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Lots to ponder in troubling times

Lately I have been unable to refrain from random thinking. Much here is controversial. I wonder how many businesses destroyed by fire after failing to make money were actually cases of self-inflicted arson in an effort to collect on insurance. And I wonder what underground organizations specialize in these sorts of “transactions.” Regarding business transactions, I have been arguing for more than a decade that being a leader, a president especially, is not the same as being a businessman. Navigating a nation through a sensitive and volatile geopolitical landscape requires ...

Big, Beautiful Brainchild transcends borders

I have an idea. It's a Big, Beautiful Brainchild, actually. Maybe the greatest idea I have ever had. It will help every citizen of our great nation. I am surprised that the smartest, most creative and articulate president in the history of our country didn’t think of it first. Perhaps he has but just hasn’t mentioned it? President Trump doesn’t seem to have a filter on his thoughts or his speech. If he did think of this idea first, I am sure it would have spewed from his lips at some point. The president does have nice lips. I hear people say it all the time. “Mr. President, ...

Budget proposal threatens stability

A recent OBSERVER/Post-Journal editorial asked if the Chautauqua County 2027 budget is realistic. I think a better question is: “Is the 2027 budget prudent?” The answer to that question is “No.” I was the County Budget Director from 2017-2023. I worked for three county executives, including Executive PJ Wendel. The executives and the Finance Department agreed the budget should be structurally balanced, the tax levy should not exceed the levy limit, and general fund balance should only be used for unusual or unexpected expenditures. In this year’s tentative budget, two of ...

Worlds of difference separate East, West

People ask when the conflict with Iran will be over. But the Iran conflict is merely a continuation of the 1,400-year war between contradictory cultures. From Rudyard Kipling’s 1889 poem: “East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” The East-West divide pits Western beliefs in Natural Rights and freedom of conscience against Islamic (Sharia) Law – which forbids both. The current conflict is simply the latest salvo in Islam’s war against everything non-Islamic. (The word “Islam” means “to submit”.) Since the early 7th century, Islam has ...

Blakeman brings energy, enthusiasm to campaign

Let’s pick up where we left off last week. It’s worth encouraging “Never Trumps to imagine what would have become of the law if Donald Trump had lost the 2016 presidential election and not filled the three Supreme Court vacancies from 2017 to 2020.” Please think about that. We’ll ...

Democrats ran up the tab we’re all paying for

This election season, Democrats have latched on to the issue of affordability, a problem that the Biden administration did much to cause and which the second Trump administration is working to correct. It is important for Americans to understand that price increases due to inflation do not ...