Opinions

I realize that sometimes we need a break from reality. With all the strife in the world making headline news 24 hours a day, not to mention President Donald Trump’s every tweet becoming a major event, we sometimes need to ponder something else.

I think we might be taking things a little too far, though, when we try to make children’s characters into adults.

The latest topics for debate is whether “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie are more than just friends. It is a question that has gone on for years outside the circle of public debate, but a recent interview with a former “Sesame Street” writer has pushed rumors and innuendo to the forefront of morning shows and other news outlets.

To the editor:

My name is Keith Sorlie and I am a candidate for Shawano County sheriff. I am running as a candidate who is independent of party affiliation.

If I am elected sheriff, I will keep the following promises:

• I will ask the county board to rescind the raise that has been awarded to the sheriff beginning in 2019. I will ask that the money be used to give other employees at the sheriff’s office a raise. If they will not rescind the raise, I will find another way to distribute that money to my team.

• I will spend at least a half-hour each year with each member of my team. I will spend my time with them while they are working so I can learn some of the details of their job. I will give them a voice, and my door will be open to them.

To the editor:

So you want free health care and free education for all.

A little reality check is in order. Prime examples of socialist governments and how residents fare are not hard to find if you really want to see what our country would look like with these policies in place.

Venezuela has nationalized its employers, taken over the financial institutions and given its residents free everything, and that’s why these people are fleeing the country in droves. They are starving to death. No food or public services work anymore.

On Expedition Unknown, Norway was featured, and they are a socialist government free-everything-nation with personal income taxes paid to the government that average 50 percent to 75 percent. Sales taxes in Norway happen to be 25 percent, with gasoline costing $9 a gallon on average. Do you really think you could afford these kind of taxes and still have a nice shiny car in front of your home?

The other day, one of my friends posted a meme saying that if we went back to cursive writing and stick-shift cars, we could cripple an entire generation — a commentary on how today’s youth are dependent on technology for their daily lives.

It’s not hard to see what the meme was talking about. Home phones are becoming an endangered species. Cell phones are more convenient as we leave the house and go about our business. Students are on computers—some schools even issue a computer to every student. How many of us are on the internet daily, replying to emails and surfing Facebook to keep up with friends all across the world?

We’ve definitely become a society built on technology. Bankers use it. Farmers use it. Even mom-and-pop shops use it. Handwritten ledgers have been replaced by computer files on “the cloud.”

It’s definitely a convenience having this technology — until it stops working.

I have to wonder what was going on in the boardroom for Nike, as they were figuring out their latest ad campaigns. When someone suggested former football player Colin Kaepernick as a model for the athletic gear company’s print campaign, did someone actually say “Just do it”?

Regardless of whether someone did or did not say it, Nike did it, further polarizing an already-polarized country. Fans of Kaepernick who believe he’s kneeling before the flag for social justice cheered and said they would buy Nike’s products. Meanwhile, Kaepernick’s foes raged at the news, so much so that some of them are ripping their shoes off their feet and burning them because they see the man as a face for disrespecting the American flag.

Last weekend saw one of Washington’s most prominent figures pass away. Sen. John McCain died Saturday after a difficult battle with brain cancer, fading into the pages of history, leaving the ranks of true American patriots one short.

McCain represented my home state, Arizona, for more than three decades. After two terms as a Congressman, the Republican was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1987 and became famous for being one of the few freethinkers in Washington who didn’t always bend to whichever direction the party winds blew, which earned him his “Maverick” nickname.

McCain was also known for his ability to reach across the aisle and reach a solution that Republicans and Democrats could both live with. One notable example is the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that he worked on with Russ Feingold, then a U.S. senator for Wisconsin. It was the reason why, in many election ads, you hear candidates say, “I’m (insert candidate’s name), and I approve this message.”

Are you as fed up with many politicians as I am?

Do you want illegal aliens who have been arrested multiple times for felonies to be allowed to stay in this country? Really?

Do you want the lottery immigration to continue with almost zero background checks to continue? The Immigration and Naturalization Agency estimates up to 1,000 people with some ties to terrorism have been brought into our country this way.

Do you really want people who overstay their visas to stay without any oversight? Many of the 9/11 attackers did this, by the way!

Guess what, as long as we keep electing people like Tammy Baldwin (who votes against everything and refuses to even try work to solve these problems), Sen. John McCain, Sen. Chuck Schummer, Sen. Susan Collins, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the list goes on, this will continue.

Notice I am an equal opportunity person. I call out both parties on this. Enough said.

Bruce Watters,

Bowler

There is a saying, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” It comes from the bard himself, William Shakespeare, in the play “Henry IV, Part 2.”

Who would have guessed that a line written more than 400 years ago to describe English royalty would become so relevant in an American beauty pageant?

Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News commentator and the woman once seen as the potential savior to revamp and revise the Miss America pageant, is now seen as a major liability for said pageant, less than a year after she was appointed as the chairwoman of its board.

The latest bombshell hit earlier this month when the reigning Miss America, Cara Mund, wrote a five-page letter outlining what she describes as attempts to bully her and erase her from the position.

To the editor:

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision commonly known as Citizens United, which grants corporations, unions and PACs (political action committees) the right to donate unlimited amounts of money to advocate for or against political candidates. This ruling effectively gives constitutional rights to large moneyed entities, thus empowering them to pour huge sums of money into campaigns and ads to influence public opinion.

United to Amend is a national movement established to put pressure on Congress to act on amending the Constitution to make it clear that only individuals have constitutional rights — not corporations, unions or PACs, and that money is not political speech under the First Amendment.

Over 750 communities across the U.S. have already passed resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment. According to polls, this movement is supported by a majority of both Republicans and Democrats.

To the editor:

On behalf of citizens who may be reluctant to express their opinions on the issue of the outdoor pool, I am writing to share another opinion. I encourage others to express their thoughts as well.

I grew up in Clintonville before there was an outdoor or indoor pool. A bus took us to Sandy Beach for swimming lessons taught by two local teachers. No staff and no other expenses. Recreational swimmers could ride the bus as well. I personally feel the weather this far north makes an outdoor pool impractical. Our much larger neighboring cities New London and Shawano have long ago abandoned the outdoor pool concept. People say the rec center is too expensive for families. It would cost less to subsidize swimming for families than operating an outdoor pool for just a few months.