Editorial

EDITORIAL -  Millions of Americans will be glued to the television Sunday to watch the 52^nd Super Bowl. Millions of Americans will not be watching for various reasons. Some are not interested in football. Some will have something else better to do. Others are sick and tired of the National Football League. Others are disappointed in multi-million dollar players kneeling during the National Anthem.

Millions will be watching to see if Tom Brady can win his sixth Super Bowl ring. Millions more will be watching hoping with every play that the Philadelphia Eagles will eke out a win against Brady and the New England Patriots.

EDITORIAL - Where have people's hands been? When you shake hands with someone at church, the grocery store or a restaurant what kind of germs are they carrying? I once shook hands with Hillary Clinton and my wife told me to immediately go and wash my hands. She reminded me that her hands had been on Bill Clinton and that I wasn't touching her until I washed my hands.

Think about the people with whom you shake hands.  Would you shake hands with Harvey Weinstein? What kind of serious offensive disease might you contact? Would you shake hands with Anthony Weiner? What about Bill Cosby? Kathy Griffin? Now our President has been accused of having an affair with a porn star a few years back. 

EDITORIAL - President Trump and Congress must end the pharmaceutical robbing of America. Every day Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Roche, Novartis, Merck, Sanofi and others are driving America's indebtedness toward another trillion dollars in drug money debt.

Americans obviously need drugs. I'm talking about the legal kind. These are the medicines, pills, injections, drips and liquids dispensed to you at your local drug store such as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and your small town independent pharmacist. Of course there are the mega number of drugs that you may receive if admitted to the hospital. Those are never reasonable.

EDITORIAL - Millions of Americans in states like California, Illinois and Kentucky are already in peril because of the horrendous government mismanagement of teacher's and state worker's retirement money. Americans are in further peril because we will face severe hardship in this country if the long-term path of our Social Security program continues. Our government leaders must take steps to resolve the road Social Security is on. We must pay back what has been borrowed from the fund and stop buying trillions of dollars in Treasury securities that we cannot pay back to ourselves.

We are the biggest owners of our National Debt. America owes 20 trillion dollars. Our Social Security Trust Fund or our retirement money owns a big chunk of the national debt.

EDITORIAL - Christmas is the most depressing time of the year for many people. New Year's Eve is another difficult time. There are lots of reasons why depression and suicide rates soar during these holidays. Feeling alone, financial distress, health issues, family problems and the list can actually be long. Here are some quick tips for you. Keep this column handy for reference over the next two weeks.

Plan to be connected to people during these holidays. Even if it's sitting on the sofa making telephone calls all day at least you are talking and hearing people. Actually this is a good idea anyway. Make a long list and call people and wish them a Merry Christmas or a Happy New Year. Or, divide your list and call some one holiday and the rest on New Year's Eve. Too many people sit back with the attitude, "Well, they haven't called me." Don't worry about that because we are talking about your self-preservation here. 

EDITORIAL - December is here and for many Americans that often means craziness. There is so much to do!

Decorating - Do you put lights outside your house? Outside decorating can mean most anything from a wreath on the door to lights hanging from the gutters, covering the bushes and adorning all your outside trees. If you've watched Christmas Vacation and most people have then you know outside decorating can become intense.