More and more citizens’ life happenings are outside of their control, arranged by bureaucracies. That is an important thought to consider as we look at a continuously declining public education system that has degraded over the last 50 years. And what is the result to the national industrial base and citizens’ collective future?

We are approaching another election of consequence, but aren’t they all. Regardless of who is elected, our next president and other elected officials have a big job ahead of them.

I often say my lifelong job has been to “watch government(s) and report how they screw things up.” Abraham Lincoln said, “We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who would pervert the Constitution.”

It was mid-1963 that I met John, who was working at the CIA, and we became friends. He was doing security inspections at embassies worldwide when we discussed the rising threats of audio surveillance and a need to curtail it, especially when telephones were used for eavesdropping.

My family settled in “the valley” (Shenandoah) in the 1640s. Later, the “war” devastated the entire area, to the extent that it took 90 years (1960) for the local population in northern Virginia to return to pre-war levels.

We hear the phrases “deep state” and “nanny state” in the media every day. Where did this all come from, and what does it mean?

America is involved in a trade war and will suffer losses, as will every nation on the planet. But it is worth examining what can be done to minimize problems.

The National Association of Manufacturers promotes many facts about our manufacturing sector.

This column has addressed issues of climate change four times in the past 11 years. Let’s do it again, but this time get to the factual heart of it.