Editorial

EDITORIAL: No Easter for America?

EDITORIAL - Easter Sunday can fall on any date between March 22^nd and April 25^th. The dates change because Easter happens on the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon. The word Paschal means "Passover" in Greek which is a transliteration of the Hebrew word Pesach. The Paschal Full Moon is the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. This is sometimes referred to as the Egg Moon. This moon sometimes occurs in March and sometimes in April. So, April 12 is not locked in for Easter every year, but it is the date for 2020.

Easter 2020 will be remembered for a very long time as the Sunday America had no Easter. Or, the Easter where churches did not gather in small and large buildings. This is disappointing to multitudes. It is the "one" Sunday that many Americans attend church. Globally, churches pull out all the stops for presenting their best music. Ministers have been working the last several weeks polishing up their sermons. But it's the same story, the old story that, once a year, people come to hear.

EDITORIAL: Coronavirus, Taking Life for Granted

EDITORIAL - The Coronavirus is a pandemic that most of us don't understand, but we are learning. This disease has taken over 9,000 lives and made over 220,000 more people sick. We've heard via television about it starting in China and its impact even before arriving in America.

So far this is what we know about Coronavirus. The disease is life threatening. If the disease does not kill you, there is a chance you will be very sick with severe respiratory problems. Thousands of respirators are needed across the country because of the nature of the disease. Who wants to be in an intensive care unit of a hospital on a respirator?

EDITORIAL: The Groundhog's Last Plane Ride

EDITORIAL - Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil is coming out soon to see or not see his shadow on his big day, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. If old' furry Phil wants to fly first class or even coach anywhere, he had better do it this year. The chances are he will be walking or riding with a friend in a car next Groundhog's Day.

A new rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation would permit airlines to stop accepting emotional support animals on planes allowing only service dogs that are professionally trained to perform tasks or assist passengers with disabilities, including psychiatric disorders.

EDITORIAL: Kobe - Preparing for Shocking Death

EDITORIAL - The world was shocked January 26, 2020, by the sudden death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others. A helicopter that spiraled through a California sky and crashed took the life of one of the world's greatest basketball players. During his career, Bryant had played 20 years for the Los Angeles Lakers leading them to five NBA championships and an amazing 33,643 points. This is currently the fourth highest NBA scoring record.

Some of us remember exactly where we were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. We remember where we heard John Lennon had been murdered or where we were when Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered or when the Space Shuttle Challenger flight exploded in space. For years now we will remember where we were and what we were doing the day Kobe was killed.

EDITORIAL: A Holiday Strategy

EDITORIAL - The holidays can be glad, sad or bad. Take your pick and choose a direction. I choose glad. Who wants to be sad and who needs bad? I don't want either one and neither do you. There is enough in life that confronts us every day that has the propensity to get us down.

Don't go crazy eating this holiday. I hear every year from people who say, "I'm going to eat whatever I want during the holidays and I'll change in January." These are the people who gain five to ten pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

EDITORIAL - Entitlements, More Money

EDITORIAL - Our country is over 22 trillion dollars in debt and growing. Reducing our spending is never easy especially for our government. We have a lot of obligations from Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Defense, Veterans, Infrastructure and more.

There aren't that many places to cut spending on our nation's budget. Social Security eats up about 23 percent of our budget. Our government is supposed to start sending me a check every month in just over a year. After paying into it since I was 18 years old, I would like to collect it. Medicare accounts for 15 percent of our federal budget. I just got my card in the mail so I'm not voting to reduce Medicare benefits. I know what medical bills can do to anyone financially. Over 65 percent of the bankruptcies in America take place over medical issues.

EDITORIAL: America's Wars - Stay forever?

EDITORIAL - Many Americans have cried foul against President Trump for pulling our troops out of Syria and abandoning the Kurds. Yet, I have to ask, do we ever really leave? While many of our troops are now in Iraq some will stay behind in Syria to protect the oil.

Our military, from the United States, is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world with over 170,000 of our active-duty personnel serving in these different countries. We have 38 named bases with active duty, National Guard, reserve, or civilian personnel located in different countries.