Tag Archives: COVID-19

Mark Caserta: Should I or shouldn’t I take the COVID-19 Vaccine?

13 Sep

Here are some things to consider…

Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor for Free State Patriot

September 13, 2021

Should I or shouldn’t I take the COVID-19 vaccine?  It’s arguably the question paramount to our times and potentially to this century. As a Christian conservative, it’s certainly one I’m being asked most regularly by friends, relatives, and acquaintances.

Now, I’m not going to cite scientific studies or medical dissertation, because frankly I don’t know who to believe anymore.  As with nearly all the information we are force-fed daily by an irresponsible, negligent, liberally complicit media, the facts will be skewed by the degree of skin they have in the game and to whom they serve – money or man. 

They can’t serve both, so history compels me to believe it’s money, nearly 99 percent of the time.

To support my disbelief in the unprincipled media, I’ve chosen to take a sabbatical from the 24-hour, vomitous mass of so-called journalism designed to persuade rather than inform.  My decisions are made and validated by what I see happening around me and the unction I feel from the Spirit that dwells within me.  That is all I trust.

Conspiracy theories aside, I don’t trust government to do the job of protecting my family.  Historically, government fails at most everything.   Abe Lincoln assured us that, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” I hope he was right. But it’s certainly on life-support, with failing vital signs, under our current administration. 

While I respect our form of government; I loathe the actions of the individuals responsible for it right now. “Why we continue to re-elect vermin to represent us” in government may supersede even the query of taking the COVID vaccine – it’s close. The old saying which asserts that a fool is someone who represents themselves, should also include those who hire another fool to do so!

I’m burdened over the number of COVID deaths in America.  I’m distraught over the number of individuals in our region who have lost their lives.  I’m devastated over the number of friends and loved ones who have lost their lives to this disease. 

Is this disease man-made or is it an anomaly of genetic research?  Is the COVID Delta-Variant an intentional perpetuation of the original virus or is it a random mutation?

I don’t much care at this point. I’m not in a position to research, investigate and determine the facts on my own and it serves no purpose for me to grasp to some television pundit’s view as my own.   

All I know, for sure, is that it’s my responsibility to make the right choices in life for my family. 

For me, there are criterion on which I make my decision:

  1. I absolutely will not allow my disdain for an administration or government to influence my decision to take the COVID vaccine or allow my family members to do the same.  Grandma called that, “cutting off you nose to spite your face”. 
  2. I will gather as much information as I possibly can regarding events confirmed by facts.  It’s too important of a decision to rely upon hearsay or opinion.  It’s my responsibility to do the work.  I’m not going to allow radio talk show hosts, Fox News or CNN to persuade me – period!
  3. I’m not willing to risk losing a family member simply to make a political point.  If you disagree, fine.  I don’t much care. I have other ways to fight for our Republic, the most important of which happens at the polls.
  4. I will have faith in my God, but I am not willing to test my faith with the lives of my family.  I also have faith that God has given us wisdom and a free will.  I believe He will honor our actions if we honor Him in all that we do, regardless of outcome.
  5. If we love God, and are called according to His purpose, all things work together for good.  I’ve been in situations where I try to “over think” an outcome.  I have learned God simply wants me to trust Him, even if it appears my prayer did not get answered the way I wanted it to be answered.  That’s faith.  God will prosper our efforts and perseverance in Jesus’ Name.
  6. Finally, I will seek God for the right answer.  I don’t need a burning bush or miracle. I just need fervent prayer and a relationship with my Heavenly Father. 

Anyone who attempts to tell you to either take the vaccine or not, turn and walk away. While they may be well-meaning, they don’t have a stake in the safety of your loved ones.  If it’s “freedom” you want to protect, then vote!

At the end of the day, the choice must be yours and made for the right reasons.  Anyone who tells you differently is likely selling something.

Godspeed.

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Mark Caserta: We must not allow crisis to bring about Arbitrary Rule and destruction

11 Sep

Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor for Free State Patriot

September 11, 2021

Shortly after Barack Hussein Obama won the 2008 presidential election, the man who would later become his chief of staff spoke at a Wall Street Journal corporate CEO conference.

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste”, regurgitated then Congressman Rahm Emanuel. “And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you could not do before.”

Every society needs a set of rules by which to live to prevent chaos and ultimate destruction. Our U.S. Constitution was established to do just that!

In existence for more than two centuries, our Constitution establishes and maintains the relationship between our government, the states, and our people.  Over time, the Constitution has been amended infrequently, but always in a manner designed to guarantee the basic protections of the people.  Thousands of amendments have been proposed over the years, but only seventeen have been ratified.

It’s imperative all Americans have a clear understanding of the intent of the Constitution.  Like the Bible, (yet not nearly as exhaustive) it provides rules by which should live. It guarantees every American’s fundamental right for the protection of life, liberty, and property.

Besides creating a national government with a system of checks and balances among three branches and separating the powers of federal and state governments, our Constitution is predominantly designed to protect the individual liberties of American citizens.

Also, like the Bible, it’s a Divinely inspired document progressive liberals have committed their lives to mitigating and removing from society. While liberals have nothing profitable to offer in terms of morality and principled conduct, they are consistent in their devotion to remove boundaries. Whether a border, a wall or and a traditionally accepted behavior, behavioral limitations have no place in a radically permissive America.

I refer to my opening line in this column to describe what has been happening to the world around us. 

One must understand progressivism.  The progressive movement is a tenacious attack against all things Biblical or conservative in nature.  For example, television programming just twenty years ago was dramatically less suggestive and permissive than it is now!  Utilizing a long-range plan, liberal television executives gradually desensitized viewers to sex, violence and foul language, primarily focusing on young people.  Over time, they persistently pushed the envelope and tilted their sliding scale of morality to the left.  They didn’t do it overnight, they did it “progressively”, hence their moniker.

Currently, progressives are leveraging fear to institute an ideology of “Arbitrary Rule” which empowers leftist leaders to abuse emotional shifts in society to manipulate and irradicate traditional standards. Supported by a complicit media we are witnessing the advocacy of a leftist’s cancel culture that ostracizes anyone failing to align with a new world order which despises America’s traditional belief system, afforded by the U.S. Constitution and pre-imminent to the success of our great nation.

Per the modus operandi of liberals, promoting the idea of socialism is a major part of their plan to destroy our infrastructure of entrepreneurialism.  The success of socialism is the biggest lie of the twentieth century.  It has never worked!  While it promises equality and prosperity, it always delivers poverty and tyranny.  The only equality it propagates is that everyone is equally poor! 

I have a dear friend who escaped the tyranny of his nation years ago who told me, “Mark, the only people who support communism are those who have never lived under it!”  He is a great American.

I’ve studied and written about progressivism for over twenty years. I can say without hesitation liberals have sustained a disturbingly successful attack on America.

Believe me when I say COVID-19 is the best thing that ever happened to the progressive movement!  It is their gold at the end of the liberal rainbow.

Progressives are using a pandemic to manipulate Americans to willingly hand over their constitutional rights and entrepreneurial spirit so the government can “save” them from destruction and provide all their needs – as the government defines them.

And once we’ve handed them over, we will never have them again.  Liberal politicians will make “constitutional” changes to ensure patriots may never again successfully rise against tyrannical rule.  Laws will change. Rights will be trampled upon under the guise of protecting others.

Americans will have no choice, monetarily or otherwise, but to succumb to the demands of government.  It’s happening right now, before our very eyes.  And sadly, we are allowing it.

Brave men and women have died to see our Constitution live. We owe it to our past and our future to honor their gift of freedom to us. Don’t be fooled into allowing crisis to bring about destruction.

It’s time for another American Revolution, this time at the polls.

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Mark Caserta: Why have liberal Democrats been so successful?

30 May

Christian conservatives are the only hope in the midst of this storm.

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Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor for Free State Patriot

August 7, 2020

 

President Barack Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel famously said in 2008, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. I mean, it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.”

Hence the corruptive modus operandi of the Democrat Party.  The tactics are clearly visible in the COVID-19 controversy and now in the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. 

These are not the Democrats of John F. Kennedy or Franklin D. Roosevelt.  In fact, they aren’t worthy of shining these former president’s shoes.  They certainly aren’t capable or even willing to serve our country.

Allow me to say, once again, it’s not the “Democratic Party” as so many clumsily ventilate.  I refuse to use the moniker! The term “Democratic” is an adjective describing the party. Understand, Democrats forsook Democracy years ago!

There are many adjectives I could use to describe the party of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer – Democratic isn’t one of them.

Let’s be clear. The rioting and looting in Minneapolis and across the nation have little to do with the death of George Floyd, as tragic as it was.  People genuinely desirous of making positive change protest passionately, but peacefully.  The solution can’t be worse than the problem.

It wasn’t until the professional protestors showed up that matters escalated out of control.  The majority of individuals being arrested at these violent gatherings are not locals, but “ringers” financed for the sole purpose of inciting violence and reckless behavior.

Groups like ANTIFA, a militant, left-wing, anti-fascist political activist movement seek out these opportunities like “heat-seeking” missiles with the aim of achieving their destructive objectives of chaos and violence.

ANTIFA comes to the scene fully equipped to spur hatred, fuel the fire of violent protest and capture video supporting their anarchical cause.

After the buildings are burned, the smoke clears and enough people have paid the price of Capitalism, they leave.  Citizens are left to deal with the damage and pillage through the ruins.

It’s the perfect storm for socialist-minded, liberal-leaning, U.S. hating punks without functioning lives to live.  And they are willing pawns for those seeking to gain from disaster.  It’s the epitome of despicable.

These folks place their agenda above the peace and prosperity of our nation – period.

Unfortunately, many of them represent us in government supported by disengaged, destructive-minded, liberal minions.

But, who funds these pathetic purveyors of pandemonium?

You may or may not be surprised to know that beyond the philanthropic support of liberals like George Soros, there are groups posing as news organizations who rely on clamor and commotion for ratings. 

These organizations have a “waiting list” of reckless-minded individuals ready, willing and able to travel to the otherwise “peaceful” protests to ignite the flames of rebellion resulting in crimes of looting and destruction.

Just follow the camera angles and view the footage for clues as to who these “journalistic” organizations and financiers may be.  All crimes need a motivated offender, a suitable target and the absence of a capable guardian.  You can be “Columbo” in this investigation.

It’s simply the age-old battle between “good” and “evil”.

There are good people in our nation simply wanting to live their lives, support their families and prosper in a nation God has so richly blessed with good and perfect gifts. These people will rise to defend their families and nation in a responsible manner.

But there are also bad people, blinded by the enemy and driven by evil who are hiding in the darkness waiting for the opportunity to steal, kill and destroy.  These individuals will compromise your rights as the means to an evil end and not think twice about it.

We know who wins in the end.  But it’s up to good people to bring light unto the world. When light enters, darkness has to flee.

But why have liberals been so successful? Sadly, we’ve allowed it to happen.

If there was ever a time for Christian conservatives to do their duty and vote – the time is now.

We are the absolute only hope for stopping the progressive movement!

I repeat – the only hope.

The spoils of this war involve the future of our nation and the safety of our children.

I’m not willing to give that up. You shouldn’t be either.

Together, we will win. Guaranteed.

Divided, we lose everything.

 

 

 

 

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Mark Caserta: God (not the world) defines the Church as essential service

23 May

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Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor for Free State Patriot

May 23, 2020

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“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds…”

Did you ever wonder what “weapons” the Apostle Paul was referencing? For that matter, what “warfare” was Paul’s addressing in his letter to the Corinthians?

I’m inclined to believe the warfare we face in the 21st century is not altogether different from the battles Paul fought in the 1st century. One must surmise that poverty, crime, lascivious behavior, government, apathy, slovenly demeanors, greed, and narcissisms were not proprietary to Jesus’ time.

They may be more amplified in 2020 – but evil is evil.

The difference is the degree to which God’s Word is applied in addressing it!

The heart of man has not changed; it has just been desensitized to respond differently. We face the same warfare resulting from poor behavioral responses as Christians have faced throughout history, it’s just that our choice to apply God’s Word as the defining standard has succumb to the evolving progressive views of the world.

Liberals have obfuscated the term “progress” beyond its general application to technology to what they’ve pre-determined to be “progress” in religion. They’ve pursued making worship more “sensible” and applicable to our changing times, hence the progressive movement.

Our weapons have not changed either. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” the heavenly arsenal was opened to those who believe and follow Him. Sadly, many Christians have found it easier to “surrender” to the world, rather than surrender to the Almighty.

Unfortunately, this apathetic response by Christians in the recent years is arguably the reason the progressive movement has been so successful. Understand, if Christians united and voted every election cycle according to God’s Word, we would never lose an election. So, who is to blame?

Frankly, Christians have been given the ability to be the “problem-solvers” of the world! No, we do not profess to have all the answers, but we know a God who does! God is not looking for our ability. He’s looking for our availability! Unfortunately, many hide behind circumstance.

So, understanding the degree to which we are responsible for applying the Gospel to the world around us, where are Christians during the current COVID-19 crisis?

Let me be clear. God has not executed some sort of “divine punishment” upon the earth. He is not to blame! The Bible is clear. All good and perfect gifts” come from God! Satan is the thief, who comes to steal, kill and destroy.

But both God and the enemy have plans for you during this pandemic. God wants to take what the enemy meant for evil and make it good. The enemy simply wants you dead.

Look around you. The truth is there are more people than you can imagine that want to profit from COVID-19. But none so demonic as those who would do so at the expense of Christians being able to exercise their faith, for doing so would inevitably cripple our society.

Liberals within the progressive movement understand God’s Word is the only barrier in their way of achieving the ultimate goal of placing morality on a sliding scale commensurate with the times.

Jesus called the Word, the “rock” upon which I will build my Church” He knew an immovable faith would be prerequisite to healing a dying world.

Jesus also knew our faith and strength would be challenged. Paul, thought to author much of the New Testament, reminded Christians we should not forsake “the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is but exhort one another”. In fact, we should exhort “much more” during troubling times!

During COVID-19, the world’s wisdom sees abortion clinics, liquor stores and bars as essential services. They do not see God’s people worshipping together as an essential service, at least not in their model. But beyond that, they see it as the “dismantling” of a movement!

Trust me when I tell you this shelter-in-place mandate has absolutely nothing to do with protecting your health. It’s about damaging your spiritual well-being and resolve as a Christian.

Yes, the Bible tells us we should obey the laws around us. But it does not say we have to like it!

We can darn sure be the loudest voice in the room and show our disdain for this type of leadership during the upcoming election. I am simply amazed at how the same, feckless, inept politicians keep getting re-elected year after year. I’ve no doubt, it’s the result of Christians allowing themselves to be taken out of the game, rather than fight for their rights and fulfill the calling on their lives.

It’s OK for Christians to take advantage of this pandemic, only in a much “nobler” manner than others.

Let 2020, be the year Christians used COVID-19, the plague the enemy meant to destroy, as the catalyst for returning the Christian Voice to America!

If Christians unite and vote God’s Word, we will not fail. We can keep our country safe from the wiles of the enemy. Let’s do exactly the opposite the enemy would have us do.

Don’t succumb – but overcome. Make the Church the essential service God intended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Doug Smith: Forgive our New York “arrogance”!

11 May

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Doug Smith is an opinion columnist, historian and Associate editor for Free State Patriot

May 11, 2020

 

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“Forgive our New York “arrogance”!

This was a line Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), NY used when minimizing the CV outbreak and urging, along with fellow Democrat Bill DeBlasio, Hizzoner the Mayor, people to continue doing what they do. Go to Chinatown and the New Year’s parades. Ride the Subways. See a show. Play Frank Sinatra. This, even as infections were showing up by the hundreds in New York city.

Early on, New York Nursing Homes asked urgently that CV positive patients not be returned to their facilities, but hospitalized, or sent to some temporary facility such as the Javits Center, geared to handle isolation and treatment. Cuomo refused, and ordered , Ordered, that hospitals send elderly infected patients to nursing homes and that the nursing homes take them, stating “ It is not the state’s job to provide nursing homes with PPE, and they do not have the right to object to the regulation ordering them to take the patients. It is their fiduciary responsibility. “

As a result, a large percentage of the deaths in NY were people who could not isolate or get away, because they were old people trapped in a nursing home. Thousands have died in NY nursing homes, a large percentage of the totals in the US. In his NY arrogance, Gov Cuomo stuck with an order that condemned thousands to preventable deaths in recent months.

As the New York Times now reports, in March, after hundreds of cases in NYC, Cuomo and DeBlasio were continuing to downplay the outbreak and urging people to come to New York. This follows the advice of NY Health officials urging people to congregate in huge crowds in Chinatown for Chinese New Year’s in February, as our way of “showing the Coronavirus” and refusing to stigmatize anyone. Tracing of the virus across the US, by the Times own reporting, shows that travel to and from NYC, far more than from China and Italy, was the primary vector spreading it across the US. With Cuomo s strong rhetoric about the hard steps he took, and how long he may keep his state locked down, he overlooks one vital piece of information, reports the Times. The horse was already out of the barn before the Governor slammed the door, put in his thumb, pulled out a plum, and said what a good boy am I. The missteps, and arrogance of the Governor and the NYC Mayor are largely responsible for the extent of the pandemic in the rest of the country, aside from the fact that in raw numbers, far and away most of the infections took place in New York. Even, as the Times notes, the large numbers in Louisiana, tied to Mardi Gras, are traceable back to NY.

Now that it is becoming apparent that even with Cuomo s rhetoric, things were never as dire, by orders of magnitude, as he tried to paint it, while shifting blame from himself. Ventilator need was off by orders of magnitude, as was the urgent need for hospital beds. As it becomes apparent, the NY arrogance is on display once again. Samaritans Purse, who set up field hospitals previously in Ebola hotspots and other crises, set up a hospital and treated CV patients in cooperation with Mt Sinai Hospital. Now that the need is winding down , NY city council has made it  clear that the ( free, I should note) Doctors and equipment provided by this ministry, is not welcome because they disagree in principle with the NY stance on LGBTXYZ issues. They have no place in New York. They did not, by the way, examine the beliefs or lifestyles of the patients they treated, they simply treated them. But now? The old New York arrogance: disagree with me, then get thee hence! That, of course, does not come from Cuomo himself, but neither does he use his considerable bully pulpit to say “New York thanks and welcomes all who have come to help us in our hour of need”

In Fact:

Cuomo has also stated that volunteers who come to New York, and were there at least 14 days, will have to pay NY State income tax (the highest in the nation). When asked if he would waive that for people who came to help, at great personal sacrifice and risk, he said “I cannot give them money when we have a $ 13 billion deficit. Give them money? Cuomo plans to extort money from volunteers who came at his call to help. I wonder, now, does that include the Navy crew of the USNS Comfort? As for the 13 billion deficit, that is not as a result of the last few months. We can detail it at another time, but who was the Governor of New York for the last 8 years as they grew that deficit? Here’s a hint: it was not the volunteers who came to help New York. It was, by some accounts, the most eligible bachelor in New York.

Now there is a part of me that is outraged and offended by Cuomo ‘s “New York Arrogance”. There is a part of me that say, No, Governor, I will Not forgive your arrogance. I will not forgive it because you don’t learn from it, and your arrogant choices and mistakes have cost your state and our nation greatly. Images of the movie Escape from New York come to mind, with the entire arrogant island turned into a maximum-security prison. (Call me Snake.)

But no, I suspect that for all your arrogance, humble men like Franklin Graham will still come at your hour of need, not because you are worthy. It is a common thing for Leftist and non-Christians to criticize the actions of Christians by sneering at them, Well, what would Jesus do? Jesus would heal the ear of a man who was there to arrest him and take him to his death. Franklin Graham and Samaritans Purse did what Jesus would do.

Jesus would even forgive your arrogance, more easily than I.

He would also say, now, Go and sin no more.

Work on that arrogance, Andrew.  You might try the humility of Franklin Graham. New York may not deserve better, but maybe we can give them better anyway.

 

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Mark Caserta: It’s time to prepare for the next wave of terrorism – Micro-warfare.

21 Mar

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Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor at Free State Patriot

March 21, 2020

 

As each of us manages COVID-19 in our own way, please know we will get through this. As with plagues we’ve endured since the beginning of time, this too, shall pass.

But, beyond the tragedy of illness and death, equally tragic would be a scenario in which we fail to learn a lesson from this Corona pandemic.  We must be introspective and begin asking ourselves different types of questions, questions heretofore inadequately posed.

But, certainly, commensurate with the day and age in which we live, we can never afford to return to a “pre-COVID-19” mentality.

First, if an enemy country desired to bring the United States to her knees, how would they possibly do it?

It simply couldn’t be done militarily.  Frankly, we have the greatest military in the world.  Our weapons systems and military might remain virtually unmatched across the globe. A large-scale attack on the U.S. would be immediately met with a “shock and awe” only the American military could provide.

Even attacks involving chemical warfare, electromagnetic pulse or cyber-technology, while increasingly imminent, have yet to sustain an attack on the U.S. resulting in virtual socioeconomic collapse.

The U.S. is simply the most powerful, self-sufficient nation in the entire civilized world – period.

But what about an enemy, so stealth in its approach, we could never see it coming?

What about an attack, so far beneath our diagnostic radar, we wouldn’t even know of its presence until it was well within our shores?

What about an incapacitating virus?

Imagine a virus, that when exposed to a vibrant, fluid society, would gestate quickly and render populations around the country incapacitated with the fear and worry of possible death.

Certainly, with the gaps in our nation’s borders, even a negligible enemy force could infect a few individuals and plant them in densely populated areas, intentionally exposing host victims in magnanimous numbers.  The virus would then advance exponentially as individuals infect vast numbers of unsuspecting people around them.

This microscopic enemy would not be subject to our military prowess, only to the degree of social interaction.

Next, what if this form of “micro-terrorism” proves to succeed in crushing the mighty economy and infrastructure of the U.S., rendering it immobile and starving. What if the American people and government subsequently reveal they are not only vulnerable to such an attack, they are ill-prepared to deal with it effectively.

What if other enemies of the U.S. become cognizant of the fact that they, too, can effectively target America by simply leveraging our open borders to deploy an inexpensive, devastating virus upon our people?

Will U.S. officials respond, each time, as we are now responding to COVID-19?  Will we shelter-in-place until the coast is clear?  Will the only answer be “social distancing” and starving the virus?  Can we ever hope to contain and diffuse such an attack before it’s deployed?

I submit, our nation’s response, while timely and appropriate, is becoming widely observed and recorded throughout the world.  And frankly, the question as to whether COVID-19 was a socially-injected form of micro-terrorism is mute as this point.

The greater concern should be when will it happen again and how do we prevent it!

What do you think will happen when our enemies discover they can do more damage with a form of mutating virus than was accomplished with the greatest terrorist attack in U.S. history on 911?

Have we reached the point of no return?  In many ways, I believe we have.

There are liberal mindsets such as enabling open borders, illegitimate accusations of xenophobia, discrimination and catering to illegal immigration which if not dissolved, will leave our nation operating at perpetual risk.

These liberal, Democrat platform axioms must be crushed – now. These policies have enabled this type of attack.  We must act not only to protect our nation’s sovereignty but lives at risk of individuals engaging in micro-warfare.

Yes, micro-terrorism has truly changed America.  And our lives now depend on never returning to a “pre-COVID-19” mentality.

Finally, understand the city of Huntington is being led by a liberal, progressive administration which subscribes to be the antithesis of conservatism and common sense.

Question:  Where do you suppose Huntington, WV will be if we become inundated with a virus of this magnitude?  Do you feel our city’s infrastructure and policies could handle even an “ounce” of additional peril beyond our current level of self-inflicted demise?

How comfortable do you feel your family’s interest would be at the top of the list of priorities?

Preparation is the key.   And our electoral system is the only language politicians are willing to understand.

Waiting until you’re in the middle of the crisis, is too late.  That’s how people die.

It’s time to be proactive in our approach by placing competent leadership at the point.

Vote like your life depended on it –  because now, it does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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