Opinion Archive

What a blessing your March 17 “Athletes not afraid to express their faith in God” was!

My column is a little shorter than usual because of Sunshine Week and the opportune timing of our commissioner deciding to answer a constituent’s letter to the editor by posting his answer to Facebook and not sending his reply back to the constituent.  Mr. Cichy, veteran, copied Commissioner Rob Williamson on a letter to the editor that he sent to Navarre Press. He didn’t want to blindside Williamson – because – he is nice. However, Cichy is not on Facebook. He didn’t even know of Williamson’s reply until we emailed it to him. Instead of talking to the people, Commissioner Rob Williamson wants to talk to Facebook and have a one-sided conversation. And, he bans constituents with whom he doesn’t agree. The banned constituent has told us he is filing an ethics complaint against Commissioner Williamson. There may be more than one banned constituent. I find it ironic that the very day Commissioner Williamson leaves for Washington D.C., on his constituent’s dime (and many of them) for meetings on Defense Initiatives (of which his participation will show us zero dividends), he lashes out at a veteran who is just expressing his opinion.

Navarre Press frequently receives letters to the editor and we print them.  It is a chance for citizens of Navarre and Santa Rosa County to speak their mind – about whatever is on their mind. Letters to the editor are also part of our mission statement – to be a voice for the voiceless.  It is often a way for someone to express opinions; and the great thing about an opinion is it is neither right nor wrong.  As constituents, the residents of this county are charged with making their opinions known so that their representatives can make informed decisions on behalf of the people who put them in office.  As a newspaper, we are charged with holding the elected officials accountable and to also let them know we are watching.  It’s not “gotcha journalism” – it’s ensuring that everyone follows the rules and that our taxpayer dollars are guarded and spent thoughtfully and wisely. 

The Black Hawk Memorial events went well and we are happy R. Williamson wasn’t involved because he would have screwed it up.

Today’s establishment Republican Party says it represents the party of Lincoln, Reagan and “We the People.” I say it doesn’t represent Reagan’s presidency because in Reagan’s Amnesty Immigration Bill, he signed it because it had border protection for our country in it. We got everything except the promised protection of our border.

We are finally springing forward this Sunday. We have been looking forward to this weekend since daylight saving ended last year on Nov. 1.

The number 22.

It doesn’t signify one’s age, a date on a calendar, the number of days until one graduates, gets a new job, retires or the distance to one’s mailbox.

“Spotlight” winning best picture this week at the Oscars is a testament to the hard work of local investigative reporting that should be occurring everywhere. We know we are committed to the calling of investigative journalism at Navarre Press. If you see people squirming after a story it’s because we have hit a nerve. And, we saw them squirm on social media this week. We appreciate investigative journalism and feel it is our responsibility even though it involves a lot of time and effort – and we get a lot of grief. However, we are very responsible with the information we gather. We have been told on several occasions that we uncovered more than the subjects of our articles even knew themselves.

The organizing principle of my public service is Constitutional liberty. If government constrains itself to the Constitution, free markets, free enterprise and free people can thrive. Otherwise, we get catastrophic consequences such as ObamaCare, lawless executive orders and a government that (often corruptly) picks winners and losers.

It’s time the car and homeowners are held responsible for break-ins to unlocked cars and homes. Charges by Law Enforcement for “Aiding and Abetting” might be “wake-up calls.”