Readers’ Column for the week of July 1, 2018

You may call the Owego Pennysaver Readers’ Column at (607) 687-2378 24-hours a day, or e-mail comments to readerscolumn@stny.rr.com. We reserve the right to revise or reject any message.

Looking for someone to mow my lawn. My number is 687-1512.

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I haven’t been going to downtown Owego since they have taken two parking spots away on Front Street. I just had to go down through town and wouldn’t you know I had an old Prius pulls right out of Lake Street right in front of me and I almost him with my big truck. Thank God I was going slow or there might have been a fatality. You really need to take those two places, I know they need them in the village but somebody is going to get hurt badly.

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My husband and I love sports. We don’t have one school; we try to get to visit all of them, even Binghamton University. I love softball; I played in high school many years ago. Vestal, where are your flags? Every other school has them in their softball and baseball field. 

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A reader called in about a cat that was hit by a car on Route 17C in Campville and reported that cat was like a kid to her. If so, would she leave her kid running around in the road unsupervised? I think she should become a responsible pet owner.

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I think I’m a little confused. On Friday when the garbage men came to pick up our garbage, not only did they pick up recycling but they also picked up garbage and threw it in the back of the same truck and off they went. Do we have recycling here in Berkshire? Or is the recycling and garbage taken together?

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This is in regards to Norris Avenue in Vestal. I’ve called the supervisor a good many of times about this problem on the race track, you might say, coming down this road. He never calls me back! I’ve left messages with his secretary and he never calls me back. I don’t know what kind of supervisor he is, but anyway, I realize that the Vestal police are busy, but they said they never see any speeders on Norris Avenue. They need to do something about the speeding, there are 30 M.P.H. signs at the top and the bottom of Norris Avenue and nobody abides by it. It’s a constant raceway and I think it’s time to put speed bumps on the road or cut Tracy Creek off from Norris Avenue and let them go down their own road. Something needs to be done or someone is going to get killed here. There is a blind man that lives here, we have people walking their dogs here and it’s nothing but a speedway – especially early mornings when people are driving to work.

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I live on East Campville Road and I’d like to know who thinks they can throw their garbage all the way up the road, bags of it, fast food bags and liquor bottles. If you have to get rid of your garbage before you go home, throw it down at the bottom of the hill at the gas station in the garbage can.

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I was wonder, why isn’t the ice cream place by Rite Aid open? So far I haven’t seen it.

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Somebody recently called in about Honey Pot Road in Candor. I just went up it. It’s dark, rainy and foggy and I absolutely could not see the road at all. Something’s got to be done. There has to be a white line or something put on it. Maybe the Old Coot could take a drive up and see it for himself. It’s bad news. 

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I would appreciate if the state would mow on Route 38B so you can see deer coming up.

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To the Owego Apalachin School Board: I understand that the Owego Apalachin School Board has decided it is time to kneel. The Governor of New York State has allowed a school tax exemption on property taxes for Veterans of the United States Armed Services. Our School Board has decided that those that have served this country do not deserve an exemption on our property taxes. That is ingratitude for those who cared enough to defend you under our flag that will still wave long after you retire. You have chosen to kneel rather than to stand up and announce that those people in our district that have served our country and fought for our freedom have earned and deserve our gratitude and whatever we can do to respect what they have done for us, that includes a deduction on school taxes. I was not one of the 13,104,355 total forces that were serving during WWII. I was not one of the 1, 789,000 total forces that were serving during the Korean War. I was one of the 9, 087,000 that served on active duty during the Vietnam Era. I was one of the 3,403,100 (including 513,000 offshore personnel that served in the SE Asia Theater (Vietnam, Laos Cambodia, Flight crews based in Thailand and sailors in adjacent South China Sea waters). I was one of the 2,594,000 personnel that served within the borders of South Vietnam (1 January 1965 — 28 March 1973.) Now that 23,980,355 does not include our members of our Armed Services that have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, by the way, they do not all live in our school district but to show ingratitude to even one of those that have served is disgraceful.
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To the person who complained about Marshland Road getting paved twice, Stevens Road, by the trailer park that’s in Tioga County, we can’t even get it done once. They’ve done a lousy job of patching, the first puddle they come across they dump a bunch in the winter and go on to something else. They never come back to re-check it and the job they did on Owego Road was lousy. 

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Someone called in the last Pennysaver regarding a doctor who cuts toenails. I checked the yellow pages under podiatry; Dr. Hogan has offices in Owego, Binghamton and Johnson City and is very compassionate, very kind and very proficient in dealing with his patients. 

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This is in regards to the person who called last week in reference to St. Pat’s Cemetery. I’m assuming this person is not a person of a church; all information was given in their weekly bulletin. It is that the church has applied for a grant, which should be by the end of June so they are intending on paving the entire cemetery with asphalt. I hope this helps, probably in the future you would be better off calling the church office for any questions at 687-1068 versus calling into this column, they could get an immediate answer; but then again, they will be paving St. Patricks’s Cemetery very soon, so I hope this person is patient.

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I’ve said it before, I’ve said it again, if you love your cats keep them indoors and do not allow them to roam aimlessly throughout the neighborhood causing destruction. They won’t end up being hit by an automobile.

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This is Doctor Joseph Hogan calling; this is in response to the person who is looking for a doctor who cuts toenails. I have been in the Owego area for over 40 years, and my office is at 130 Temple St., Owego. My phone number is 723-7454. Good luck to you.

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This is for all the people who are so, so happy about Amish people moving in. Maybe they should go up to the windmill and see how they treat their animals. The horses that they use to haul stuff up there are left, when there’s plenty of shade, standing in the full sun all day long with a bit in their mouth and no water at all. I’m glad you’re looking forward to seeing stuff like that, but I’m not. 

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With the Owego Historic Preservation Commission abolished and the committee that was to advice the village board on historic architecture unstaffed, it falls to the code enforcement officer (CEO) to address historic architectural issues. But he is no CEO, so that role falls to DPW and the village board. But they have no training or experience in historic architecture and seem uninterested in learning about it. Owego has a state and nationally renowned collection of historic homes and it’d be a shame to see that degrade or disappear. Since windows seem to be a recurrent issue, maybe a presentation on windows would help inform homeowners and the village board on why they are an important feature.

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I heard that Owego is going to tear down the walls in Evergreen Cemetery! As a long time resident and taxpayer, as well as a plot owner, I am outraged! Whose bright idea was it to do this?

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I found a quad helmet on McDuffy Hollow Road, call to identify. Also, I need gardening help and horseback lessons in the Lockwood area. Call 598-2889 and leave a message; I will return your call with thanks.

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I wonder if whomever weed whacked next to the Riverwalk realized that those plants were milkweed and dill that are plants that monarch and swallowtail butterflies need to eat and lay eggs on. The daylilies that were weed whacked were about to bloom. There has been a big improvement along the Riverwalk this year and it’s sad to see some of it destroyed.

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For all you folks who believe government run services and mandated regulations are required for our well being, enjoy your 40 percent increase ($104 to $146) in the latest village sewer bill.  Be sure to keep some additional money on hand to cover the certainty of significant increases in village taxes over the next several years to cover the expanded OPD and other perceived “essential” services. Perhaps our new mayor and his team will be able to secure some “free money” (grants) from the state to offset some of the increase. I know it’s a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul, but it doesn’t really seem so bad if you can convince yourself that someone else is paying for it.

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Can anyone explain why Tioga Central has TWO elementary principals? Seems like a waste of taxpayer money to me. 

National Political Viewpoints

My Friends, I feel the need to make a clarification about a statement made by Hillary Clinton in which she quoted Jesus Christ. “…Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14 KJV) Jesus is not speaking here about social justice. He was referring to the condition of our hearts towards God, not government. He makes that very clear in the next verse. “Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” (Mark 14:15 KJV) Jesus is teaching us about a joyful, loving, childlike faith in God. This is a faith that believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. 

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What in the hell is wrong with you Republican politicians? First there’s Roy Moore, a child molester and all you Republicans supported him. Now you’ve got this idiot Trump who puts kids in cages and of course all you Republican congressmen are all for that. What in the hell is wrong with your head? Better yet, what’s wrong with those people who support these people? Just because they have an “R” behind their name, it doesn’t stand for right.

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What happened to Donald Trump when he was running for president? He stated that illegals’ would be sent back to where they came from. He could do this but I think he lacks the courage he wanted United States citizens to believe that he had.

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It looks like Melania has given up the good fight and she’s turned tail and run. What else could we expect, she is Donald Trump’s wife.

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That jacket Melania Trump wore to that detention center for children was intentionally antagonistic and provocative, so whom is she trying to antagonize? There was a message there; nobody can deny that. If you do deny it you’re not very smart. 

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Remember Katrina? Remember the dirty water in Flint Michigan? Remember the Hurricane of Puerto Rico? Where’s the government? The press is not the enemy of the people; it’s the government. Wasn’t that remarkable how the First Lady went down to the border and wore a jacket that said, “Really don’t care, do U”. No, they really don’t care. Keep voting Republicans. One day you guys will get it, you will get it good.

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The difference between Democrats and Republicans are quite apparent. Republicans want to be entertained by some clown; Democrats want to be governed by leaders. Get it? I doubt it.

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The coastal elite Marxist Socialist Democrat’s were right about Russian collusion. On Wednesday, Michael Daniel, who was Obama’s chief cyber official since 2012, testified he was developing Russian counter attacks on the presidential election and was ordered by Obama officials to stand down in the summer of 2016. How’s that for Obama collusion? Furthermore, Victoria Nuland, assistant secretary of the State for Europe, was briefed in December 2015 on Russian hacking of the DNC, but Obama officials slow walked passing on this information for a long time to the DNC. Very interesting. 

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So Trump did a back flip. Amazing! The man can’t even bend over to tie his own shoes; or did he have someone do it for him? He’s not too bright. 

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To all you fools’ out there who continue saying let’s end this probe of Mr. Trump and collusion with the Russians by FBI director Mueller. Well, you most certainly didn’t feel that way when you were going after Hillary Clinton with her Benghazi ghost stories. Do you want the truth or do you want a dictator?

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After reading the Pennysaver last week I have written down the adjectives of and for Democrats: don’t care, no backbone, little boys and girls that cry wolf, monsters, stupid, blind, ignorant, bad, morons, liars, dictators, stupid, Nazis, socialists, communists. Every time a Democrat looks into a mirror, this is what they see: go Trump, Willy only speaks the truth. 

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Coming soon to the area, bring your favorite kitty, puppy or blanket to give you security. Recliners will be provided, bring your own beverage. One-hour therapy sessions per person. You’ll be able to relax and listen to old Hillary and Bernie campaign speeches. Kleenex, vomit bags and toilet tissue will not be provided, and earplugs will be sold for $50 per ear. Go Trump!

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George Will said Trump is as ignorant as broccoli and I think Robert De Niro said the right word about Trump also. Trump should get off of the TV, stop the tweeting and get his work done and also get rid of crooked Pruitt, who is costing the taxpayers so much money. Yes, the White House still has a nest of vipers in it. It’s all like a very bad dream.

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There is a solution to the Democrat Marxist Communist nonsense being foisted on the American people by the Trump hating media and Hollywood elites. A very wise man once said, “They should all be spayed or neutered.” Amen to that!

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Talk about lying, has anybody ever heard the name Hillary Clinton? Or Bill, I did not have sex with that woman Clinton? Or lying Barack Obama? Remember, you can keep your doctor and insurance and save $2,500 a year? Well they were all lies. How about Loretta Lynch, crying Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, almost everyone that is in Hollywood. Comey and others are ashamed of our country and should leave now. Nobody wants you here! Leave and don’t come back. If you are appalled at the way things are about the families being separated, who broke our laws coming here, then you should be the ones to provide food, shelter, etc. in your own homes. What do you think? I think that’s an excellent idea! And then when you do that we will applaud you.

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Just an FYI, when my grandfather immigrated to this country not that long ago he was caring and smart enough to leave my grandmother and uncle in Greece for months, an ocean away, while he found full time good employment and a place for them all to live. This was not easy; as there was not a selection on the phone for the Greek language, nor were there translations into Greek on everything from cereal boxes to caution, wet floor signs. Imagine! When he was sure his family would be safe and secure they came, marriage and birth certificates in hand landing on Ellis Island and enduring a rigorous health exam. They realized that not only is this nation a country of immigrants but also one of laws designed to put everyone on equal ground.

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If you think the meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un resulted in peace for the world, I’m sorry for you. The whole charade was a farce to make both men look like peacemakers when in reality they are both bullies of the first order. Kim knew perfectly well that if he launched a missile on any U.S. Territory, him and his country would be annihilated. President Trump said so. In the end they made a deal that probably neither will honor because that would be a first for both of them. China could throttle Kim at any time but they won’t because they, along with Russia, want the U.S. to fail and we certainly will if Donald Trump remains president and the Republicans keep control of congress.

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President Trump, when he took office, was told it would take about ten years to eliminate Isis. How long has Donald Trump been in office and Isis, according to news reports, is 98 percent eliminated in Iraq. Maybe he let the U.S. soldiers fight, he’s not a pansy like Barack Obama was or is. 

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Donald Trump has thrown this country into absolute chaos. Can’t you see what’s happening?

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Why does Trump think the Democrats should help him at all? Dems aren’t that stupid. I wouldn’t give Trump the time of day after he lies incessantly about them. I would tell him to go you know where, get lost and take all of his liars and phonies with him. He has no shame and he is the one who is causing all of the division in this country. Obama, you had class, never insulting and you were so intelligent compared to what we have now you were the man! We didn’t know how good we had it.

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I see where Harley Davidson has to shut down or moved overseas to exist. Of course Mr. Trump blames the European Union for this steel aluminum tariff. He blames the Democrats for the immigration problem and he blames the Chinese for the trade war. He just loves to point fingers! Don’t you see a pattern here? Open your eyes people!

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Folks, ask yourself, do you lock your doors at night? Do you remember when you did not lock your doors at night? Why would you not lock the borders? Folks, wake up!

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How many taxpayers know the lawmakers in Albany are done for the year? The lawmakers will be back in January 2019; they’re also getting paid for the whole year.

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I watched the President Trump rally last night from South Carolina. He sure draws the people. They absolutely love him! Not everyone was able to even make it inside the venue. He’s an unbelievable man.

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Can anyone believe Maxine Waters? She’s doing nothing to bring our country together!

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Here we are, June 26, 2018, will Hillary ever stop the complaining and whining about losing the election. Her latest blame is on the popular verses Electoral College way of voting. This lady just doesn’t get it. She should just be happy Donald Trump is in office, he’s doing a much better job than she could have ever have done and the American people are loving it!

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The Russians think Trump is a useful idiot. The Americans think he’s just simply an idiot. He probably doesn’t know the difference or the Republicans that support him.

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My mother used to say, if you couldn’t say anything decent about somebody keep your mouth shut. Perhaps Maxine Waters, with her riot inciting radical mouth, needs this reminder.

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Maxine Waters and her Liberal Democratic bias spew is a matter of public record, which she now denies. Getting an apology from her is doubtful. What a disgraceful human being! Worse, yet, she’s a member of congress.

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George W. Bush was an idiot. Donald J. Trump is a useful idiot. Ask Putin.

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More big wins for Trump once again! The Supreme Court gets it right on forced union dues to support dimwit Democrats. Also a big win on keeping terrorists out of the country by Trump’s travel ban. Go Trump! 

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Say goodbye to America. Welcome Trumpastan.

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Let’s all hope and pray Cuomo is defeated this November. My vote is for anyone but Cuomo.

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Do the Democrats realize the damage Maxine Waters’ is doing to their party with her rhetoric? She yells nothing but fighting words. She is not working to bring the country together. She needs to resign and retire, as she is doing nothing to help our country. The only thing she is doing is helping more Republicans to be elected come this November. 

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Could someone explain how it is that the Libs are all wound up over children separated from their parents who are attempting to enter this country illegally but are in favor of abortions and big supporters of Planned Parenthood? Doesn’t compute in my head.

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President Trump traveled half way around the world to meet Kim Jong Un, and after making vital concessions returned with exactly the same promises given to his three predecessors. He embraced the bloody tyrant and proclaimed it a great victory! He is the only man alive so naive as to believe Kim will keep these promises. To have a President negotiating with our enemies who is called a moron by his own staff is frightening indeed. 

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One thing that President Trump has done well is he exposed the underlying racism and sexism that exists in the United States. I don’t like it but at least it’s out there now and we can address it.

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Hey Trumpsters, the Donald is making America great, one concentration camp at a time, aren’t you ashamed? What he is doing with these families is disgraceful, wake up, and vote Blue!

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What has happened to this once great wonderful country of ours? Two political parties have disagreed over many issues over the years, but they were always able to sit down and discuss their differences in a sane reasonable manner. BUT TODAY, one party has taken up unruly and shameful tactics. They confront anyone who disagrees with them in MOB fashion in public places and scream obscenities right in their faces or eject them from public places, etc. These individuals are not human beings. If it were up to me they would and should be arrested and jailed on the spot.

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Well, now that Anthony Kennedy has resigned, probably Donald Trump will fill his position with someone from Fox news. Maybe Sean Hannity.

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On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow for freedom and against corruption in Janus vs. AFSCME. Roughly 1.2 million New York public-sector workers are now free to choose to do their jobs without paying a government union. New York is the most heavily unionized state and suffers commensurate corruption. Little could better illustrate this as New York City Mayor de Blasio’s war against charter schools (children’s futures) and inflation of K-12 school exams. Initially, at least $110M will not go into the pockets of New York Democratic politician campaign coffers. In the near term this could keep billions from going into campaign coffers. The New York government might begin to work for you! However, we must be vigilant. Anticipating the Court’s ruling, Cuomo and his union masters passed laws giving unions’ greater powers of coercion. If we want New York to be great again, Cuomo and swamp dwellers cannot be allowed to circumvent the First Amendment and continue flooding New York with billions of special interest money.  

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In my opinion the three biggest problems facing this country today are 1) Illegal immigration, 2) Islamic terrorist problem and 3), Illegal drugs. THESE ARE THREE PROBLEMS THAT WILL NEVER EVER BE SOLVED. There is nothing that can be done to stop people from coming here, you may reduce the flow but you’ll never stop it. As for the terrorist problem, the only way to stop that is to kill every last one of them and that will never happen. And the drug problem you need very, very harsh laws and enforce them, including capitol punishment for big time dealers and that will never happen, and even then it would only slow the flow. These are THREE problems that will never ever be solved.

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What happened? Crooked Hillary lost and she can’t shut-up. Census data is now providing the answer why. Obama’s income redistribution imposed income equality between the middleclass and poor. The more a middle income family or individual worked the smaller the benefit for every hour worked. Obama stole their labor through stealth taxation (mostly Obamacare) and depressing wage growth by shipping jobs overseas and flooding the nation with illegal alien labor. The less you worked the greater your increase of government free stuff. It became harder for working persons to get healthcare than a freeloader. Hillary cares more for illegals (future voters) than taxpayers. Responsible God-fearing deplorables consciously and unconsciously recognized this. Had Trump not won we would remain ignorant deplorables.  

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Coming to the border and asking for asylum is LEGAL! As in LEGAL. Like it is not illegal. Asking for asylum does not make you an illegal immigrant. Come to the border and complete form I-589. Look it up yourself. You might want to look into a mirror and ask the person there why they want a southern wall but no northern wall or no east and west coast detention facilities. In your free time you could also do more fact checking on what prior administrations of both parties did.

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We have a problem. We may now be the nation’s hottest spot for Lyme disease. You can blame it on Trump or Global Warming, but not both. In her new book Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change, New York investigative journalist Mary Beth Pfeiffer gives Trump a pass. The Global Warming Cult is praising her work with “Superbly written and researched” and “Builds a strong case.” It is if you wear a tinfoil hat and fail to see how this was teased out by selective cherry picking. Ms. Pfeiffer needs to go back to the drawing board and make her strong argument that Trump caused it. Lyme disease is very painful, so please take precaution.

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Harry Reid, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, Elijah Cummings, and Bernie Sanders were all eligible to serve in the Military during Viet Nam but they all either had deferments, didn’t enlist or were draft dodgers. Bill Clinton was a COWARD. Yet Trump has bone spurs and it’s a problem. Why the double standard?

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I see a lot of smart people on TV saying that the FBI Director Comey hurt Clinton’s election chances, when, in light of new evidence, he opened up the Hillary email case a second time. They are ignoring that it would have hurt her campaign much more, if she was indicted for her illegal use of government emails and obstruction of justice, like she should have been in the first place. I think Comey did all he could to keep Hillary a viable candidate. But Hillary was a slipshod candidate, who always has been above the law. The only thing Hillary had going for her was that SHE’S A FEMALE!