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Dick Trail

The Way I Saw It

Opinion

Time to replace our congressional delegation

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

It is the final straw. If something does not work it is time to replace it. I am talking about our three congressional representatives. Adrian Smith in the House of Representatives, Ben Sasse and Deb Fisher in the U.S. Senate. Yes, all three voted YEA on the grossly expensive and misnamed Covid Relief bill last week. That will be our overly expensive Federal Budget for the year to come. I was hoping that President Trump would veto the monstrosity but no he signed it into law.

Six hundred bucks to each citizen to cover our individual losses from the Covid 19 pandemic. Probably very few in our area had any loss from the pandemic. I know that I did not as my retirement and social security checks continued to be there like clockwork. The same is true for everyone I know as our restaurants and small independent businesses weren’t shuttered. All government employees, local, including the schools, city, county, state and federal employees in this area received their regular paychecks. Those in Congress included. Why then the $600 handouts? Sure we will take the stipend as a little extra cash for our pocket is always welcome but necessary – no.

Thanks to our congressmen who are supposed to represent our interests, all of us who pay federal taxes will now be saddled to pay for this monstrosity long into our future.

So far as I see it we all have a chance to redress the wrong that our “representatives” have voted yes for when to a person they all should have voted no is to remember that terribly wrong vote when it comes time for their reelection. Rest assured that my vote will be for their opponent in each case! The only other option is to leave that choice blank on the ballot just as I did for Ben Sasse last November.

Sorry to be such a negative Nellie but it just hurts to be taken advantage of when we are the ones who have to pay the bill. I am sure that the citizens of big cities are suffering due to the dictates of the Democrat politicians they in turn elected to power and have made draconian edicts like shutdowns, closing bars, restaurants, and a myriad of other small businesses while allowing the big box stores to operate unhampered. Of course, the big conglomerates grease the election coffers of those corrupt politicians and it is payback time.

Along that line, I am still in the camp that thinks the election was stolen from Trump and given to the corrupt wimp Biden through cleverly engineered rigging of election results in the big swing states. It was quite a coordinated effort but they got it done. I do fear for the future of what has been the greatest most successful country on earth.

Enough of the bad news. It is the season to be jolly and there is much to be thankful for in our house and community. One of the things that I really enjoy is the Christmas cards and letters that we receive in this season. It is a chance to touch with current friends as well as those from the past. Having lived in locations near both coasts as well as on both the southern and northern borders of this great country snippets of life in other states leak through the written word that comes in those wonderful Christmas letters.

For instance, Joanie, now retired, who became extremely successful in the world of Mary Kay Cosmetics chose to settle in beautiful Southern California. There along the coast the weather is pleasant year around. Somehow though Joanie is a bit unhappy with being locked down in her home for months on end. No travel for her or her family and so the gregarious lady seems a bit lonely there all alone.

Rita lives in Colorado and was formerly the secretary in a grade school.

Now grandma, she watches over her young grandkids who tried to school virtually. Said it was a disaster in that the Zoom program they were using would sometimes have no sound or would drop off mid-session. The kids didn’t learn much so she now does state-sanctioned home school with much better results.

Hank lives near the Gulf in nearby Gulfport, Mississippi. Sadly Hank lost his wife and later his only son in years gone by. All were good friends. Hank now lives in an assisted living facility and is extremely grateful for the activities and personal services rendered to him. This fellow I knew as a fellow tanker pilot but in a prior life he was an Electronics Warfare Officer flying reconnaissance (spy) missions over the USSR in the belly of a B-45 from a base in England. Four men in a windowless capsule located in the bomb bay of that lone ship defenseless jet-powered bomber. All in the service of this country he deserves the best and his was a happy note.

Becky a young, fortyish, lady with teenage children and a farmer husband wrote with no complaint. One wouldn’t know that she is recovering from a stroke. Just happy thoughts about how good their life is on their organic grain and livestock country estate. The lady is an inspiration personifying the glory of a sound Christian life.

So it is that life wherever one might land can be filled with goodness and joy. In this household we have enjoyed the fun and energy that grandkids bring to our busy retired lives. We too feel blessed.

That is the way I saw it.

Dick Trail

Comments
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  • For someone that seems to always tell us that he has seen the world and is a Christian, you seem to have nothing but a very local view of the Covid 19 situation in this country. Even your savior trump thinks that people that can not feed their families or pay their rent need more than the paltry $600.00 in AID to help them survive. If you think $600.00 per person that make less than $75,000 per year is too much, I ask you what you think of the billions in aid to farmers that trump has given away since he ruined the markets for corn and soybeans, is that not to help them survive? How about the billions in subsidies to the oil industry $40 billion, 31 billion to the ethanol industry, how about the tax cut that trump bragged about to his wealthy backers, how much has that cost the US over the past 3 years in tax revenue? If you think that the overly generous amount of $600.00 is too much, how about the tax cut "hidden" in the March stimulus bill, over 43,000 millionaires have received an average of 1.6 million in tax cuts, why are people like you ok with tax cuts for the wealthy, but cry foul when the government wants to help struggling families with a little aid. Some Christian you are, to hell with those struggling, since I am doing well with my military pension and social security, I'm going to close my eyes to the least of our brothers. Also how about the $738 billion Defense budget, that subsidies the defense industry. Before you get your shorts in a bunch, I'm a vet, retired,and support our troops.

    Sure the economy is doing ok around here or so it seems, but that can change any time. Ask the Pantry, I imagine their business has increased. How about the long lines for people needing food, of course that is not around here. I thought we were all Americans, that includes the other parts of this country, not just SW Nebraska.

    When will and your republican friends finally realize that Biden won the election?Take the stinking flag down and stop spreading the BS that the election was stolen. Facts, sir, facts, state some facts, seems like the bogus claims have been laughed out of courts wherever they were filed, including trumps Supreme Court, but I imagine that Faux News doesn't tell you that. I heard the repubs telling everyone when trump won in 2016, he won get over it. Seems like you and your republican friends need to follow that advice, Biden won get over it.

    -- Posted by fit2btied on Wed, Dec 30, 2020, at 12:42 AM

  • Excuse me Mr. fit2btied. The COVID relief is a joke. I'm a Republican and disgusted at what the Democrats did. Why in the hell are Americans having to pay for foreign relief, or building a wall in a foreign country in an American COVID relief package? Why is that money in there in the 1st place? The reason our President Trump rejected in the beginning last week was because of the FLUFF Democrats were trying to sneak in. Yes, our President Trump wanted to increase the payment to $2000 because he knew $600 was not enough for the American people BUT it was also the fact that we have no reason to pay for foreign countries issues. It was a compromise. His hand was forced by the Democrats because they weren't budging. Biden may have won by cheating but that doesn't make him my President. Hope you're proud of who you follow. Just shows what kind of person you are. You allow working individuals who can barely get by, pay for those who are "unemployed" and don't work because they can suck off the government. Some morals.

    -- Posted by FNLYHOME on Wed, Dec 30, 2020, at 8:19 AM

  • Congratulations on your "I got mine, f*** you" position. You're really proving you deserve your first name.

    -- Posted by McCookSax on Wed, Dec 30, 2020, at 2:35 PM

  • McCookSax, says the person who hides behind an anonymous name.

    -- Posted by FNLYHOME on Thu, Dec 31, 2020, at 8:06 AM

  • fit2btied makes a good list of benefits to the wealthy. It should be read over. The 2000.00 would not only help those in need , but also the many companies that depend on consumer spending. Most people dont have any kind of savings. The money would be spent and recirculated. Helping more than just the recipient. And , of course, Joe Biden was fairly elected. I really cant figure out why so many people think that Joe Biden could not possibly have won without cheating. They must think everyone loves Trump - which is false. For the most part, he is not well liked as a president. You would actually expect him to lose based on his popularity. And, he did. It is not at all a surprise.

    -- Posted by bob s on Thu, Dec 31, 2020, at 9:53 AM

  • Here's a bunch of "approval/disapproval" ratings for trump as president. Nowhere does his approval rate exceed his disapproval rate. Again - you would expect him to lose - and he did. Here it is --- https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/state_of_the_union/

    -- Posted by bob s on Thu, Dec 31, 2020, at 10:11 AM

  • It is out of touch people like this columnist that encourage me not to visit the area in which I grew up.

    First, how much time and taxpayer money would it cost and whose criteria would be used to determine who is worthy of aid?

    Second, the purpose of giving money to stimulate the economy to those who earn less than $75,000 is that that is the group that will, by and large, spend the money to actually stimulate the economy, not to ship ever more jobs out of the country.

    The Democrats in the House did pass a second stimulus bill last Spring but trump and mcconnell failed to negotiate for months and they have never negotiated in good faith. Most republicans I have encountered have a pitiful understanding of how capitalism actually works. Wealthy folks like Joel Olsteen do not need $4.4 million dollars in aid, nor did the Trump businesses, nor the rest of the super wealthy who got a huge share of the last stimulus bill. (Under Eisenhower the highest income tax rate was 90%, suspect John Bircher types have taken over the gop.) Realize Olsteen has said the money was for wages but Olsteen is wealthy enough he can afford to take care of his employees through his church that does not pay income taxes. (Especially since he refused to open his church in a time of crisis.)

    Christ never preached a prosperity Gospel, His message was the opposite of that idea.

    One question to the columnist, did you ever complain about the unnecessary bailouts to the super wealthy and the corporate moguls when people in need got peanuts?

    BTW, Sasse is one of the few republicans who respects the Constitution, he and Mitt Romney are a couple of the very few people who might save the shipwreck trump and mcconnell have made of the republican party. Agree with very little of what they promote, but I do respect both Sasse and Romney for having enough backbone to stand up to a wannabe dictator.

    And yes, Biden won fair and square, the proven cases of fraud in this past election by a vast majority by the republicans. And if an election should be investigated the Kentucky Senate race is statistically next to impossible for the supposed winner to have actually won.

    And have ancestors who have been fighting for this country since before the Revolutionary War and several family members have sacrificed their lives so people like you can spread your Anti-American propaganda.

    Today's republican party is the party of massive corruption.

    -- Posted by ontheleftcoast on Fri, Jan 1, 2021, at 1:51 AM

  • Is everyone here forgetting that the stimulus bill also includes billions of dollars going overseas? THAT's the reason why $2,000 is not right. If the new bill for $2,000 would delete some of the fluff the lefties "want" to make them feel good, then I'm all for it! Because yes, it helps small business but sadly, it's going to help Amazon and Walmart more.

    -- Posted by FNLYHOME on Mon, Jan 4, 2021, at 8:33 AM

  • It's best spent locally. Should be spent locally. Maybe the city can encourage that in some way.

    -- Posted by bob s on Mon, Jan 4, 2021, at 12:28 PM

  • How can you not appreciate being so uneducated as to proudly, incorrectly and publicly denounce an omnibus bill as a Covid-relief bill?

    -- Posted by hulapopper on Tue, Jan 5, 2021, at 7:03 AM

  • hulapopper - I denounce it not because of the $2000 relief towards individuals. I denounce it because every single tax payer is paying for overseas efforts as well. Why can't we just help us for a change???

    -- Posted by FNLYHOME on Tue, Jan 5, 2021, at 8:23 AM
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