A response to Kelly Scoles' "Second Opinion".

Hello Kelly.
I regret that you take offense at my last response. I try always to use two things to express my opinions and understand others: logic and common sense. These are not merely personal standards; they should be universal. You are welcome to hammer me if I fail in this regard.

I have never intended our weekly debate to be gender charged. You are intelligent and articulate and always a challenge for me. This is certainly not "a man instructing a woman" as you charge. It's two different minds expressing opinions as a sacred right, in a tiny newspaper, in the freest country in the world. Let's rejoice and be glad! Besides, I have always hated all of this gender talk.

Now, I'll ditch my miter, pick up my shield, and defend against your verbal onslaught.

Let's just agree to disagree on your claim to be both pro-life and pro-choice before our last reader leaves us in the dust.

I am a fervent admirer of women and have always fought for their rights--recently, against male inclusion into women's sports, by so-called "trans." I am also very angry and concerned about women and girls deliberately abandoned in Afghanistan.

“We had seven buses filled with world-renowned orchestra performers — 280 girls all approved to go,” said Robert Stryk, a Washington fixer who has been coordinating private evacuation efforts in conjunction with former Navy SEAL and US Congressman Scott Taylor (R-Va.). “Our hearts are broken,” he added. “These young girls spent 17 hours on a hot bus with no food or water and were 393 feet from freedom but were denied entry into the airport because the United States government gave [the Taliban] the power to override the US Army’s 82nd Airborne." Today, news headline: "Girls As Young As 20-Days-Old Sold for Future Marriage In Afghanistan...(CNSNews.com). Thank Joe Biden for supplying that Taliban market.

I wish I could go there to free them all. I hope you haven't "missed" this affirmation of my respect for women, it constantly occupies my mind. I don't understand your reference to those many holocausts. I hate them as well.

I regret your mocking of the "Deity" and must respond to that disparagement here; Jesus (the "Deity") is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and my Savior. I pray you discover your true deity as well. Perfect justice will only appear on the last day - but we, Judeo-Christian believers (I respectfully exclude you) pray for (and fight) continually for justice in our day. Facing this world is a looming precipice of war, a cataclysm for which we are foolishly unprepared. With no leadership, a weakened military, seditious Deep State, a perfidious media, and utterly corrupt White House, America herself could succumb; possibly before 2024? Unless maybe Kamala can alert us in time with her Woke-up cackle!

I know, I know, these personal religious expressions drive many folks crazy, but I speak the truth, and I don't believe that "You can't handle the truth." However, if you can't, just write me a sharply disparaging letter and I'll publish it, without response. I invite all (non defaming) dissenting opinions. As a charter member of the Nano Media, and after inflicting my thoughts for over 30-years, my leathery hide is so festooned with verbal chastisements I can no longer care. But I digress.

Oddly named, "partial birth abortions" are not, as you say, "...performed under rare and drastic conditions" any longer. I won't go into the statistics or particulars, but they are not "rare", and they are shockingly gruesome.
Pro-life advocates do not ignore the quality of that child's life "once birth occurs". But the child must be rescued from the horror of abortion first. Pro-life services to assist the mother and child, pre-born and after, are abundant. Your characterization of Pro-life workers as leaving those newborn children "on their own" is almost slanderous. As their name proclaims, Pro-life is for life! Abortion is always for grisly death.

Response to Kelly Scoles' "Second Opinion"

Hi again, Kelly.
I never want to misquote anyone at any time. If this should happen accidentally, I always publish a correction ASAP. You say, "I clearly did not say that I am both "pro-life" and "pro abortion. I explicitly said that I am "pro-life" and "pro-choice" as not mutually exclusive, or a contradiction". However, I have not mischaracterized your stance on abortion. You stated: "I am pro-life. But as between the living woman who holds the fertilized egg in her body and the government, the decision must be hers." (Translated:) In other words, although you, personally would not do this, you assent to this practice for others, i.e. the "choice" for others. Therefore, you cannot be pro-life, as that term is commonly understood. A proposition is contradictory when it asserts and denies the same thing, which you have done.

The central issue here: Is the fertilized egg "human life" at every stage of its gestation? Throughout 2000-years of Christian history the answer is emphatically yes. Science and logic prove this.

You correctly identify the subject here: "...this particular issue asks at what point the human soul is infused into the body." You "unequivocally acknowledged that "life" begins at conception," yet you maintain that the moment the fertilized egg becomes a "human being" (conception) is not known. I provided the science last week. The Judeo-Christian tradition tells us that there is no humanity without a soul, which is unique to human life. The reality of a soul, or eternity itself, is disputed, but not persuasively. One side says the soul does not exist: Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Kim, Pol Pot, et al. You say, "I distinctly said that I know no one who is "pro-abortion". Let me introduce you to a real-life pro-abortion monster: "... if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen,” [Ralph] Northam, a pediatric neurosurgeon, told Washington radio station WTOP. “The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” [About whether to kill that "infant".]

Notice "The infant would be resuscitated" if desired. Keep in mind this is a born-alive child he's talking about being "resuscitated." In other words, he's keeping the child anesthetized before deciding if it should be killed - often by severing the spinal cord, or isolation in a dark cupboard. But this is not a completely heartless procedure; I found in one facility that "Mementos of the pregnancy include ultrasound pictures or footprints [can be had]. And, "...if you would like to see and hold your [dead] baby after the procedure" talk to staff.

In those extremely rare, tragic cases where the baby had to be removed to save the life of the mother this is understandable and merciful. But in conventional abortion cases, done for convenience, it would be macabre curiosity. In all cases the mother should always have access to the best possible medical care.

You are absolutely correct in saying abortion is now legal. I'm not arguing that. I'm just trying to persuade people that the practice is terribly wrong, against natural law, and should be stopped. In our American Republic we make the laws which govern our conduct, and I abide by the law. But I also challenge the law here to protect innocent human life. That's my right as an American citizen, and I condemn the practice on the strongest traditional religious grounds. You of course may do the same, on any grounds you choose, and let the law referee. Your entire argument is based upon the false premise that we are dealing with only the mother's rights. I contend that we deal with two lives, (two souls) mother and child.

Let's run this scenario backwards to see if it improves the outcome.: Starting with a newborn infant. To kill or not to kill, that is the question. No sane person can honestly argue the newborn is not a human baby. So, is it ethical to (as they do) sever its spinal cord, or place it in a dark closet alone (human contact critical for a newborn baby's survival)? Or perhaps just gas it - worked efficiently for previous innocent millions - and by all means crying must be prevented.

What about the eighth month of life, or the 7th, or 4th? Remember, absolutely nothing has changed physically since fertilization and the life-giving spark of a new soul; nothing added, nothing taken away, he or she is just growing up. Beautiful in-utero film shows the tiny person's activity, kicking, sucking its thumb, showing feeling - and attempts to escape probing steel instruments. Will this beautiful new person make it? In the year 2020, surgical abortion killed more than 40-million preborn children. That accounts for 43% of all deaths worldwide, notes the American Center for Law and Justice. (All stats from WHO). But the most important stats are found here: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." Matt 10:29-31.

I know my side of the argument upsets you, Kelly. But let's see the justice in your authority for rejecting the humanity of aborted newborn human life -- when the very hairs of their heads are all numbered, and they are all now in the care of a sublimely attentive -- and avenging -- God.

Be well.

Welcome Simone Alex, Fillmore City Council's new member. Ms. Alex was chosen by the Council to replace Councilwoman Ari Larson who passed away unexpectedly on Sept. 17. Alex will be sworn-in Nov. 9.

My best wishes go out to Simone for great success on the Council. I have one concern for any new (or seasoned) councilperson, and it is this: Please confine your Council energies exclusively to city problems and opportunities, and avoid national political issues, such as Black Lives Matter (BLM), sexual orientation, or notions of white supremacy, which distract from concentration on city policies and issues. Recent city elections saw (for the first time in my experience) funds from county and state political parties intrude into Fillmore to influence the outcomes. Much of the city was caught off guard. This sort of outside interference should not be welcomed because it discourages normal local cooperation and causes unnecessary conflict.

But again, Simone, I wish you a warm welcome and successful stay on our Council.

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Just a quick thank you and congratulations to all Fillmore Unified School District personnel who witnessed the completion of our new Career Technical Education Facilities, located on First Street. $6 million in matching funds gave us this truly state-of-art complex.

FUSD Superintendent, Christine Schieferle, introduced the large group of leaders and contributors during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. That was followed by a truly enthusiastic and grateful stream of Fillmore officials and residents who remarked about the beauty and functionality of the design.

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Before answering Kelly Scoles' "Second Opinion" I would like to explain a personal thing.

This past weekend I participated in three funeral-related gatherings, a Rosary and memorial for Ari Larson who passed away recently, and a memorial luncheon for Bob Crum, a friend who passed in January. I'm afraid I was monotonous company.

My memory is betraying me recently, mostly in recalling names, sometimes even of those I have known for many years. While it's very annoying, I'm not surprised since I've passed my "four score". So, if I should happen to greet you without stating your first name these days please don't be put off. Ironically, my memory is razor sharp recalling people, places, and events long ago. It's just names that cause some embarrassment now. They eventually surface, but slowly.

With that, God grant you all long, prosperous lives, and vigorous memories!

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Now, what the heck was I going to write about? Oh - Kelly Scoles' "Second Opinion".

Hi, Kelly.
Well, my memory focuses sharply on the year 1973, with the shocking Supreme Court opinion of Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). My wife and I immediately joined pro-life forces, raising funds and helping to organize opposition to Roe. Christians in particular were stunned by the pro-abortion case. "Prior to its amendment by The Therapeutic Abortion Act, section 274 of the California Penal Code made it a felony to perform an abortion on a woman for any reason "unless the same is necessary to preserve her life. Essentially the same provisions [existed] in 40 other states."

Abortion has been anathema to (Catholic) Church teaching for 2000 years. Being Catholic, my opposition to Roe has only hardened as the ubiquitous slaughter broadened into "partial-birth" and beyond (severed fetus parts marketing) and live birth homicide. So, you might say I have a bias here, in favor of protecting human life.

There are some religions and philosophies which place no more value on human life than they might in killing a rat. Pagans are among those people, as are Communists. Pagans go back to Genesis; Communists began in earnest in 1917 with Lenin implementing Karl Marx's bloodletting nightmare (hundreds of millions murdered). For these people abortion is simply business as usual. Strange how easily we forget that each of us was once that tiny soul secured in our mother's uterus.

Kelly, I will go into more detail about the history of abortion at a later date because I've run out of time and space, again. But just a few short responses.

Even the ancient Greeks recognized the sacredness of the as-yet unborn human. The famous Hippocratic oath includes "First, do no harm." More specifically: "...I will not give to a woman a pessary [abortifacient] to cause abortion." "This oath is the earliest expression of medical ethics in the Western world." 500-BC. It seems, regarding this issue, during the past 2500 years, we have just encouraged ignorance and forgotten ethics, for personal convenience alone.

Your history on fetal development is confused. You misunderstand Thomas Aquinas' (the Angelic Doctor) teaching on time of "ensoulment " when presence of soul creates a human being. Though one of the most brilliant persons in history, not much of human biology was understood in the 13th Century. Briefly, the idea of "ensoulment" creating human beings has not changed, i.e. when the soul enters the egg humanity is created. Though spiritual presence can't be documented, science today can indeed document the beginnings of human life.

At the risk of boring our readership I would like to spend next week's column entirely on this fascinating discussion. You say, "But what precise moment the unborn becomes a fully-actualized "human being," they [doctors] can't say for certain." However, they can say for certain that at one point "it" was not independently alive, and at another "it" was. "The genetic material of the sperm and egg then combine to form a single cell called a zygote and the germinal stage of development commences." "This fertilized ovum, known as a zygote, is a large diploid cell that is the beginning, or primordium, of a human being." It contains all the necessary chromosomes for human life - only time and maternal nurture are now needed. Smart as he was, Aquinas couldn't have known this.

Until next week, Kelly; you cannot be both "pro-life" and "pro abortion"; that's what we call a contradiction.

Be well.

Hi again Kelly.
The answer to your first question is yes. The radical Marxist Left, Big Tech, Big Media, Deep State, and the Democratic Party Communist apparat (add "sovereign crime") could bring America down in collusion with our enemies, China, Russia, North Korea, and Syria. Time is of the essence, and I don't see where we can buy some. We appear to be in a checkmate - even if Biden goes away, Harris would be infinitely worse, from a practical standpoint.

He immediately attacked (and continues to destroy) our sovereign borders, flooding the nation with uncontrollably massive waves of illegal immigrants from round the world.

He has taken us from a position of energy independence (under Trump) to dependence upon Mid-Eastern oil, AGAIN.

He has betrayed our armed forces, and those of our allies who have fought, died and been wounded, FOR 20 YEARS in Afghanistan, by abruptly surrendering the country with $83 billion in war-fighting equipment - abandoned with thousands of Americans and trusted allies. Do you read about the atrocities going on over there now, the beheadings, sex slavery, and that sort of thing? What has happened to the 300-plus girls on those busses denied access to the airport? He has inflicted "sissy-training" (high-heel shoes - transgender) on our troops and continues to employ obsequious generals like Tilley and Austin. He is spending our economy into death by hyperinflation.

He is permitting our enemies to surpass us in military strength and fails to assure our Far Eastern allies, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Philippines, of dependable military support. He fears China due to possible exposure of his past criminal affiliations through son Hunter.

His surrender in Afghanistan has fractured the trust of our NATO allies in - they no longer trust us under Biden.

He has appointed the weakest and most inexperienced people as Cabinet members - like Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttagege, (now taking a 2-month "maternity" leave with his "husband" during the greatest transportation crisis in US history).

The border crisis could be stopped but cannot now be undone. Teachers’ unions, get ready for millions more mostly illiterate, unvaxed, non-English-speaking illegal aliens.

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After last night's selection of a new council member I have less time this a.m. for this column. But I'll take issue with you on the 2020 election fraud - in practical consequences, the greatest political crime in American history. I don't often recommend outside columns, but here is one explaining that fraud (from American Thinker) - purely mathematically factual. He tells how the systemic voter fraud took place, and what to expect in 2022-2024.

The Sovereign Crime of Industrial Scale Vote Fraud
By Jay Valentine
www.americanthinker.com › articles › 2021/03 ›. "Our team members were the lead builders of one of the world’s most sophisticated criminal profiling systems in use by law enforcement today. We broke the eBay auction fraud rings and deployed a never-before-used technology to end auction fraud as an emerging crime category. We identified numerous Medicaid fraud rings and were hired by most of the top 10 property and casualty insurance firms to solve auto crash rings that eluded the FBI and every fraud technology."
"Sovereign crime means your government was a participant, active or passive, enabling vote fraud. Governors and secretaries of state refusing to cleanse voter rolls, refusing to check signatures for mail-in ballots – even during recounts, changing the voting rules weeks before an election, qualifies as your government messing with your vote."
"The national government refusing to investigate the most egregious examples of voter fraud like hundreds of thousands of more ballots than voters in several states, that is a pretty good indicator that they are passive participants in industrial level vote fraud."
"The refusal of the FBI to fully investigate Jesse Morgan’s truck with the hundreds of thousands of ballots going from New York to Pennsylvania – yet dispatching agents to a NASCAR location to investigate a garage pull-down they hoped was a noose – well, that’s a good indicator, too."
"This is our government in action covering up election fraud. FBI Director Chris Wray is promising each of us the Roger Stone Experience if we doth protest too much. We are dealing with a new type of crime, at least new to most Americans: sovereign crime. This is it, folks! This is what it looks like."

Response to Kelly Scoles' "Second Opinion".

Hi Kelly.
You are alarmed at my statement "This nation will not endure a Biden [Harris] presidency. When this becomes widely obvious, we may hear the sound of 400-million American arms being unlocked." As I mentioned in my email to you earlier, you should take this "...as a hyperbolic metaphor for that half of the American citizenry profoundly concerned about the continued survival of our Republic under Biden." I'm a part of that half. I recognize the drastic decline in trustworthy government, agencies at every level of "Wokeness", especially the presidency and military. When normal Americans awaken to the acid bath of degenerate "Wokeness" dissolving the nation's fabric, they may fully express their displeasure. Maybe they will chose your preferred Antifa-BLM route, instead of the violent (4-hour) Jan. 6 "insurrection" mode, with modified, righteous Christian action, to protect the innocent.

I share a sense of outrage with "that half" seeing the alarming degeneration of America's national defense under the Biden administration. Biden is untrustworthy. He has no honor. Our border, energy supplies, economy, transportation, schools, and especially our military, have been brutally sabotaged by the Biden "presidency" during the last 18 months. We are now perceived as vulnerable in the eyes of our deadliest enemy, communist China, because the Biden family crime syndicate is completely compromised, as demonstrated by son Hunter, and cannot act against China.

By Thomas Lifson, from American Thinker, 10-17-2021 www.ft.com/content/ba0a3cde-719b-4040-93cb-a486e1f843fb
"The Financial Times has published a scoop that should frighten every American and which casts further doubt on the competence and capability of our military leadership. China has demonstrated an attack weapon well beyond our capabilities, defense against which would be difficult if not impossible. The Financial Times has suspended its normal pay wall for this article, so I urge you to read the whole thing." Thomas Lifson.

"In August, China launched a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle which flew through low-orbit space, circling the globe before cruising down towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise." [Several persons] said the test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials realized. "The test has raised new questions about why the US often underestimates China’s military modernization." "We have no idea how they did this, [one person said]." US research into hyper weapon technology was canceled during the Obama administration. We have no way to counter this first-strike capability.

Lifson continues his critique of senior United States military leadership, which he shows to be obsessed with:
*Critical race theory, dividing troops along racial lines and devastating morale.
*Transgenderism, squandering the defense budget on free (and very expensive) “gender reassignment” surgery for anyone who joins the military.
*Integrating “birthing people” into every military function, including flight suits for pregnant pilots. www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/05/navy-quietly-rolls-out-first-mate...
*Vaccination mandates https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/new-navy-order-unvaccinat... , which could drive out large numbers of skilled service members, not to mention irreplaceable scientists https://net-breaking.com/2021/10/15/dozens-of-scientists-others-could-be... , critically weakening force effectiveness.

So, I believe we have reached an end point where a majority discovers just how vulnerable national defense has become. Let's look at our State Department - they facilitated the Afghanistan surrender; Department of Treasury, trading stocks on the sly; Department of Defense, leaders talk to the enemy, secretly, and failed in Afghanistan; Justice Department Attorney General sics the FBI on parents objecting to school board decisions; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, no experience, taking "paternity leave" with "husband" in midst of transportation crisis; Department of Energy shutting off fossil fuels; Department of Homeland Security, makes a deadly joke of itself with totally open borders, etc.

There is no reason for a reasonable man to trust any federal department at this time, especially the FBI, CIA, DIA, and all the other "IAs", each of which participated in undermining the Trump presidency - details dribbling out almost daily - a central factor in Deep State sabotage.

On the Second Amendment: The primary purpose of this amendment is to protect citizens from government tyranny - a justifiable fear of our Founders. "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." Clearer wording would be hard to print. "The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." Pp. 2–53. (District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008).

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Like most liberals, I think you don't take American law and history seriously. I've gone over the religious beliefs of our Founding Fathers many times. "They retained a supernaturalist world view, a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, and an adherence to the teachings of their denomination. These founders included Patrick Henry, John Jay, and Samuel Adams." In the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he [Franklin] reflected that "the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God governs the affairs of men". To a man (including Thomas Paine) the Founders believed the country couldn't survive without religion- though Deism strongly influenced their 18th century, the Founders were mostly conventional Christians. Biden epitomizes "demagoguery", total falsehood. I'm dealing with truth; question is, can you handle the truth? (a littleNicholsonian hyperbole).

You got it backwards, Kelly. God is not "a Republican who embraces all their [Republican] political and religious beliefs." Most believe God makes a gift of faith which in turn makes believers in God. But I'm certainly no theologian and will beg-off here for that reason. My reference to a knife fight originates with Obama. Remember: "If They Bring a Knife to the Fight, We Bring a Gun." So violent!

I've gone way too long. Last opinion: The state of this nation is now historically precarious, militarily and politically -- and it is becoming tyrannical.

Response to Kelly Scoles' Second Opinion.

Kelly, I've got a Council meeting tonight and I'm already tired. So, I'm just going to give you a few broadsides this week.

Anyone "railing", as you say, against Biden's catastrophic surrender to the Taliban in Afghanistan is doing God's work. Biden's action here is an early-planned part of America's collapse. I can't stop thinking about those girls left in busses at the airport. Where are they now?

"We had seven buses filled with world-renowned orchestra performers — 280 girls all approved to go," said Robert Stryk, a Washington fixer who has been coordinating private evacuation efforts in conjunction with former Navy SEAL and US Congressman Scott Taylor (R-Va.). "Our hearts are broken," he added. "These young girls spent 17 hours on a hot bus with no food or water and were 393 feet from freedom but were denied entry into the airport because the United States government gave [the Taliban] the power to override the US Army’s 82nd Airborne." [My old outfit, angry as hell I'm sure].

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Pence had a duty to safeguard the nuclear "football". What's going to happen when President Kamala is in charge of it?! Will she be afraid to push the right button under any circumstances?

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President Biden's "program to kickstart the economy" has kicked it into the ditch. The world's running out of oil and coal while Biden shuts down our oil fields and coal mines. As for climate panic - just a few weeks ago - Antarctica reached new record cold, building up those glaciers and saving the whales.

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The alleged 2020 election fraud?: I will believe that election was free of systemic fraud when those mathematical studies are proven wrong. After all, mathematics is all about proofs, isn't it? The challenge of those MIT PhDs remains: "Prove us wrong." Crickets. The damage here may be terminal.

Kelly, Deep State subterfuge, Big Tech money, Big Media propaganda, and the Democratic Party collusion, have deftly staged the Biden-Harris political obscenity we now face. It's a socialist soup, requiring a long spoon because the devil's in the details.

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You mention the "validity of the public debt" - "Section 4. [14 Amendment]: The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law... Section 4 allowed the federal and state governments to refuse to pay war debts of the Confederate army as well as any claims made by slave owners for their losses when slaves were freed.
But Democratic Party leaders fight to access the American economy, to fuel their spendthrift socialist programs and policies, by controlling the trillions of dollars which we do not have but must be borrowed from (greatest irony) communist China, our most dangerous enemy.

The Democrats have invested the money from normal taxpayers into promiscuous forms of magical pagan craziness, such as trans-genderism, subversive new (never American before) "academic concepts" like Critical Race Theory, and much other intellectually promiscuous foolishness. Conservatives are in the midst of a knife fight with a "Woke" enemy, to rescue traditional American Judeo-Christian moral mandates. We fight a well-funded pagan enemy who worships a bitcoin demigod.

What a joke to hear you bring up the "debt ceiling". Haven't you heard that Democratic Party Leaders are striving tototally eliminate all limits to spending? With overspending, utterly open borders, treasonous office holders, betrayal of our allies, a mentally challenged president and a flirty ignoramus for a vice president-president-in-waiting, this nation will not endure a Biden presidency. When this becomes widely obvious, we may hear the sound of 400-million American arms being unlocked. We should pray that our Christian Constitutional culture is maintained and respected.

Hello Kelly.

Many of our differences of opinion are based upon the recognition of facts.

I love facts. Facts are like gold, elements "found on earth that have existed in their current form since before earth was formed". In any argument facts are sacred steps in attempts to find the truth, when discovering the truth is the point of the discussion.

Your description of Republican attempts to present facts evidencing systemic election fraud, is untrue. Evidence of such proven systemic election fraud is massive. The fact here is not that there were "insufficient facts to support the allegations”. As has been shown many times, the courts at every level REFUSED TO HEAR THE EVIDENCE. This refusal buried the mountain of scientific (mostly mathematical) evidence. These audits were mostly pointless since they repeatedly counted fraudulent votes. I published a half-dozen papers by eminent mathematical PhDs showing beyond doubt massive fraudulent activity. These proofs were rejected by all courts on procedural grounds, i.e., cases brought too early or too late, a fact.

I'm also not aware of any judicial review of any mathematical proofs of fraud.

When the Supreme Court (the people's last resort) refused to look at the cases I concluded the country would be lost. As expected, quickly following Biden's inaugural, an appalling string of inexplicable, lethal "mistakes" resulted. Our borders were opened to receive a worldwide onslaught of unidentified people. The innocent pauper is welcomed with the fentanyl-dealer, child sex-slaver, murderers, etc. These people are transferred to various cities and towns across America, without prior warning. They must be fed, housed, schooled, and medically attended, for years - at that town's expense. At the current rate of 200,000 per month, we're talking about several millions. Yet we hear nothing from the "president" about this fact and this cannot now be undone. The basic demographic of our nation is being forcibly changed by the political power of Deep State, Big Tech, and the Democratic Party, as promised.

Another inexplicable, self-inflicted wound was Biden's quick curtailment of the oil industry.

He revoked a key cross-border presidential permit, (2,147 mi) Keystone XL pipeline extension in January. Trump made America energy independent (an exporter) - Biden destroyed that fact, giving Russia its new pipeline to Germany. It took $75 for me to (almost) fill my tank today. A year ago it cost me $60. How do you like the Biden inflation fact?

Facts remain facts whether proven or hidden. When they are lethal and permanent, they remain like sins on the nations' soul, unforgiven without a later spontaneous combustion. How does one find, identify, and deport millions of illegal aliens released into the country indiscriminately? Who are they and what will they be doing for the next 50-years? What will we do with the next wave of millions flooding into the country? Should we be alarmed? It's disturbing that the "president" will say nothing about this fact.

We have another grotesque "mistake" in the surrender to the Taliban in Afghanistan, leaving thousands of Americans and dependant employees behind enemy lines -- and $80 billion in excellent, Made-In-America, aircraft, armaments and ammunition. How on earth can this be explained? It's a wholesale betrayal of our troops and those of our allies who also died in the war. The scars of such infamous cowardice (or sheer stupidity) are indelibly fixed in the minds of our faithful allies. They can no longer trust us.

Your explanation of Biden's Afghanistan surrender is a betrayal of those eternal facts. The Trump agreement to withdraw was entirely dependent upon the situation on the ground. That is the essential fact. Biden had the authority to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He stubbornly rejected his military's advice. His generals were also cowards for not protesting by public resignation - telling everyone this move would certainly be disastrous. To sustain their cushy military lives, they said nothing. They disgraced the uniform. They should all be canned, but nothing will happen.

Mary, you should give more thought to who Joe Biden was when directing the Afghanistan surrender -- (God help us) he was our Commander in Chief! He had his own staff to advise him, and according to his general's sworn congressional testimony, he deliberately ignored that advise! He did not follow Trump's plan. The consequences of his invincible hubris are cataclysmic and will remain so. And that's a FACT.

America, as a country and culture, will be forever changed before the end of Joe Biden's administration. And, if Kamala Harris becomes president, it's all over. Worst case scenario -- a President Harris seeks Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Vice President. The memory of Dolley Madison's heroics will seem quaint compared to the kitschy pretentiousness of a Harris Commander in Chief. This all precisely planned.

We should have stayed in Afghanistan with a small, strong nucleus of armed intelligence, like we have done in Japan since 1945, in Germany since 1945, in South Korea since 1953, where we stabilized the countries and defended against further war. Then the Taliban would not own Afghanistan, now a new home base for continuous Islamic terrorism.

Today, America is leaderless, hapless, and Godless. This last condition can soon leave us nation-less.

A response to Leslie G. Marshall's letter:
Thank you, Leslie, for your letter asking about Islam in the media.

After the September 11 attack by Islamic terrorists on the twin towers I've spent a number of years studying Islam. Your information is interesting, but not altogether accurate.

The number of Muslim peoples in the world today is about 1.4 billion. The number of Catholics alone, among Christians, approximately equal that amount. The numbers are difficult to pin down, but Islam probably is the fastest growing religion. Of course, they have a join-or-die policy to encourage new membership. What is known of Islam's beginnings, and of Mohammad himself, is historically problematic. (See: Raymond Ibrahim's Sword and Scimitar, The Al Qaeda Reader; The History of Jihad (From Muhammad to ISII; or Robert Spencer's Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran. Last but not least: Robert Spencer's Did Muhammad Exist? second edition).

Islam is certainly the world's most enduring menace (1,400 years, multi-millions of decapitations) - which can only be destroyed militarily - and must be inevitably.

Leslie, thank you for your contribution. I'm running very short on time this a.m.

***

A response to Kelly Scoles' Second Opinion.
Hi Kelly,
I'll pick one issue to answer, "the plethora of democracy-threatening events happening right here in America, for those who watch only Fox News." Fox is the only TV station that can be trusted with the truth these days. Where else can you hear anything from Afghanistan, for example?

Among the few satisfactions I've enjoyed in this newspaper business during the past 34-years, is knowing that I am a truly independent voice, however small. No one, not even Big Tech, can edit my remarks. This freedom is an increasingly rare and precious thing, little defended. In a world mostly hidebound by Islamic, communistic, oligarchic, or kakistocratic (ruled by most evil people like Russia) democracy is vulnerable through a weakened national identity and loss of virtue. We are unsure of our own borders. We have no idea how special we are among the world's nations. And we are quickly losing that favored place.

I've said before that debating with liberals is often impossible because we cannot even agree on a major premise, like, "communism is evil." So, we can't get to the next part: "China is communist," therefore - the conclusion. American industry is now so dependent on China's money that it disregards the danger. It's a case of bathing in really filthy lucre. Let's check off some issues at random and see who's responsible for corrupting democracy. Just ask if Biden did the right thing.

Our entire southern border has been opened to indiscriminate worldwide immigration.

More than 1 million migrants have flooded into our country in six months.

"And so the migrants have come, thousands crossing the border illegally every day, overwhelming border control agents and local cities where they are held and shipped, before spreading out across America." Biden disburses them across the country by bus, plane, and train. What a surprise for their new unannounced hometowns to support them. Kind of like mandated diversity. How many would you like in your hometown?

Our intelligence in Afghanistan is now dark, leaving thousands of US citizens and others behind. "$83 billion worth of training and equipment to Afghan security forces.” (Source: GAO OpenTheBooks.com.)

Does anyone (Harris) in Biden administration care about women left in Afghanistan? Is Joe Biden competent as Commander in Chief?

"The likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely." (Joe Biden)

Should we have abandoned Afghanistan so quickly - so completely? Should we have left $85 billion in weapons to the Taliban?

Has this retreat from Afghanistan fractured NATO?

Will we have to fight the Taliban all over again in Afghanistan? How soon?

Are you worried about quickly arriving inflation? How much to fill your car's gas tank?

Has COVID-19 been handled well?

What benefit was gained by shutting down the oil fields, killing our newly gained energy independence, and thousands of great jobs?

Kelly, help me out here. Please name something good that Joe Biden has done for our democracy in less than a year as Commander in Chief. I'm stumped.

Then we have the truly massive Biden family financial corruption, all over the Far East in particular. Recently revealed correspondence from (Near-Eastern) Libya demonstrates Hunter Biden's insatiable appetite for quid pro quo theft on a national scale. The evidence is beyond any reasonable doubt - it is in-your-face obvious, that he's a criminal for all seasons. The Biden family is utterly corrupt, and Joe shamelessly pimps-out son Hunter as point man in the family operation. Will any of the family face justice?

Kelly - when talking about "the plethora of democracy-threatening events happening right here in America" let's not leave out Hunter and family. This is the most audacious, long-standing criminal event in Americana history. Historians will have difficulty describing it without appearing hyperbolic.

I regret my time has been cut short. Next week.

A partial response to Mary Scoles' Second Opinion.

Mary, for three reasons it's not possible for me to respond to this week's Second Opinion.

First, it's addressed to "Dave's Manifesto" which hasn't appeared for many weeks in the Gazette. Secondly, I, therefore, have no reference to attach to your complaints. Thirdly, a reasonable response to each of your objections would take at least 2,000 words, more than we have space for. Without seeing the substance of "Dave's Manifesto" (9-22-2021) nothing I would write would make any sense to readers; a little like giving a list of baseball scores without identifying the teams.

Maybe next week?

****

I was struck by comments made by historian and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns recently. "The present day is one of the worst times in American history. It’s really serious. There are three great crises before this: the Civil War, the Depression, and World War II. This is equal to it.” He believes this is the direction the United States is headed. I completely agree, for different reasons.

We rarely hear such outspoken admissions of this current American reality from the Left because they are too busy creating the problems.

I just listened to an hour of The Kalb Report: One for the History Books - A Conversation with Ken Burns on 2020 streamed live on July 27, 2020. I suspected Burns (whom I very much respect) was a liberal simply because he's in the film business. But when he strongly recommended reading the New York Times and Washington Post "cover to cover" every day to be informed, I suffered a gag reflex and decided there was no hope for his recovery. We both recognize that America, which I have loved and defended for eight decades, is sailing towards oblivion. She has tossed her life preservers of God, family, and freedom overboard as we head straight into the hurricane of Godless communism and Islamic Jihad. (Note: All authentic Islam must include Jihad.) That's the way Islam has always said "Hi there!" to the rest of the world.

I appreciate Burns' empathy for social conditions, particularly race relations. But he misses the point. No nation on earth has moved faster and more effectively to abolish slavery and its effects considering where we were. With the Thirteenth Amendment, December 1865, chattel slavery was effectively ended any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. However, this didn't just happen out of the blue. The South demanded slavery to continue servicing its mostly agricultural industry. So, the North had to fight the South to free those slaves -- at a cost of 600,000 souls, more than all the deaths due to WWI, WWII, and Vietnam together - the bloodiest war in American history. Union soldiers, mostly white, gave their lives to free their black brothers from the atrocity of slavery. Burns, an expert on our Civil War, finds our efforts to heal the past have failed.

I was a freshman in high school when our Civil War had its centennial, one hundred years since the last shot was fired, and the last life was lost. In historical terms that's a mere blip in time. During that very short period enormous strides to improve race relations have borne fruit. Those who profit financially by aggravating those relations claim no improvement at all. But we Americans did elect a black president, twice, tens of thousands of black government officials in the highest positions across the nation, and facilitated many thousands of black millionaires.

In contrast, England simply passed The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which provided for the immediate abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire, without a civil war.

So, while I greatly admire Ken Burns' documentaries (especially on the Civil War) I disagree with his depiction of America as a pervasively racist nation. There is no better nation on earth -- although keeping it has become a precarious activity, due to a treasonous Democratic Party faction.

****

AFGHANISTAN -- the indelible stain on American honor.

I meant to write something about the debacle of the Afghanistan surrender to the Taliban, but got distracted. Next week I hope to say more on this mind-numbing issue.

We left thousands of loyal men, women, and children behind to face the butchery of Islamic Jihad at the hands of the Taliban. Two boys, 8 and 11, reported beheaded in front of their families recently.

The Biden administration has armed the Taliban with the best of American weapons, about $800 BILLION-worth, outfitting the world's most virulent terrorist army, with a newly provided country in which to expand. Forbes: "Not helping transparency, the Biden Administration is now hiding key audits on Afghan military equipment."

For those Americans who understand the magnitude of this catastrophic surrender, let's not forget the most innocent, defenseless victims, the two busloads of girls. One bus was loaded with girls from a music school, the other from a dance school. Our State Department refused to let them through the Kabul airport. I have to ask, where are they now? What is their fate? Were they killed or married-off?

This sort of moral and military depravity will soon doom our Republic. And Democratic Party activists, agents, and officials are punishment-proof.

A response to Kelly Scoles' Second Opinion.

Hello Kelly,
Thinking about the California gubernatorial recall election (just finished as I write this) appears like a ridiculous sideshow. It seems that Americans, maybe most, have already forgotten our disgraceful betrayal and surrender to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Americans are easily distracted, even by issues of national survival. But I will make a few comments in rebuttal.

I voted for Elder though he had only a slim chance to win. Democrats outnumber Republicans in California two-to-one. They've had a super majority in Sacramento for as long as I can remember, sustaining the state's de facto unicameral government, almost unique in the country, rendering Republican activity useless. That's why California is withering under suffocating liberal dominance at every level.

Two women were interviewed on TV who said that when attempting to vote they were told, "You have already voted", which they had not. True or false, such words spark explosive rumors immediately. No point in going there; it appears Newsom has won.

Conclusive, scientific evidence of pervasive fraud in the last presidential election will probably never be examined because of connivance on the Democratic side and abject weakness with Republicans. Like the bleeding southern border, no one seems interested in staunching the flow. Fraud will prove to be the cancer we wouldn't cut out, which finally proves fatal to the Republic. The loudest efforts to sound the alarm are useless against a deaf populace. For years I have said that a national collapse is approaching but I would not live to see it. Now, I think, due to accelerating events, I was wrong. What's worse, I believe our demise is motivated within the remaining span of Joe Biden's stolen presidency, which will end more with a whimper than a bang.

Our communist enemies have acted more intelligently than we have. “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.” ― Vladimir Ilich Lenin.

This is precisely what China is doing with American industry - once thought of as "Freedom's Forge": How American Business Produced Victory in World War II" by Arthur Herman. Read this book and weep over America's squandered supremacy. Think about Big Tech and Boeing, Caterpillar, General Motors, Starbucks, Nike, and Ford, etc., truly now Chinese companies. We have become a morally hollow nation; Like Esau, we've sold our birthright for a tranche of bloody communist cash. Evil gratifies greed in the beginning, but the piper is always paid in the end.

As for "Bush 43": "We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within." Is he comparing the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan to the January 6 hubbub at the capital? If so, his is sick. Remember, the capital riot (once called an "insurrection" - now called a riot) lasted for exactly 4 hours. No fires, no statuary damage (one person shot and killed by a criminally negligent Capital police officer, subsequently mysteriously exonerated) -- and Congressional business continued after those 4 hours of shouting, flag-waving, and fisticuffs. FOUR HOURS! Bush should compare this with those MONTHS of true insurrection, and with murder, arson, and billions in lost property, courtesy Antifa and BLM. "Exclusive: $1 billion-plus riot damage is most expensive in insurance history." Add scores of murders.

Now we learn - "In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley — then former President Donald Trump's top military adviser — took precautions to limit Trump's ability to launch a military strike or deploy nuclear weapons, according to a new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of The Washington Post."

Most alarming: "Milley also reassured Chinese Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army that the U.S. had no intention of launching a strike against China, according to the paper. It was one of two secret phone calls shared with Li on the issue."

Milley is the crazy one here, and treasonous! Is he a psychiatrist? He phones our deadliest enemy to tell him our president will not attack?!! Milley should be court-martialed, convicted of treason, and executed. These are the kinds of people the president had advising him? Knowing of all of this disloyalty now, the Ides of March surely hovered around Trump throughout his entire presidency. He was surrounded and betrayed by the spirit of Judas, not that of Horatius at the Bridge. Where was the honor in what Milley did? Why did he abandon his oath of office? He is a disgrace to the service and a danger to the Republic, together with his co-conspirators.

I believe the Biden administration is quickly leading the great American experiment to an ignominious conclusion.

A response to Kelly Scoles' Second Opinion.

Frankly Kelly, I have a closed mind on the issue of abortion because I can't tolerate the willful destruction of the most beautiful part of creation - human life. Here, I follow my religious convictions first, but science and common sense closely second. Ironically, throughout mankind's darkest, most primitive beginnings, life in the mother's womb was understood to be real, to be sacred. Completely mysterious, but absolutely real, and most precious. Thus, the invariable special protection accorded the mother, as she alone assured the life of a new generation.

It took millions of years, through tribal strife and bloody conflicts, to arrive at this present state of uncertainty concerning the status of a pregnant woman. Here, in the twenty-first century, amidst our supreme scientific authorities, some obstinately reject this reality of life regardless of evidence. Yet some today, through invincible ignorance, can watch the beautiful in vitro videos and see only flesh to dismember, to flush into the sewer. Others, quick to make a buck, sell the body parts for profit. Everyone should watch "Life in the womb (9 months in 4 minutes) HD - Presented to You from PSNX" to witness the unique glory of pregnancy. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." (Jeremiah 1:5) Those of us in the Judeo-Christian communion understand that pregnancy is the unfolding of creation before our very eyes. While others deny it, we are duty-bound to reverently protect it.

As you must know, communist China forcibly aborts mothers who have more than two children (for years, used to be one).

You object to the TX "legislature's religious beliefs." Kelly, this nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, abortion being anathema. Check out your Blackstone. Ancient physicians swore the Hippocratic Oath: "I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked ... and similarly, I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion." Ancient ethics rule in Greece, 300 BC.

****

I have to unburden myself about the Afghanistan surrender-betrayal.

American families and Afghanistan nationals (who helped the US for 20-years) have been left behind enemy lines. This is a near sacrilegious betrayal. The consequences of this surrender are so calamitous, so great, most people would not be able to understand them in one sitting. NATO has been fractured, America can no longer be trusted, and evil is emboldened as never before. Islamic Jihadists worldwide, exponentially strengthened, will assemble in, and attack from, their new terrorist nation now that they have been rearmed with American high-tech weapons, munitions, and aircraft. America will experience terrorism as never before.

We are flooding America with MILLIONS of undocumented people from all over the world. Our open southern border alone has already let two million through. There is no attempt to stop the flow. Ask who will feed, house, educate and provide medical and educational assistance to these people, and offspring - for at least 18-years? The new Afghan crowd will be hundreds of thousands more. This new mega-flood of emigrants has already changed America's basic culture. If not stopped the result will be profoundly negative. Understand: It is not possible to live in peace with any Islamic Jihadist organization, due to their sworn religious purpose, which is "complete submission to Allah” by everyone!

China and Russia are scheming with the Taliban. Weapons will be bartered and sold; enemy intelligence will replace US sources. We have abandoned our over-the-horizon systems, leaving us blind to enemy movements, and China is moving into Bagram Air Base.

Only one thing can get our people home safe, 20,000 boots back on Afghanistan land at Bagram Air Base. It is now or never. But there is no desire for Joe Biden to act. That would be embarrassing for him. At any rate, we must build-up our military forces, air, land, and sea. The Biden Democrats are only interested in white rage, white supremacy, Critical Race Theory, gender dysphoria, and climate change. Ask China, Russia, and North Korea what they think about these things.

American leadership has gone mad, creating a perfect invitation to be militarily clobbered and culturally destroyed. Our options are equally absurd - get rid of Joe Biden with his cognitive disability, then hand the atomic suitcase to Kamala, a political cipher. Who would come to the rescue? They would be the woke Obama clan who has anxiously awaited a takeover to assure those "fundamental changes".

Pray that our little girls (and boys) left behind in Afghanistan by Biden aren't married-off to Taliban terrorists.

We must act immediately to rescue them (and recover those arms)! We delay at our national peril.

I'm having a hard time starting this column tonight. Frankly, I feel a bit crummy physically. But most of all, every time I try to understand the awesome significance of Biden's surrender in Afghanistan today, it nauseates me - it makes me sick.

When I see the photos of our military heroes killed at the airport in the last hours of our retreat, it also makes me angry, very angry. Had Biden carried out the carefully planned withdrawal of our troops in a traditional, sensible way (really, Standard Operating Procedure) none of the chaos and bloodshed would have taken place. We had the massive military muscle available to leave at any time and any place of our choosing. But Biden and his handlers wanted a political showpiece, to outshine Trump. Biden set the date with no provision for extension. Most of all, and most incomprehensively, he sent our military out of country BEFORE he began removing civilians! I understand Biden has no military experience, that's worrisome enough, but the killer here is the fact that he is devoid of basic common sense. Who does something like that? Boys playing cops and robbers would have more sense.

I have tried to understand Joe Biden's mental condition. After watching him destroy every good thing Trump accomplished (border, economy, strengthening military, etc.) and bragging about it, I have only two possible conclusions to offer. First, he is truly delusional, and therefore a danger to the Republic, or, second, he is an active agent of a foreign power and more dangerous to the Republic. I watched with disgust as he sat by a 40-count pile of new executive orders he was gleefully signing to wipe-out Trump's work. This was a childish political game to show Trump who was boss now.

Every new policy Biden has initiated has weakened America and greatly strengthened our most dangerous enemies. Only a medical conclusion of 25th Amendment strength can solve the first problem. The second problem requires determined deductive inquiry into his criminality. There's plenty of evidence here, beginning with son Hunter and the whole Biden family cabal (see Hunter's ex-partner Tony Bobulinski's accusations which Big Tech squelched just before the election). This was more than a whistleblower, it was a foghorn in the capital. Evidence of Biden being totally compromised by both China and Russia is beyond all doubt. And now a third computer of Hunter's bears this out. Biden's radical new policies obviously favor our enemies for this reason.

Note: (Not feeling too well. Will finish next week.)

Brief conclusion on Afghanistan given to Taliban - The war has just begun and Biden is scoring for the enemy.

From Afghanistan today we hear reports of American armed forces ordered into shameful surrender to the Taliban. Our Democratic Party Commander in Chief makes no effort even to extend our own departure time. This will leave thousands of American citizens, families and friends, to face an immediate slaughter. Regardless of what anyone now thinks of the wisdom of leaving Afghanistan after 20 years of trying to replace Islamic Jihadism with democracy, no one can watch the approaching methodical murder of tens of thousands of innocents without feeling the deepest alarm and shame. What we are doing under Biden's leadership is simply unthinkable by American ethical history. This is an act of unprecedented cowardice. Not only is the Afghanistan government falling, but this is an astonishing harbinger of America's future, Beowulf caught with his pants down as the Orks advance.

The fiendish cast of characters, atheists, demigods, Communists and Islamic Jihadists seeking a deed to the world moves forward. Most deadly today, Communism and Jihadist Islam. Maybe we should call them "hate-ists" because they savor a murderous hatred of everything outside themselves. The greatest irony? Each must destroy the other to "win" the prize.

Watching our commander-in-chief, US NATO allies are aghast at our sudden collapse. Our closest allies (England and France) publically acknowledge the "shame" of our surrender, and express shock and anger at the Biden administration's abandonment of tens-of-thousands of American citizens, Afghani co-workers, and European allies behind enemy lines - hostage to the most evil terrorist organizations the world has ever known - the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and ISIS (all arch Jihadists.) This was never Trump's plan.

"A former British military commander in Afghanistan said he believes that President Joe Biden should not be impeached, as some Republicans have suggested, but rather court-martialed as a failed commander-in-chief for betraying the United States of America and the United States’ armed forces."

"In an interview set to air Sunday evening, Colonel Richard Kemp, CBE, formerly in charge of all British military operations in the country, also told Fox News host Mark Levin that he believes Biden’s debacle of a pullout has humiliated U.S. Armed Forces and Americans in general." My opinion: court martial Biden for treason, convict, - then shoot him on CNN. Democrats can debate use of rubber bullets in a then Republican Senate.

The millions of normal Afghani citizens, who had been led into the (false) security of new hope for a democratic Afghanistan, where girls were educated and women respected, are now (literally) marked for inevitable terrorist butchery and death. Biden intends to leave them behind. For 20-years most Afghan people knew nothing but democratic reform in most of the country.

The American-maintained Afghani army, holding steady against Taliban terrorism for many years (50,000+ deaths), quickly collapsed when the US suddenly pulled the plug by ceasing all ground, air, intelligence and equipment maintenance. The Afghan Army could not withstand Taliban force without US help. It should be noted that Pakistan (birthplace of the Taliban) and, though a NATO member, is a true enemy of America, the democratic West, is a supplier to the Taliban.

****

Now a few comments on Kelly Scoles' "Second Opinion":

The Biden surrender in Afghanistan is the greatest military debacle in American history - bar none. Abandoning our people to the bloodthirsty Taliban ends all debate over questionable tactics. This is an ongoing worldwide catastrophe.

See Forbes ("Staggering Costs – U.S. Military Equipment Left Behind In Afghanistan) by Adam Andrzejewski for detailed lists of abandoned war-fighting equipment. Normally, this equipment would have been destroyed to keep it from enemy hands. Now the Taliban is the best equipped terrorist organization in the world. This heightens the threat of terrorist attacks on the US, and all democratic nations, exponentially.

Post 9/ll threats will be as nothing. "The current intelligence assessment was that the Taliban are believed to control more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones."

President Trump had a secure plan for leaving Afghanistan, military approved (though not unanimously so). It was "situationally" planned, depending entirely upon Taliban compliance, with strong military back-up. Biden just surrendered Bagram airbase, our embassy (sovereign property), all strategic points of strength and intelligence. Everyone wanted out of Afghanistan, but in a strategically, orderly, safe way.

Most incredibly, Biden pulled out the military BEFORE getting civilians out! Account for that!

The ramifications of this Biden-party surrender are too long to list here. But be aware that the criminal negligence of leaving billions of dollars of high-tech munitions, intelligence equipment, night vision weapons, Blackhawk helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, drones, etc. spells death and destruction for hundreds of thousands of non-Islamic people worldwide. No one believes the USA will cover their backs now.

Our NATO alliance has been fractured, to the immediate benefit of our Chinese, Russian, North Korean, and Iranian (all nuclear) enemies. Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Hong Kong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan will also be abandoned by Biden. We no longer have 'Over The Horizon' intelligence without Afghanistan. The world is a much more dangerous place without a credible American military force.

In a Taliban Afghanistan, every female person, regardless of age, is now in immediate danger of forced marriage, sex slavery, torture and death at the hands of Jihadist savages." How evil are they? 'Rape gangs having sex with DEAD bodies' after going door-to-door for sex slaves...’

I would give odds that New York's single tower substitute for the Twin Towers will also be attacked soon.
There is no good news in the coming end of democracy in Afghanistan - or in 3.5 more years of Joe Biden's treasonous infirmity.

But enough for wringing of hands. Let's act! We need 10,000 more boots on the ground now (including special forces) to rescue those we left behind - and our HONOR !

I have to make two corrections from columns of the past several weeks. I hate to bother with trifles at a time of such unparalleled foreign policy disaster, but they really distract me. So: August 11, I used the word "penultimate", not only wrong word, opposite meaning. Second mistake: referring to the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt as our largest. Wrong. That honor belongs to Gerald R Ford Class; 10 more ordered, big mistake!

*****

For anyone who has studied the religion of Islam the near future of Afghanistan should be no surprise - unprecedented murder, mayhem, and terrorist warfare, now to extend far into our future. After the destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11, I spent several years learning as much as I could about Islam, its history and sole purpose, being "submission" to the will of God - of all people. Its principal enemies are Judaism and Christianity, and anyone else who rejects Islam. If challenged by a Muslim you are given three choices - submit to Islam by conversion, pay the tax (Jizya), or death (often through beheading).

Islam is both a religion and a demanding way of life. Women, in particular, have far fewer rights than men.

Since the Twin Towers attack by al-Qaida (Osama bin Laden's group) the US has dealt primarily with two other Islamist terrorists, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and the Taliban, which now owns Afghanistan (which came from Pakistani religious schools in the 1990s).

There are other smaller Islamist terrorist groups. We should remember that all of these groups are absolutely ultra-extremist Jihadist - as commanded by the Islamic holy books, Qur’an, Sunnah, Hadith (Traditions of the Prophet).
President Biden and his (almost treasonous) military and intelligence staff, have [Cried] "Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War." (I keep having to go to Shakespeare for important things because there are no better words.) And, releasing the Talaban dogs as these incompetent fools have done, guarantees decades of havoc, especially for America, and especially for females of all ages.

The damage that Biden has done can scarcely be exaggerated. After 21 years and multiple trillions of taxpayer dollars in attempts to modify a stone age culture to Western ways, we are entitled to wonder what our military thinkers were thinking about. More than 3,500 coalition soldiers have died since 2001 - about two-thirds of them Americans. More than 20,000 US soldiers have been injured. To witness how carelessly Biden has handled the final withdrawal of forces is simply unfathomably macabre. Biden began "a long-planned" vacation to Camp David as Afghanistan began falling to the Taliban - came back to the White House to issue a 17-minute statement, then promptly returned to Camp David. At this time, it's reported that he has not contacted any foreign head of state. He appears befuddled.

Biden's total absence of planning has caused the following:
Immediately caused more than 100,000 stranded and confused persons who worked for the US during the 21-year war, to become hostage to the Taliban. They are trapped outside the airport perimeter with no place to go and without communications. But Joe knows how to open borders!

We have surrendered our multi-billion-dollar embassy, with equipment and communications.

We have turned over the air force maintained by 18,000 civilian workers (who have gone home).

We have abandoned billions of dollars-worth of war-fighting materials. The number of United States troops who have died fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had passed 7,000 at the end of 2019. Approximately 177,000 national military and police from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraqi, and Syria allies have died. Munitions, tanks, armored Humvees, drones, missiles, new Blackhawk helicopters, (fighters?) etc., communications equipment - everything needed to supply a strong army, and 18,000 contractors who maintained everything - all gone - to the Taliban.

Statistics, all statistics. The threat from the accidently victorious Taliban has just begun, and, as an Islamic "murder incorporated" organization, with now close relations with ISIS, al-Qaida, will spread throughout the world like the worst possible disease. The Taliban will sell arms to other Jihadists, like Iran. We no longer have a true presence in the Middle East. We are now taking a peek at the Apocalypse as described in W.B. Yeats poem, "The Second Coming"; " Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is lost. The best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity." We are now powerless to keep the peace in the Middle East.

Our "best" lack all conviction, lead by the invincible ignorance of a legion of power hungry anti-republican traitors, with Joe Biden stumbling towards the cliff. All of America's most dangerous enemies have been emboldened to attack us. Like Esau, who sold his birth right for a bowl of mush, Joe Biden sold-out our soldiers for nothing! But don't fear, Kamala is here for back-up.

China is practicing to attack Taiwan. Is the US capable of making such a venture too bloody for China's plans? What can we expect from Russia in the Ukraine? In the Far East, America has completely "lost face", an inviting catastrophe in the enemy's eyes. Once again: "reputation reputation reputation Oh I have lost my reputation I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial." (Othello).

After Afghanistan, Vietnam, and a string of similar failures, we now have a reputation for disorderly retreats, as defeated troops (though our troops fight valiantly), while betrayed by incompetent leadership. Our entire military establishment, from West Point to Gen. Mark A. Milley and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (bozos each), and most in between, should be court martialed and dishonorably discharged. Failure and incompetence are their histories.

We have a president and vice president by fraudulent election activities, and a "traitorous" so-called Big Tech: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, who now control what can be said - but wouldn't dare cancel the Gazette!
This is not the column I wanted to write today, of failure and defeat by Islamic forces. This would not have happened under Trump's leadership!

I don't see how America can survive another 3.5 years of Biden family corruption and Big Tech collusion.

Things are a little bit crazy tonight.

I attended my first Fillmore City Council meeting last night, for the first time in more than a year, thanks to the China COVID-19 pandemic. This radically changed my writing schedule, and I have just learned of Sacramento's new outrageous violation of your First Amendment.

For the 32 years that I've been publishing the Gazette we have always posted the photos of people arrested for serious crimes. Doing so accomplishes two things. First, it warns the public to beware these individuals, mostly alleged felons, who have been arrested after probable cause has been found for the allegation, and second, it is our way of congratulating our police officers for a job well done.

I have just learned that some peewee State Assemblyman (Evan Low) has gotten his AB-1475 passed and signed by the governor. This is a most egregious violation of our Constitutional Bill of Rights - violates our First Amendment right of free speech - and helps criminal suspects hide.

"This bill would prohibit a police department or sheriff's office from sharing, on social media, booking photos of an individual arrested on suspicion of committing a nonviolent crime, as defined, unless specified circumstances exist."

For example: This week we received notice of an alleged felon, "a 28-year-old Carpinteria woman (Briana Gutierrez), "with a history of criminal theft crimes [who] was arrested for stealing mail, burglary, forgery, and cashing the victim's stolen checks." Though the charges include serious felonies, including federal crimes, we can no longer publish her mugshot. In other words, criminals in California, thanks to Mr. Low's misplaced sympathies for criminals, are now protected from exposure, hidden from view.

It's too late to thoroughly address this issue tonight, and the fool assemblyman who is responsible for it, but I plan to include a new sub-column, probably entitled "This month's stupid lawmaker - or stupid new laws". I will identify his particularly stupid new law and give a little biography of the lawmaker, encouraging his constituents not to vote for him - a sort of political safeguard. Assemblyman Low will be first in line. I will contact the politicians being highlighted for an explanation.

I regret this is the first week the new law is in force and that the photo of this suspected multi-felon cannot be shown. Write a protest to Mr. Low, Democratic Assemblyman, District 28.

This is the first time this law has been activated. All newspapers and online news blogs, etc. should SOUND THE ALARM IMMEDIATELY.

****

Hi Kelly Scoles - Second Opinion.

Due to sharp time and space restrictions, I regret I can only respond to a couple of your assertions this week.
You say that "no widespread fraud was found during the election in November." Election fraud (endemic) in the November 2020 election can no longer be honestly disputed within experienced professional mathematical, engineering, and data analysis experts. Massive fraud exists.

But for me, the court's utter disregard of the scientific proofs of endemic election fraud is enough to find probable cause to charge the stakeholders. And we intend to use the Dominion Voting Systems again!? We need to throw out all computer voting machines and go back to paper ballots. Slower, but much safer.

Lastly (had to cut here), you equate rejection of mask-wearing to pro-life efforts to save the life of those children waiting to be born. I can't find the words to express my revulsion at this comparison. It is the penultimate glory of women that they alone can reproduce human life. This is what gives them exceptional dignity among humankind. God bless and protect these smallest, most dependent and innocent children - and the illustrious women who bring them safely into their nurturing world!

Response to Mary Scoles' Second Opinion.

I'll give our short weekly debates another chance this week to be understood by everyone. I take umbrage at your final characterization of my comment last week about the KKK. I do so because it's clear that the average reasonable person would not understand it as you apparently do. Even if taken as "incendiary" (hair on fire) that should not change the clear meaning of the comment. My baldness, I guess, is a sometime benefit.

Contrary, again, to your interpretation, I do not believe that your interpretation of [my] sarcasm "was unfair." Rather, it was untrue. Fairness had nothing to do with it. And while I'm glad you are happy "to express your regret in finding a meaning [I] did not intend [?]", the meaning I expressed is precisely that which I intended. Your reference to pain is puzzling.

Kelly, about your mantra, "Say what you mean and mean what you say". Kind of catchy. My statements are surely "in the public realm" as soon as they limp from my weary keyboard. You claim they are then in "the audience's hands, and the chance at clarity expires." The hope is always that the audience is composed entirely of reasonable people, and that clarity endures, as I'm sure you wish - leaving me with expectations of some small apology for your misreading of my column.

Sarcasm can surely be "risky", with the reader as well as the writer. Both need a good ear. So, as they used to say in the days before the Chinese virus, when law school classrooms were abuzz with educational theories, and Kindergarten classes might hear "Time to put our listening ears on".

****

I'm alone from here, headed for the reefs of questionable language, in support of our war fighters. Trump's 4-year spirited effort to reestablish our military strength may have come too late. After 8-years of Obama's dereliction in the defense of our nation, and Biden's blanks, we find ourselves short on weaponry and absent leadership. Our Communist enemy, China, can hardly resist attacking us, especially over Taiwan. They see Biden with his scull full of dust bunnies. Looking forward, even more enticing to China is our second in command, Kamala Harris, with zero experience beyond the bed springs. In other words, America is off-balance, without leadership, at a time when our enemies are flush with money, confidence, showing a lean and hungry look - a great time to start a war.

Trump's recent characterization of the police officers testifying before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 riot has outraged some. However, from those millions of veterans who have suffered selflessly through seemingly endless war, I can hear a roar of approval of Trump's expletive across the land.

They are fed-up with the growing weakness that the feminist influence has intruded into the ethos of our fighting forces - all for the sake of Political Correctness; they're tired of humiliating training in women's high-heels, abandoning ship under Syrian guns, abandoning the command of the world's largest man-o-war (carrier Roosevelt), Co-Ed infantry, "transgenderism", removal of urinals to accommodate female sailors, and un-punished refusals of direct orders from Commander-in-Chief by a Coast Guard Admiral protecting 12 members of his LGBT crew.

"Trump has told some people close to him that several of these [emotionally testifying] officers strike him as weak and as “pussies,” according to two sources familiar with the comments..." Trump has also maintained that these men seem “broke[n]” by the events of Jan. 6, and that they do not have the supposed toughness or character of the law enforcement officers who, on the whole nationally, still widely support Trump and his policies."

There is deadly weakness in WOKE military promotion. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, personify this debilitating weakness. Honors of the past don't always hold up in the present. Victory demands more than the Hollywood appearance of heroism, it demands the true grit of the men who won WWII, like Adm. Chester Nimitz, Adm. William Halsey, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and General George Patton. I can't see Patton having his men on display trying on women's high heel shoes! Combat is always a man's work. Women can do virtually all other military tasks, but they demean the soldier and undermine his work of direct combat when they try to participate in the fight. Ask our enemies - or listen to an expert under fire:
"I don't want to get any messages saying, "I am holding my position" We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly, and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living [!@#$] out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose, like [!@#$] through a tin horn."
Gen. George S. Patton.

Yes, that's the way determined men talk in combat. Sounds a little like Donald Trump in his political wars.

I have to say I'm not very happy about the way this column is sliding off its original path. This little paper has always been, and will continue to be, open to all without threat of canceling. I especially invite those who strongly disagree with my personal opinions.

However, my liberal attitude here has some minor expectations, one of which is that I not be misquoted or grossly misinterpreted. I try to keep things simple to facilitate this objective.

But people do make mistakes, and I'm sure my immediate concern this week involves such a mistake.

These remarks are addressed to both Mary Scoles and Pedro Bazan.

Pedro: Your characterization of the Texas bill is false. No space for detail here, but a little Googling will reveal the truth. No, Texas has not banned schools from teaching about MLK’s speeches or KKK’s history with white supremacy. 11Alive.com•8 hours ago. Facts do matter.

"Many of the curriculum requirements in HB 3979 are already a part of TEKS. For example, in a ninth grade U.S. history course, TEKS requires schools to teach students about MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement and Native American history." But I don't intend to waste time restoring the truth about this bill here, when everyone can get it online there.

Mary (Scoles): I know you're outspokenly liberal, but still, I'm surprised at your carelessness in reading my reply to Pedro's letter. I did not ask Pedro (misquote) "Are you saying that there was nothing good about the KKK?" No, Mary, that is NOT what I said. Pedro's statement "...and the ways in which it [KKK] is morally wrong." My response was sarcastic. I said: "I have to ask, is there a way in which the KKK was ever morally right? (Emphasis mine). Get it? Most people know the KKK is evil. Because you know my moral standards this mistake was unwelcome.

My comment about Pedro's inflated respect for law school theories was an exercise in deflation. The creators of CRT are scholastic pee-wees undeserving of the rave reviews they have received from their radical liberal friends. Who exactly anointed them to re-educate the entire American student body? A failure of peer review. Let the courts rule from case law, not law schools from their fevered moot court personal opinions!

Frankly, I'm totally fed-up with all of this racism BS. If a man (by Democratic Party authority) can change his sex, why not his race? Maybe even become God? It's just a little chromosomal juggling, right? And the Democratic Party always follows the science - right?

White guilt? That's a Democrat thing. But, I'm Irish.

On slavery, again. You question "the color of the enslaver's skin". Interesting. In Greece it was probably olive colored. In Rome, maybe white, unless by a freedman, then who can know? In Egypt, darker brown. In China a yellowish hue (check out their million-man Uyghur slave camps). In India, light brown? North American "Indian", ochre tint? Aztec? maybe coffee colored. And, in all Africa, of course, black, until we come to Arabia, where most "enslavers" were - are - darker brown. Scandinavian (Vikings - great slavers), mostly white. With a sort of "skin scrutiny" system it might be much easier to identify those white supremacists, in every era.

To do justice in describing ubiquitous "enslavers" skin color (a curious undertaking) we would need a professional paint company's color hue slider. You know, like when buying house paint. Then we could assign numbers according to the color shade in question, and date it all to the correct millennia, (when we're in for other mandated stuff). Those numbers (for example) New York albino white (10) to Mozambique Ebony (1,000). Suntans should be unlawful as attempts to confuse one's scale setting. In this way we could identify and rate the most enterprising slavers over time. Imagine the Reparations!

BUT: There is a troubling problem presented here by our scientific scheme. In our attempt to assign guilt by identifying the skin color of all the "enslavers" we would find that every skin tone on our scale of "enslavers" shows equal guilt, at different times. The great enslavers, like the ancient Athenians, Romans, Middle Easterners, New World Aztec, and Huns, Franks, Vandals, Saxons, and Visigoths - etc. are all guilty as sin. After Noah, slavery has always been the reserve currency of the dominant classes. We would each recognize our own skin color within our "enslavers" color slider mechanism. The words of the philosopher Pogo, "We have met the enemy and they are us" rings true.

Let's remember that only America forced her "enslavers" to stop - at the cost of 600,000 souls, our bloodiest war. I can think of no other country so determined to Let Freedom Ring, except perhaps Israel.

Hello everyone. This week I will do my best to respond to "Part Two Second Opinion, by Kelly Scoles, Leslie G. Marshall of Piru, and, once again, Pedro Bazan, of Santa Paula. But, I'm only running on one piston today. Will go until I hear a clunk.

First, Leslie Marshall.
Hello, Leslie. I'm afraid I dove into your letter before I understood the scathing irony and sarcasm with which it was written. At first I misconstrued your second paragraph as a bold advertisement for Planned Parenthood's activities, and I wasted 400 words in defense before I caught on. My profound apologies for jumping the gun, and equally profound kudos for outspoken truth. I will leave my introductory remarks to your letter as they are while striking the rest. Now, I've got to start over!

*****

Hello (again) Leslie Marshall. (original response)
Thanks for the letter. If you are new to the Gazette, be forewarned of my Judeo-Christian bias, what's more my Catholic bias, and just to spice-up the debate, Irish-Catholic bias, in issues of moral concern.

Unlike yourself, I did not enjoy the Fillmore Pride Resource Fair because my Catholic-Christian faith condemns this behavior (despite recent heretical-hierarchical expressions to the contrary.) Whatever scientific knowledge I may have is also repelled by obviously unscientific theories.

More to the point, this celebration should not have taken place without the authority of public opinion being consulted.

I'm afraid you're right that "Anger, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust" can be expressed artistically, and have been over the millennia. By "poignant 'nod' to the seven deadly sins (and Pride being the deadliest) it should be only fair to balance that evil with a "nod" toward triumphant good (the seven theological virtues); Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice.

*****

Here I begin again, after emerging from my initial dive. I want to caution readers to read your (Leslie's) letter with an ear to sarcasm. I was fooled at first.

Following in the footsteps of pedophile Dr. Alfred Kinsey, and racist-eugenicist Margaret Sanger, PP marches on.

*****

Hello Pedro Bazan.
It's tedious business answering your letters, Pedro, because, like so many leftist Democrats, you always have the facts backwards. Let me demonstrate.

You seem stuck on the latest theme of white supremacy. Tell me, were Hernán Cortés and ‎Francisco Pizarro‎ brown supremacists? Are brown supremacists better than alleged white supremacists? Should Mexico (New Spain) have been left to the Aztecs? Did the Aztecs know things about slavery and mass murder? Think about it.

Next, the institution of slavery. Did Cortés and Pizarro institute slavery on a massive scale? Hmm, I think so. Try to find it in a Howard Zinn book. He (Zinn) described himself as "something of an anarchist, something of a socialist." But slavery was not new to the New World.

And then you bring up "the eugenics movement." Do you know who started this fiendish movement? It was the friend of "Dr." Alfred Kensey (uber racist and pedophile), Margaret Sanger.

And, once again, you bring-up the Ku Klux Klan "and the ways in which it is morally wrong." I have to ask, is there a way in which the KKK was ever morally right? Consult Howard Zinn.

Then, your defense of Critical Race Theory. Pedro - you need to bone-up on American history, and uncritically adopting a halfwit idea like CRT is no way to begin. No one involved in the construction of this back bench "theory" is competent to teach us anything. It is all Leftist propaganda, and the country is thoroughly and quickly rejecting it.

It's good to see you have a sense of humor, Pedro. It flares-up with "That's right ladies and gentlemen, CRT is not a grade school curriculum, rather it's a law school level course that specifically explores how laws are tied to racism, contrary to what a lot of people believe." Pedro, I can assure you, from personal experience, that being "a law school level course" is unworthy of scholastic recognition. The folks who dreamed up this thing are not Solons of higher knowledge - they are just second-string wanabe players for fun and profit.

Lastly, you recommend that Texas legislators expand CRT. I would agree - if that included a close examination of Aztec treatment of surrounding tribes: "Aztec priests, using razor-sharp obsidian blades, sliced open the chests of sacrificial victims and offered their still-beating hearts to the gods. They then tossed the victims' lifeless bodies down the steps of the towering Templo Mayor." "Around 20,000 people were sacrificed a year in the Aztec Empire. Special occasions demanded more blood – when a new temple to Huitzilopochtli was dedicated in 1487, an estimated 80,400 people were sacrificed."

Heck! At this rate they could have run out of people! Thank God for the Conquistadores!

You call for "a study of American racism" before we forget our racist past. But, remembering our Brown Supremacist past, of those bloody old days, maybe it's best to forgive and forget.

Two responses today, (if I can) from Pedro Bazan, and to Kelly Scoles, "Second Opinion".

Hello Mr. Bazan, welcome to the Gazette.
My first question for you is "Are you a citizen of the U.S.?” My curiosity is aroused by the tenor of your letter. Your closing comment "the USA is an amazing Christian country" seems to contradict your opening disparagement of America, your denial of her "Judeo-Christian values", "when the United States is far removed from being founded on them." You further diminish our Declaration by attributing it to a bunch of alleged non-Christian Deists (Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams) "none of whom were Christians..." Also, you insist "Maddison" (actually spelled with a single "d") was another one of those pesky Deists, allegedly casting a shadow on the Judeo-Christian birthright of our Constitution. (See "Christian Deists" below). Study beyond Wikipedia, Pedro.

You claim the Constitution "contains wording that removes religion from state governance”. This final mistake in your failed attack on the moral and legal underpinnings of our great country can be stated in a single sentence: Despite the mixture of religious and philosophical beliefs among our Founding Fathers, every Founder, to a man, believed absolutely in the necessity of religion in the new nation if it was to be successful. They all agreed that without religion the experiment would certainly fail. The closest, perhaps, to being an atheist among them all, was Thomas Paine. ("Common Sense. 1776"). Even so, "Paine's deism—the belief in God, but the eschewing of organized religion—is often erroneously confused with atheism." "He believed that the only valid role of government in religious affairs was to protect freedom of religion." As for Jefferson: "Christian deism is a standpoint in the philosophy of religion stemming from Christianity. It refers to a deist who believes in the moral teachings—but not divinity—of Jesus."

One of the most contentious Constitutional amendments is to be found in the First: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;". The word "establishment" here refers to making any religion official, that is legally and financially official - like the Church of England in that country. It is NOT hostile to religion in the way you misunderstand.

About your Biblical references, Luke 12:23 does not mean that every person in the country must sell all their possessions - this would make the rich poor, and the poor rich. Luke 3:11, this tells us to be generous with our food and clothing. No more generous nation has ever existed than America. Your ignorance of this generosity says a lot about your anti-American background.

Matthew 22:39, love thy neighbor. The Golden Rule, often neglected in the West, always despised by communism, and all forms of totalitarian governments.

You continue: "Americans refuse to truly help the poor..." This is an easily discernible lie. Go back to your type of country where the poor are well taken care of -- Cuba, China, Russia, and Africa.

You mention slavery. What other nation on earth demanded and forced slavery out of its country through 4-years of bloody Civil War (600,000 dead). The British Empire (largest in history) did away with slavery with a mere Act of Parliament in 1807, banning trading in enslaved people within the British Empire.

Your letter is full of obvious calumnies about America because you are ignorant of our glorious history, much of your comments are humorously erroneous -- like references to the KKK, the Ku Klux Klan, founded by a Democrat, prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War, and the first Grand Wizard of that terrorist organization, Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Pedro, I'm having second thoughts about reviewing your letter. I'm thinking it may have been written by an ANTIFA organizer.
I would be glad to send you a list of reliable sources on American history -- that way you might learn enough to avoid being seen as such a disgusting ingrate.

Cordially,
Martin Farrell

Postscript: Incidentally, I see you are proud enough to sign-off with "University of California, Los Angeles". What are you doing in such an American institution? Check out the free education offered in Cuba!

*****************************************************************************

Hello, Kelly (Scoles) "Second Opinion".
You've raised far too many issues for me to respond to, and, surprisingly, I would agree with most of them. You lose me a little on the Vietnam War. We had some terrible generals then, and still do. As for President Nixon, Shakespeare's words say it best: "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones." (Julius Caesar).

Kelly, answering your opinion this week is duty worthy of that three-legged tap dancer on ice -- and I'm dealing with my sciatic nerve.

What worries me now: "U.S. commander in Afghanistan steps down, marking symbolic end to 20 year war..." Taliban will be given billions in US armaments, and will quickly take over. Our generals have forgotten how to win wars!

"Taliban surge sends thousands fleeing..." "Talks with Taliban are making 'very little progress' as militant group gains momentum, says Afghan official". Only a fool would expect otherwise.

And: "What does the dawn of demisexuals tell us?" Next come the quadsexuals. It tells us that America has become degenerate, physically, mentally, and morally -- with little hope in site.

**************************************************************************

Kelly, next week, please narrow it down - just to be fair.

This week I have to respond to two letters and Kelly Scoles' column.

Hello, Art Sanford Sr. Good to see you back.

Art, I can see the sarcasm steaming from your words. But let me flip them over to show my true attitude towards the individual LGBTIQA (no +?). I do in fact wish them all, "security and well-being". That is due to all American citizens under our Constitution - because America is the greatest nation on earth. "Psychological abuse", "rejection, beatings", etc. are all unacceptable under the law. But remember, these protections are not exclusive to LGBTIQA advocates. They apply to those, particularly to the young, attempting to apply their scholastic talents in the classroom. This 98% of the student body should not be misguided by adult LGBTIQA persons dressed like fairytale dandies in order to recruit youngsters to the cause.

Your sarcasm gets a little slippery in alluding to the "Marlboro Man, Rock Hudson and the original ‘G Man,’ J. Edgar Hoover." Rock was a gay man, and Edgar, under suspicion. Though both, great actors. By the way, I know no misogynistic persons, but I support the philogynists of this world, and, personally, find women to be beautifully unique, as created.

Lastly, why do radical Democrats seem to be so intensely depressed all the time?

A short postscript: You're correct in recommending that LGBT members "live their lives with purpose". That's good advice for everyone. But it's evil to advise LGBT members, or anyone else, to "avoid making the normal (i.e. white, heterosexual) uncomfortable", because stripping the sarcasm from your speech is like tripping a line of PC dominos - ending in a racist heap.

Get some help.

*********************************************************************

Hello again, Scott (Duckett).

Let's begin with some agreement in terms (words) and principles.

I think we both believe that persons should be respected - in "the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” - even though "happiness" isn't in the Constitution, it is in the Declaration. I think this means, leave us alone. Which carries into the states, and by tradition as well, into all areas of our society.

As for principles, I mean the traditions and virtues historically recognized as American, often protected by law. I have, as you suggest, looked in the mirror, and what I see is an old man initiated from youth in the moral values of my country, America. My first 19-years of life were spent on the ranch. American moral and civic ideals were taught at every level of education, in every public and private school in the nation. Our glorious history was taught unambiguously, truthfully and proudly. The dark parts of our history were not eliminated, they were explained. For example, the union forced the south to end slavery, at the price of 600,000 deaths. After decades of twisted American history textbooks by Howard Zinn, most millennials now have no credible knowledge of our nation's history.

Is LGBT a religion? You don't need an "unchangeable holy book" to create a religion. This is a widely diffuse group of people with a core spiritual base and rituals, such as "same sex marriage". It is closely affiliated with numerous religious organizations.

But the point is this: Our national public schools are not stages for the indoctrination of just any philosophy or religion. The normal limits of teaching authority have been greatly violated without parental permission. Should "advocacy groups" be exempt? How about Marxists groups, or Antifa? Black Lives Matter groups are admittedly Marxist, and anti-family, why are they OK? Again, how about Scientology (see: “Going Clear"). Is morality ever an issue? Whoever comes to speak at our schools is also coming to teach whatever happens to be in their bag of ideas. Scientology, Marxism, and LGBTQIA+whatever, are rarely parent-approved, and school boards who approve of these things should be ousted. Bottom line here: don't indoctrinate our children with your pet religious and political philosophies!

I was unfamiliar with your Deuteronomy passage, but you fail to mention that the woman is punished for "... seizing him by the private parts...". Christians have never taught this, as many other historical facts. There was one church for 1,500 years, until the 15th Century, now there are over 40,000. What's your point? There are also more than 300 religions in the world. So what? The evil of slavery has plagued the world since shortly after the Fall. Since this has long been recognized as evil, so, again, "what" to your argument? Religions and religious practitioners have never been perfect (except for Jesus Christ) - because of our free will - but for Christians there is a golden standard, the 10 Commandments.

Your mere "humanity", from a practical standpoint, is meaningless against others, totalitarian atheist, Communist and Muslim. A person may pretend he or she has "transgendered" to the opposite sex, and their friends may cheer, but when the man behind the curtain is exposed as a fraud, nothing has changed. The "Y" chromosome remains in command.
Thank God!

*****

Next: Is Critical Race Theory -- acidicly, critically, racist?

How did this brain-dead theory suddenly come to dominate our school system? Why should we be impressed with this theory, composed by a coterie of wannabe social engineering geniuses.

Why should American citizens want to embrace this eccentric idea? Even some true geniuses have given us a number of theoretical flops, but we didn't design our entire system of learning to satisfy them. Here are a few of the " Most Famous Scientific Theories That Were Later Debunked”: 1- Fleischmann–Pons's Nuclear Fusion. 2- Phrenology.3- The Blank Slate. 4- Luminiferous Aether. 5- Einstein's Static (or Stationary) Universe. 6- Martian Canals.7- Phlogiston Theory. 8- The Expanding or Growing Earth." There's even a theory of transgendering out there.

If Einstein got it wrong after much study, why should we be so credulous to accept this destructive, amateur-hour theory?

This is another issue critical to national welfare. We have to ask, "who’s running the show?"

Some more opinion on this issue next week.