dealt with a considerable amount of negative things this past year, overcoming most of them.

Have a happy New Year.

Another year has just about gone. I feel blessed that I witnessed Donald Trump elected President of the United States. Although I'm tired of all the election vitriol, in seeing Hillary Clinton demolished, together with her retinue of liberal Leftists, as I said once before, we didn't dodge a bullet, we dodged a cluster bomb. Now the job before us is to help Trump ascend to his inauguration and jump-start a new, invigorated government.

America is almost perfectly divided between liberal-Leftists and conservative traditionalists. That Clinton actually won the popular vote tells us just how confused we are. It will take years to discover and correct the damage Barack Obama did to the nation. His legacy (which has always been his chief concern) is one of weakness, inaction, foolish globalism, and policies which undermined traditional understanding of Constitutional rights and values. He was never a leader, which has caused the world to be a much more dangerous place.

His nebulous policies, absence of defense strategy, and pro-Islamist mindset, caused (and is causing) the death of millions of innocent victims through murderous Sharia. His reluctance to intervene when he could has stampeded millions from their traditional homelands into Europe, causing confusion and conflict. In short, Obama has disrupted the natural order of the Western world and sent conflagration across the Eastern world.

His political naiveté in trusting Iran with a nuclear agreement which insults basic logic, and his insistence on the false reality of global warming, alone, mark him as the most foolish (therefore dangerous) president in American history. Despite Trump's best efforts we will all pay for Obama's foolishness in the very near future.

And fully half of the American electorate voted to have this legacy continue for another four years! Watch what Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea do to take advantage of Obama's 8 years dynamic foolishness, before Trump can take hold of events.

I have to pray for Donald Trump's safety, especially because the Democrat-Left is so intent on obstructing his turn as leader of the free world. They hate him with an unholy and unnatural ferocity, and I am not encouraged about his personal security - after reports of a 19-year-old student penetrated Trump Tower's security ring, 11 times, with a backpack containing "a large hunting knife, an M100 firecracker, handcuffs, a switchblade, flashlight, 8-foot-long black rope and a garrote". He liked to study in the lounge. This is almost too much to believe.

Anyway, I wish Trump a long and successful turn as president. He has, in my opinion, chosen his cabinet members very well - except for Secretary of State. But let's see if he is confirmed.

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone. It's now politically CORRECT to say it!

I've burned-up too much time today on unusual business and have nothing left for my column.

I will say, however, congratulations to our new Council Members, and our new Mayor, Carrie Broggie. I wish them well and expect them to continue the excellent work their predecessors accomplished.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. It feels great to say that again after eight years of Obama suppression. So - I'll say it again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We received a nice letter this week from Teresa Norris of Fillmore. She rightfully laments the disappearance of hiking trails into our mountains, particularly, access into Sespe Creek. It's really a shame that year-long trails have been cut-off for the public.

Recently, the County of Ventura has constructed a strong barrier fence at the end of Grand Avenue which eliminates all safe parking space at the entry to Sespe Creek. As I read the law and pertinent regulations, state and federal, cutting off access to Sespe Creek is unlawful. California law states that citizens have a (state) CONSTITUTIONAL right to normal access to ”navigable" rivers and streams. Though the Creek is dry today due to the drought, it is still deemed "navigable".

I intend to contact authorities, state and federal as well, to eliminate this illegal barrier. Many of us would again enjoy hiking up the Sespe without interference.

Thank you Ms. Norris for the letter. Maybe we should start something like Friends of Sespe Creek and contact the EPA.

***

Trump is doing great. I'm just impatient to hear that John Bolton has been chosen as Secretary of State. That position in the swamp has been so abused by Hillary Clinton that it's going to take a lot of work to clean it up. Bolton can do the job.

It's also comforting to know that Mad Dog will be going into Defense.

It's good to see America getting back into the game!

Nothing stirs-up our community more these days than the thought of marijuana being introduced into Fillmore, legally. While most of the town has voiced strong opposition to any accommodation by city government to Proposition 64 results, others look forward to recreating with the weed.

I see three basic dangers in the widespread approval of marijuana, it will affect our health, our safety, and the crime rate, significantly. This is a fact as clearly seen in statistics from Colorado and other states which have legalized pot. Most of the counties involved in legalizing the marijuana culture are dealing with huge health, and crime problems, often costing more than the millions brought in by taxing the activity.

Not to sound puritanical, but marijuana lowers the Judeo-Christian culture, truly harming the youth by damaging their health, physically and psychologically. By the standard of traditional American values marijuana is morally wrong regardless of what law approves of it. In our newly liberal-Leftist governmental mindset, embracing marijuana is just another in the long list of legally approved crimes, everything from abortion to open borders. They sound unrelated but they all relate to the new Left, which the soon-former government endorsed.

The early and habitual use of marijuana has proven to diminish a young person's mental abilities to concentrate, and reduces the sense of initiative. Skipping tradition, common sense alone should alarm reasonable people to the danger Prop. 64 has brought to our town.

Enlarge Photo

The Small News;
VONS market has just placed placards on each check-out line. This is a bold deception to force shoppers into deciding to purchase a shopping bag from VONS, use a personal shopping bag, or to carry your purchases out in your arms. What they should tell shoppers is that the new (stupid) law, recently passed, does not take effect until the first of the year. VONS is truly "nickel-and-dimeing" shoppers. VONS should continue to use the free plastic bags until January 1, 2017. Shoppers of America - stand-up for your free bags!
Happy Thanksgiving!

***

Things seem in some ways more chaotic now than during the days preceding the election. This is due to efforts of Leftist-anarchist groups like those funded by billionaire globalist George Soros and others. They hate the outcome of our democratic election process, because their side lost. They are more than sore losers, they are haters, they want to instigate confusion and chaos. They are looking for rebellion and insurrection, for a third Obama term.

But the millions of voters who watched their man win, rejoice. For the winners see a new day for America, looking strong, prosperous, and assertive. The wicked Leftist witch is gone, forever. Now, for the first time in 8 years, babies waiting to be born, military forces waiting for troops, equipment, and leadership, and a Supreme Court waiting for Antonin Scalia's successors, have reason to hope.

Trump has selected intelligent, experienced leaders to fill his cabinet. My only reservation is his alleged appointment for Secretary of State, Mit Romney. I voted for Mit in the past, but his vitriolic attacks on Trump, and a different world view, makes me hesitant to see him at State. No doubt though, Mit would serve honorably and wisely, despite his lack of experience at this job.

I have one increasing concern about Trump's present method of choosing cabinet members. It's not how he's doing it, but where he's doing it. Apparently he had made some sort of agreement with the City of New York about having a public space in the Trump Tower entrance. A stream of non-governmental people pass by all of his would-be cabinet members, his family members, and he, himself, coming and going every day. This seems to me to be a dangerously thin security site. I won't elaborate on my concerns, but they are real. I wish he would use a more secure venue for his pre-swearing-in work.

One thing which warms my heart during this Thanksgiving season is the amount of money, energy, and time the pro-Clinton forces had to spend to see Hillary fail. Reports say about a billion and a half dollars were wasted in this doomed endeavor. It's all lost, gone, vanished, and revealed the dark heart of the pro Clinton machine. And, the tons of fireworks that sat on the dock in New York ready to celebrate the "inevitable" Clinton win, also gone. Please indulge me for a moment for being small and ungracious, but, Yippy!

But, while the righteous Right is basking in the election sun, here in California (sometimes spelled with a K) Governor Brown and his henchmen double down on issues such as our Second Amendment rights. Brown has just signed into law a pile of new confusing and useless firearms regulations, all aimed at future confiscation. They are deliberately designed to create a new strata of felons among the God-fearing, tax-paying, peaceful citizens of this state. Unlike our budding new federal hopes with Trump, citizens of California really have no hope of exercising their rights on this issue. Two thirds of government in California is composed of Leftist, globalist, Democrats. The Republican Party is no more, here, and an attitude of open borders and sanctuary cities looks forward to keeping it that way. In this regard, California is a clear and present danger to national defense, a political infection that keeps on giving.

The climate in California really has changed.

Some Small News

VONS market is forcing customers to either buy one of their bags, bring our own bags, or carry product out without a bag.

NEWS BULLETIN: The stupid shopping bag law does not take effect until JANUARY 1, 2017. Why inconvenience shoppers by enforcing that law 6 weeks early. They charge 10 cents for a store bag now.

What an irony! For years the Gazette was sold in VONS (200 per week). The delivery and maintenance were free, and VONS kept 10 cents per paper.

Several years ago VONS kicked the Gazette out because it could not afford the new $3million insurance policy required. Today many free papers, and a couple of out-of-town daily newspapers are permitted in the store, but the only, local, official weekly newspaper in Fillmore is still banned.

Comments are invited.

***

The closure announcement by the Fillmore Senior Center, Inc. in today's Gazette is somewhat disingenuous. The City of Fillmore, in one capacity or another, has operated its senior citizens center for decades. Fillmore Senior Center, Inc. recently lost its lawsuit against the City of Fillmore following the City's termination of its lease on the Santa Clara street facility. This lawsuit cost Senior Center, Inc. more than $78,000 dollars in damages. Fillmore's Senior Center remains at its completely renovated and expanded location on the formerly disputed Santa Clara Street site.

***

The more I see of Donald Trump the better I like him. Now that the frenetic election dance is over, he is able (quickly, I should add) to settle down and gather his cabinet.

He is choosing truly outstanding cabinet secretaries, men of great experience and wisdom - and common sense. The victory Trump orchestrated is overwhelming. He has saved our Supreme Court and our Constitution from Leftist degradation. Babies waiting to be born have a better chance of surviving the abortionist's blade. It's time to remember that "life" comes first in our admonition of "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"! The tax noose is expected to be loosened. Obama Care will be decommissioned with rates and deductions greatly lowered.
With his clear determination to rebuild our faltering military, Trump is already receiving expressions of respect from our enemies and friends alike - they finally see what a true leader looks like. They sense America is back in the game.

The list of critical changes expected of President-Elect Trump is daunting. Draining that swamp requires the replacement of tens of thousands of politician-employees who have happily facilitated the Leftist-Progressive agenda, for decades. Not just the top level at all government agencies have to go, but the minions nearer to the scummy bottom of that swamp. We need a fresh start, an overhaul of all essential government mechanisms, not just a fresh coat of paint to cover the corruption. My advice during the swamp reclamation: dig deep.

The most essential changes should come from a soon-to-be reconstituted Supreme Court. Justice Antonin Scalia's work, memory and wisdom should be our guide here. He was the happy genius who defended our Constitution against innumerable Progressive assaults. His persistent question: What are the founding fathers saying, what is the clear intent of the words they use, which constitute our fundamental law? He fought against the rubberized Progressive interpretations of plain English. "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Reasonable and honorable men of good will should not dispute the clear meaning of these words. To do so only incites political confusion which threatens the people's fundamental rights.

Another huge gain is the ending of the "Johnson Amendment" (from the 1950s) which prohibited priests, pastors, and church leaders of every denomination from preaching to their flocks about political issues. This most outrageous abrogation of First Amendment rights threatened the loss of church tax exemptions for any violation by political-religious speech. How in the world did this monstrosity ever get approved in the first place? From America's beginnings, the fiery voices of liberty sounded through colonies from our church pulpits. How dare anyone seek to silence them! How dare our weakened citizenry fail to notice! Trump will end this unconstitutional Amendment. Let's let freedom ring aloud once again!

Watching Donald Trump settle into office as President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of our armed forces, makes me proud once again to be an American citizen.

These promises, and more, our President-elect has voiced. I pray that God, in his mercy, will bless and protect him to the fruition of these goals.

Like many millions throughout the world, I waited-up to the bitter end of the presidential election last night. Except, for traditional conservatives, it was anything but a bitter ending. In defeating Hillary Clinton, from our perspective, we didn't just dodge a bullet, we dodged a cluster bomb.

I had a hard time concentrating on anything other than the election. The habitual machinations of the Democratic National organization had shown conservatives just how cunning and deceitful they are, I feared ballet tampering when they took so long to call the election. It's going to take a while for me to digest the results of this election.

In a previous column I said if Hillary Clinton were elected president of the United States I would believe God had finally decided to our own destruction. Now I believe He is still with us - for now.

There can be no excuses now for Republican incompetence. We have not only won the presidency, but the House of Representatives and the Senate as well. There is much corrective work to be done. Getting rid of Obama Care is important, but only the beginning. Obama and Clinton have done enormous damage to the nation, putting us in imminent fiscal, military, and Constitutional jeopardy.

Trump has promised to undo the legion of unlawful Obama executive orders, replace Obama Care, restore our military, help our wounded veterans, and many much more. I believe he is a man of his word, and someone who gets things done - he's a leader. In a short time we will learn about just how much damage Obama has done to the America he so desperately wanted to "change fundamentally". It will take years to understand the extent of the "fundamental" damage Obama has done.

I also have great trust and expectations for our new Vice President, Mike Pence. It was great to hear him thank God "for His amazing grace" during last night's acceptance speech.

Trust is something I have learned, through bitter experience, to suspect. Many otherwise conservative people still see Trump as a "dangerous" person. I don't, and give him the benefit of any doubt. The electoral win is too great to complain at this point. We have saved our Supreme Court, my biggest worry. We have won both houses of Congress, and the presidency. I can only rejoice at these outcomes.

As I said, it will take some time for me to fully appreciate what has just happened. But, I am very relieved.

One week to go before the election. Even for a news junkie like me, I have to say I'm sick of hearing prognostications from the talking heads, poll stats, criminal accusations, and the disheartening revelations of massive government corruption.

Americans should be aware that the sideshow effect of our presidential election has caused us to ignore the deadly machinations awaiting our country by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and their eager minions. Our choice for president will prove to be critical to the very survival of the nation. We've had to endure political hyperbole as never before during the past eighteen month or so. We're all tired of the fight by now, but the fight for our freedom and independence has just begun.

Due to eight years of Barak Obama's criminal negligence as Commander-in-Chief, our military forces are smaller and weaker than before the start of WWII. We don't have the lead time to become prepared to defend against our enemies this time. Obama has cut our forces, equipment, training, and has undermined our military with a wholesale infusion of sexually and politically correct aberrations. Just about anyone can get into the military now. The one thing Obama, Clinton, and the weakling generals who promoted these changes have forgotten is the historically heroic Christian fighting man. He continues to be the backbone of our fighting forces, but he is ignored, derided, insulted by the now approved feminist forces. Obama has spiritually undermined these good men who have always set our standards in war as in peace.

God bless those in charge of our defense, who keep the peace, and protect the innocent, military and police forces! Without them we are all in trouble, so give them the respect they deserve!

2016 will be the most extraordinary election year ever. The dirty tactics employed by the Democrat Party have hit record lows. The explosive revelations of federal bias toward Hillary Clinton, assisting her efforts to become President of the United States and its Commander-in-Chief, are nearly revolution-inspiring.

We now know that the head of our FBI, and his next in command, are, in the words of their own current and retired agents, "dirty cops". They deliberately prevented Hillary Clinton from being indicted in the email controversy, and failed to use normal system of investigation.

All of Obama's cabinet members have sold out in an effort to assist the president and his endorsed choice for president, Hillary Clinton. Ninety percent of the press media are in the tank for Clinton, as the facts show.

So, Trump is battling a nearly vertical up-hill battle for the presidency due to this unprecedented, largely unlawful, assistance to swing the election to Clinton. Our democracy has been plunged into jeopardy by the Leftist elite, a crooked president, crooked media, crooked Democrat Party, crooked FBI, IRS, State Department, Justice Department, and crooked Hillary. The fix has become so obvious, so blatant, only the willfully naive can deny this conclusion. The country is divided nearly in half with the Leftist globalists, socialists, communists, and anarchists (the heart of atheistic "progressivism") are running amuck.

America is feasting on lies and will very soon require strong medicine. It's truly amazing to watch and listen to the swarm of lies emitted from the above Trump haters. It's not unlike a Biblical plague of flies, chocking-out all paths to truth. Who, really, is Hillary Clinton? What are her achievements? How did the world's most notorious molester of women, and the country's most notorious liar, form the world's most potent radical Leftist combination, and become so popular with half of America? This is astounding!

There is an answer to this entire, complex, mess. America has abandoned its founding Judeo-Christian foundation. It has failed to acknowledge God and adopted new gods, the gods of material stuff. It has traded the truth and security of the true God for a bowl of scientific and financial mush. Like Hillary Clinton and her lecherous husband, what appears to matter most now is money and power, alone. This time we have gone too far.

I can't escape the image of an impoverished America, unable to defend itself, possibly not even able to feed itself. We will soon find out if this image is foolish and uninformed, on November 8.

While America plays games with its economy, military, politics, and religion - across the sea our numerous enemies wait patiently with a lean and hungry look.

Some of Donald Trump's statements may have offended voters, but, as you know now, Hillary has always had a foul mouth. But Trump has never sold-out the country, as Hillary has. You may be justified in being offended by Trump's occasional words, but Clinton's treasonous activities make Trump's words relatively meaningless in choosing between the two. Believe me, Trump is the only choice for a reasonable person.

I've been seeking ways all day to avoid writing this column, because it, once again, relates to the coming election. Frankly, I'm sick of hearing the media exploit salacious allegations of one candidate or the other. How hypocritical can we get? What do Americans expect when we live in a moral cesspool of our own creation? It's not a question of simply casting the first stone; the media, Democrat Party irregulars, White House, State Department, FBI, CIA, Justice Dept., etc. are tossing grenades. We are facing a national conspiracy of unheard-of proportions - a nation-changing confrontation.

The plan here is to "frag" the Trump team into oblivion, allowing the Clinton team to escape having to answer questions on the most urgent issues. Trump has so far been unable to focus, to calmly articulate Clinton's disqualifying faults and provide clear answers.

It appears that Trump's ego won't permit him to ignore his opponent's petty character attacks, while she dodges, weaves, and denies her own notoriously contemptible political history. Evidence of both candidates' faults has been placed center stage - Trump, for making vulgar comments in the past - Clinton for her 40-years of destructive, dishonorable activities. The former for (allegedly) offending Judeo-Christian sensibilities, the later for selling her high office to our enemies, being a congenital liar, and for being an (unindicted) serial felon, with husband Bill. The evidence is crystal clear on both sides. It's now up to the American electorate to use its common sense and recognize the obvious difference. Trump has been a bad boy - Hillary is an immediate, mortal threat to the continued existence of our freedom.

Making the distinction between using bad words (Trump) and endangering our national defense by acts (Hillary) is critical here. Women are said to hold the balance of success or failure in this election. Their votes will very likely determine who becomes our next president. With this in mind, women should ask themselves whether the excitement of having Hillary as the first female president is worth the price. She is determined to follow Obama's agenda of military weakness, high taxes, and radical appointments to the Supreme Court which will be a death knell to basic Constitutional rights. If you like the idea of men accessing women's bathrooms and locker rooms, and women in direct combat against our Islamic enemies, then Hillary is your choice. If you hate the military and law enforcement, as Hillary and Bill do, then Hillary is your man.

At this time in history the once greatest power on earth, America, is dynamically vulnerable as never before, thanks to Barak Obama and his minion, Hillary Clinton. Obama and Hillary have been able to combine the powers of all federal agencies to cooperate unlawfully in furtherance of their radical agenda. The IRS, FBI, CIA, and virtually all members of the 15 executive departments do their bidding, disregarding the law because they know if they cooperate with the Obama administration they can do no evil, and will not be punished for any unlawful acts. I can think of no member of the Obama administration who has been punished for serious illegal actions.

Do we want this sort of felonious activity to continue under a Clinton administration as it has under Obama?

The election of 2016 is not a normal election. It is rigged, as Trump alleges, by the combination of a corrupt news media, corrupt Democrat operatives, corrupt money managers (like Soros) massively corrupt government agencies, and especially, the criminal activity of the Clinton Foundation and its contributors.

Never before has the entire country's safety and civil welfare been so dependent upon the outcome of a presidential election. Like it or not, our nation's immediate safety and civil welfare depend upon the election of Donald Trump.

The Democrats dredged-up an 11-year-old tape where Donald Trump is recorded making obscene remarks about women. They are offensive and disgusting. They are also not uncommon in Democrat circles, like locker rooms, golf courses, and in the White House under Bill and Hillary Clinton. Not that this ever justifies or excuses this language by anyone. To be fair and honest, Hillary Clinton is infamous for her incredibly foul language during her entire political life. How do we know about this closely guarded secret? Those whose jobs have been to maintain Hillary's public safety and domestic tranquility, her Secret Service Agents, and White House staff. Her violent temper and vile language are notorious, and documented in several books. Some of her language would make Donald Trump blush, if he does blush. Inform yourselves of the truth:

www.naturalnews.com/055582_Hillary_Clinton_foul_language_abuse_of_women....

Three days ago - Tags: Hillary Clinton, foul language, abuse of women ... Prepare yourself, because the words attributed to Hillary Clinton in this article are ..."
It's bad, all bad, but unfortunately true.

I expect more filth to be broomed-up as we get closer to election day - heaver and nastier. So, how should such language by presidential candidates be handled? Down deep (at least for America-loving traditionalists) we yearn for a George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, someone closer to those "better angels" of Christian tradition. But, living in the shameless, godless time we have created, we deal with our demons instead. We are paying the price for worshiping the god of science and material accomplishment, while ignoring the ultimate truth - "Who is like unto God?"

We must face the reality of having to choose between two of the most repelling candidates in our history. A rational choice should be to vote for the candidate with the higher moral and political standards. Someone we can trust. One candidate has pursued a 46-year political career of deceit, unbridled greed, and unparalleled lust for power. That's Hillary. The other has worked with extreme diligence to make money in private life. That's Trump. His success has made him a billionaire. Hillary has been successful as well. After a lifetime of public service she is now worth $250 million. But there's nothing more than greed and ambition. Her accomplishments have been catastrophic.

Their words have tarnished both of them, but we have the future of the nation at stake and we have to move on.

Next, we have to answer life-and-death- questions, for example: will America suffer a nuclear attack from Russia, China, North Korea, or Iran? On foreign policy questions like this Hillary has demonstrated her destructive incompetence. She helped create the suicidal nuclear Iran "deal". She organized the loss of Libya and its subsequent devastating civil war. She did the same in Syria, gave away Iraq and jeopardized Afghanistan. She and Obama have set the entire Middle East on fire. Do we want more of this idiocy?

Trump, spent all that time making money in the private sector.

Despite the money spent on American education, Americans remain the most ignorant people on earth when it comes to understanding the imminent, lethal, clear and present danger facing their survival. The logic surrounding proposed Democrat Party solutions to these multiple dangers escapes any reasonable man's comprehension. They spell a near-future demise for America.

Disregarding the known threats involved in welcoming a sea of undocumented, un-veted "refugees", Hillary and Obama want 500 percent increase in the flow. Insane.

The Hillary side seeks to further diminish our armed forces and reduce our aging store of defensive atomic weapons. This has skeletonized our Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard to levels not seen since BEFORE WWII.

The Hillary-Democrat foreign policy is so dangerous and illogical it pains me to continue.

For God's sake, we should stop for a minute and ask, what's more important, saving our country from imminent threat - or condemning Trump for bad language from 11 years ago?

For those who haven't studied America's enemies enough to understand that we are indeed in close proximity to a devastating attack, probably nuclear, I ask them to open a book. No one can learn much of anything by reading headlines alone. As we should know by now, our news media is a shameless fraud.

When I speak of nuclear weapons, I'm not thinking of those gigantic hydrogen explosions we have watched on TV. I'm thinking smaller. I'm thinking of small nukes, the size of our old Davy Crocket nuclear MORTER of the 1950s. More than 2,000 were actually deployed during the 1950s. So, small nukes (Davy was not much bigger than a rugby ball) have been around for decades. Think of the infamous Russian suitcase nukes. The focus of military nuclear scientists today is on miniaturizing nuclear weapons for taking out small targets, like cities or towns.

So I think Trump would pay much closer attention to Putin than Hillary, with her misspelled Russian Re-Set program.

My advice? Bite the bullet and vote for Trump - or go up in smoke with Hillary.

I watched the vice presidential debate between Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine last night. Virtually all polls showed Pence winning, and I agree. Pence was calm and collected, while Kaine was anxious. The same old Democrat bias-game plan was in play. Republicans just don't seem to have the ability or intelligence to provide a dependably unbiased moderator for the debates. There can be no excuse for this negligence after such a long history of moderator abuse on the liberal side. This always significantly detracts from debate value. Elaine Quijano was the moderator this time. She really didn't have to be there because Pence and Kaine seemed to be running their own show, talking constantly while ignoring debate guidelines.

Any static or incoherence was caused by Kaine's incessant, nervous interruptions. He seemed to take his cue from the talking heads of TV news programs where talk-over is established policy. Kaine's plan was to interrupt every answer Pence attempted, making it difficult to hear the reply. Watching his performance reminded me of lyrics from a 50s song by Nervous Norvus, "Tranfusion". Nothing seemed to slow him down. He was on a mission to obscure his opponent's answers.

Kaine's tactic didn't surprise me because he's a dissembler like Hillary. He is a man with a dark past, particularly in South America, during the Honduras era of Liberation Theology. He touts his Catholic faith for any political value he can get. His Honduras years as a missionary radically transformed his perspective. Kaine adopted the philosophy of Liberation Theology which was roundly condemned by the Catholic Church. This teaching was adopted by Kaine through his close association with a radical Marxist priest, Father James Carney. This teaching caused Kaine to abandon the church teaching against abortion, particularly so-called partial birth abortion.

Kaine ignores his status as a Catholic apostate which caused him to be excommunicated from the church.

Whether one sees Kaine's affection for Marxism as a disqualifying factor in his reach for the position of vice president, or not, it is a manifest example of his hypocrisy - and untrustworthiness.

As a person who watches perhaps too much TV news, my sensibility to talk-over conversation has been rubbed raw. Too often I have to listen to two to 5 talking heads, each striving to get his or her point across, at the same time. I see this same annoying trait in Kaine as a talking, jabbering head full of memorized gotchas and party slogans. Many of kaine's statements were factually false - with no time for Pence to respond. With moderator Elaine Quijano lacking all control, it became a bad talk show with kaine as the host.

I was impressed with Mike Pence. He came on with professional presence, spoke calmly with confidence and respect for Kaine. He also had full command of the facts and issues and exhibited great patience with his radical opponent's behavior.

In short, for me, Kaine caused confusion while Pence inspired confidence.

Most of the polls are saying that Donald Trump won the Monday debate. I disagree.

Though I must vote for Trump (for to do otherwise would be to support the most disgusting and dangerous woman in American politics) I don't think he won the debate. For nearly an hour I watched Trump, who seemed hyper, waste time answering mostly foolish questions and responding to Hillary's personal digs. I thought those assisting in his debate preparations would have disabused him from taking the bate. At best I would call the debate a draw.

As far as the Republican National Committee, by this time, it should know which moderator could be trusted. Every election these days seems to have the Democrats placing their people in the moderator's chair to insure that a liberal bias effects the outcome. I think most people would have been glad to have Chris Wallace back again. Instead, Republicans went for NBC's Lester Holt. He personified the problem of political bias by dumping so many more questions on Trump and virtually ignoring any serious questions for Hillary. There was no discussion of Hillary's email scandal, even when it appeared to be a natural opening for Trump. No talk of Benghazi. No talk of the Clinton Foundation. It was incredible.

I'm sure Trump was concerned about coming on too strongly with lady Hillary. A big mistake. Hillary is no lady, and her incompetence and lies must be exposed. The American electorate must be reminded of the severity of Hillary's betrayal to our enemies of our most important secrets. The damage that her cool indifference towards all laws regarding maintaining the secrecy of national communications is extraordinary. During the four years as Secretary of State she deliberately avoided using properly encrypted government servers. Instead, in order to hide her private dealings, she set up her own server in her bathroom, mixing top secret communications with her own money-making schemes. She was hacked.

It's no wonder why our enemies bargained so stubbornly to achieve all of their objectives, like the Iran nuclear "deal". They all knew exactly what our plans and intentions were by listening-in on Hillary's server. They knew exactly how much they could get out of the negotiations for that reason. We should remember that our Secretary of State has the same clearance as the President, and, thus, our enemies knew all of our plans, politically, militarily, commercially, etc. For example, Obama has stated publically several times that he had "no strategy" for fighting ISIS. How true that was; for even his attitude towards the enemy was clearly known by them through Hillary's private server. This breach of national security will haunt us for decades and requires a complete rebuilding of our secret telecommunications system.

Moderator Lester Holt announced that he would be questioning the candidates on three topics for the debate: America's Direction, Achieving Prosperity, and Securing America. Instead, he pestered Trump on insignificant issues such as the president's birthplace, Trump's dealing with a Miss Universe (20 years ago!) and his income taxes. He mentioned nothing about Hillary's income from her "charitable" institution. Why not ask how she, alleging "flat broke" when she left the White House, is now worth $260 million.

For any member of the electorate who understands the imminent danger America is in, and the instability of world affairs in general, it would be unwise in the extreme to vote for Hillary Clinton. The many personal defects I see in Donald Trump mean nothing when compared to the vile person of Hillary Clinton. His defects are merely personal. Her defects constitute a clear and present danger to the nation itself.