I’ve lived in both big cities and small towns. In big cities, I’m usually anonymous and can blend in as just another nameless person on the street. Most people don’t even really see me. There are some advantages to that but for more than twenty years I’ve lived in rural southwest Washington State. Here you get to know people. I can hardly go to town without stopping to talk with an old friend or two. I’ve finalized business deals by shaking hands. I go to church and community meetings with local elected officials and count several as friends. At this level, reputation and integrity matters.

Perhaps that’s why I don’t put much faith in social media.

The Founding Fathers believed that people should be elected to public office, serve for a few years, and then return to their private professional lives. Today, we have a president who has held public office longer than most Americans have been alive. But he is not alone, many politicians make it a career serving in the House, then the Senate, and moving on to other positions in the government. While professional experience often improves decision-making, it doesn’t appear to help in politics.

Lewis County is one of the most conservative areas in Washington State. Sixty-two percent of its citizens voted for Trump in 2016 and Sixty-five percent voted for him in 2020. When Trump supporter Joe Kent ran for congress in 2022, Lewis County voters helped him oust moderate Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler in the primary. But, despite those conservative credentials, it seems that nowhere is safe from progressive nonsense.

Like most people, when I meet a candidate it is usually at a rally or similar gathering. Security personnel and a throng of voters surround them. That makes it tough to ask questions. I might be able to ask one or two but there won’t be any discussion. I’ve grown adapt at surfing the internet for information about candidates. However, I recently had the chance to sit down and talk with congressional candidate Joe Kent at length.

One of the most well-known Supreme Court decisions is the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. It is also one of the best examples of judicial activism, creating not only a legal basis for abortion but a right to it. The vast majority of the Democrat Party, many Republicans, most of Hollywood, and the media support this newfound right.

Except for the news, I rarely watch network television. With commercials that go on forever, preachy plots, and banal writing, there just isn’t anything for me. Even my news viewing is limited to conservative outlets such as Fox News. For the last few years, I’ve streamed the little entertainment programing I watch. However, services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are increasingly mimicking the woke and banal programming of the networks with gutter vulgarity added in.

Lieutenant colonel Matthew Lohmeier, commander of 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, was relieved of command in May after Lieutenant General Stephen Whiting, the head of Space Operations Command over a loss of confidence in his ability to lead. This reason for relieving an officer is standard verbiage for such actions. In my opinion, the real reason is that Lohmeier dared to criticize the diversity and inclusion initiatives that the Space Force, and the rest of the military, are currently pushing on service members.

I’d like to see both Democrat senators from my state out of a job. Republicans often think that to win in a blue or purple state they have to run as moderates and only come out strong on safe topics. History shows this is nonsense.

Military veterans and those who died deserve respect. That was the headline of Julie McDonald’s column on September 6th. I believe and support those words and expected to agree with Julie as I read her column. My expectations changed quickly.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supports abortion, up to and including partial-birth abortion. It encourages the teaching of the LGBTQ agenda in schools. According to the Heritage Foundation, “the ACLU’s retreat from the First Amendment is well documented. It will not defend the First Amendment rights of pro-life pregnancy centers or small religious businesses. It no longer defends religious freedom, although it once did.

I first became aware of Rush Limbaugh while stationed in Japan, serving with the Navy. On October 6, 1991, Rush appeared on 60 Minutes. That evening I watched the interview on the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). Rush died earlier this year, and today his show comes to an official end. Who will carry his work forward to a new generation?