I grew up in a small town alongside a large lake in Ohio. I spent many summers more than 50 years ago rollicking with my friends along the rocky shore of that lake. As I did so, I learned a lot about fish – big fish, little fish, living fish, dead fish. During the warmer times of the year, it wasn’t uncommon to see dead fish floating on the water or lying among the rocks of the shoreline. Perhaps the fish were cast there by a passing storm, or maybe they merely floated there after they had expired from natural causes. Whatever the cause, they were dead – dead – dead! (Click on the above title if necessary to continue reading.)

I have been accused by more than one of this column’s readers of forsaking the conservative cause because I dared to mention the dreaded word “compromise.” I was informed once that compromise is little less than “dancing with the devil.” I was further told that the best way to achieve conservative goals is to use an all-or-nothing approach. I beg to differ. Please hear me out. (Click on the above title to continue if necessary.)

Winds of historical change are blowing across our nation, and citizens are being scattered hither and yon by political influencers. They are being pushed and pulled this way and that by the magnetism of political candidates and controversial issues. As a result, the country is becoming more stratified and more polarized. The “loyal opposition” has somehow become the enemy. Some would say a political war is brewing, with progressives fighting against conservatives. Others would say it’s a culture war with radical social justice warriors arrayed against those who hold to traditional political values of God, family, and country. Still, others might go so far as to say it’s a religious war with the forces of evil arrayed against the forces of good. (Click the title above to continue reading if necessary.)

Progressive Democrats display clear dedication to replacing existing election laws with laws that enable voting by illegal aliens and other ineligible voters to participate in fraudulent activities. Some will go so far as to have even the deceased vote. Critics have pointed out that the Left utilizes various tactics such as ballot harvesting, trading ballots for favors or money, and the submission of counterfeit ballots. As you will recall, the 2020 presidential election was marred by many such activities. Tom Fitton, in A Republic Under Assault: The Left's Ongoing Attack on American Freedom, identified nine problems associated with the integrity of elections. I have added a tenth. Concerned citizens must work on these at local, state, and national levels to overcome the problems and ensure election integrity. (Click the title above to continue if necessary.)

Do conservative Republicans have a conscience? Progressive Democrats seem to think not. They accuse conservative Republicans who question the status quo about illegal immigration of being all sorts of things: heartless, callow, dispassionate, greedy, selfish, inconsiderate, and unfeeling. The list of words used in ad hominem attacks goes on and on.

This sort of behavior was demonstrated at the January 11^th McLean County Board meeting when a resolution to prevent the use of McLean County taxpayer funds to support undocumented immigrants (who might be dumped in our county by passing buses) was brought up by Republican Chuck Erickson. (Click on the title above to continue reading if necessary.)

With the close of 2023, Illinois’ scholarship tax credit program for school children ended. The Invest in Kids program was terminated by the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly, which failed to renew the program during the fall veto session. The Chicago Teachers Union called the end of the program a “historic win for public education.” The Catholic Conference of Illinois blasted lawmakers, citing its essential unfairness. (Click on the title above to continue reading if necessary.)

You have heard it said, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” These words, expressed by Founding Father Thomas Paine, initially referred to our nation in its Revolutionary War crisis. Even today, this statement is apt regarding our current political situation. Some two hundred and fifty years after Paine’s statement, the United States is again in crisis. We are immersed in a panoply of problems, but this time of our own making. (Click on the title above to continue if necessary.)

Over the past three years – ever since President Biden took office – I’ve noted a significant change in my family’s spending habits. My family now shops at discount retailers rather than “specialty” markets. We also use a cellphone app to find the best place to purchase less expensive gasoline for our vehicles. When we do drive, we tend to “cluster” our trips to minimize the mileage. (Click on the above title to continue reading if necessary.)

I attended a Sunday morning church service on a recent cruise returning from Europe. The gospel reading included the words, “for I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me, I was naked, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you visited me, I was in prison, and you came to me” (Matthew 25: 35-37). During the sermon, I and the rest of the congregation were harangued with the idea that collective social sins can be even more grievous than our personal sins. I was shocked by, but not unfamiliar with, this claim. (Click on the title above to continue reading if necessary.)

In the wake of all-too-common mass shootings, many members of our society have pleaded that we need to do something to control gun violence. As a conservative, I agree. But, as a conservative, I also realize that we shouldn’t let our emotions run away with us in the present situation. We need a well-reasoned response, not an emotional reaction. (Click on the above title to continue if necessary.)