Arrests shouldn't erode veteran support
As the spouse of an active-duty service member and founder of a local 501(c)(3), supporting military veterans, service members, first responders and their family members, I am disgusted by the actions of the two men recently arrested on charges. These men (including Ormond Beach resident Christopher Blake, who operated “Second Chance Veterans Foundation”) are charged with pocketing thousands of dollars from their fake “veteran’s charities,” all designed to scam people and businesses out of money. These people are accused of helping themselves to the money collected for veterans. If the accusations are true, it’s money they conned out of appreciative civilians who believed they donated to a worthy cause.
To make matters worse, such allegations of fraud make people less likely to contribute to the credible veterans organizations. This further victimizes veterans. The majority of our local veterans organizations spend 100 percent of their money, time and effort enriching the lives of those who serve. I hope people don’t let reports of despicable actions of a few sway them from donating.
Debbie Kruck-Forrester
Ormond Beach
Kruck-Forrester is the founder of Ormond Strong.
Potholes over rail
In response to the Jan. 6 letter advising the county stop the money to SunRail: I totally agree. Have readers ever done the A1A Wiggle? That’s how to get from Granada Boulevard to Neptune Avenue, avoiding the four or five potholes that could knock out a car’s alignment.
Those potholes are not new. They have been selectively ignored for years by doing the “peanut butter repair” sporadically, but there’s never been a permanent fix. That is my suggestion for our County Council: Redirect SunRail funds to the Ormond Beach Pothole Program (OBPP). They should think about it. Oh, they already have — and it keeps going to the back burner.
Another thought is to make room for a bike lane. I am absolutely in fear for any bike rider on that road. Make room for them to ride.
Dianne Zeimetz
Ormond Beach
Questioning slogan
The young man walked confidently across the stage to the microphone. He smiled to the audience and in an excited voice said, “Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my special privilege to introduce the city’s new slogan.” The house lights started to dim, there was a quiet drum roll and the curtains parted to show, in large bright letters ... WIDE OPEN FUN.
There followed a small, polite round of applause. From one corner a man mumbled, “Are they kidding?”
A woman turned to her husband and asked quietly, “Shouldn’t they say who is going to have fun — like 'Wide Open Fun for Everyone' ?” He answered quickly, “No, they should say when — like, 'It’s Always time for Wide Open Fun.' ” Others quietly expressed their opinions. Some were favorable to the idea. Others, not so favorable.
I should confess at this point that I am a retired ad man. I spent more than 40 years creating and selling ad themes, campaign strategy and what we thought were good ideas.
It was an interesting business and fun when all went well. But we had our “Wide Open Fun” moments when campaigns weren’t exactly accepted with great enthusiasm.
Personally, “Wide Open Fun” doesn’t do much for me. I hope they go back to the drawing board.
Tom Evans
Ormond Beach
Hype and agenda
Michael Wolff’s new book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” dishes up juicy gossip about the alleged dysfunction of the president and his advisers, but offers zero insight into why the voters of 30 states elected him. The real fire and fury came on Nov. 9, 2016, when the maligned “deplorable” citizens of the maligned flyover states expressed their profound contempt for the corrupt Clinton machine and the bicoastal globalist elites who support it.
The headline-making quotes of Wolff’s book are largely due to brazen remarks by former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who was fired last August. The book, in fact, ends with Brannon’s firing and the implication that he will lead a successful revolt against the Republican establishment. It does not mention Trump’s historical tax-cut legislation, which has revitalized and turbocharged the economy.
The liberal political news media are hyping Wolff’s book on the argument that it proves Trump’s unfitness and in the hope that it will advance their agenda to impeach and/or otherwise drive him from office, even if their other argument on his alleged collusion with Russia fails. They will not succeed, as the fire and fury of a majority of American voters against the self-proclaimed certainties of the elites and their allies in the media will not diminish. Trump offered a winning alternative against Hillary Clinton and business as usual, and there will be ample time to sort all this out during the remaining seven years of the Trump presidency.
Dennis L. Breo
New Smyrna Beach
Tweet dreams
The Jan. 7 AP article by Jill Colvin, “Trump says he’s ‘like, really smart’,” brought back old memories for this very old man (age 90) — The 1939 movie “Love Affair,” which featured a song, “Wishing,” sung by Irene Dunne.
Perhaps President Donald Trump falls asleep listening to lovely Irene’s voice each night — and awakens with a flood of new “tweets.”
Here’s the full Trump comment, from which the title of Colvin’s article is taken. Trump improperly used President Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer's illness (diagnosed after he was out of office) to make a comparison in defense of his own mental capacity: "Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.” I’m not aware of any Trump Alzheimer’s diagnosis — egomaniac and pathological falsifier, yes. As for the “really smart” part, only a high school sophomore would insert “like” between “being” and “really smart.”
Back to the song: I recalled it because I believe Trump lives in a “wishing” “dreaming” “tweeting” world of his own. He tweets out random thoughts, with little or no meaning, or are obviously false. They are his “wishes” that he believes are facts, simply because he says they are facts. He may well be living the “Wishing” lyrics: “Wishing will make it so. Just keep on wishing, your cares will go. ... For if you wish long enough, wish strong enough, you will come to know, wishing will make it so.”
Nighty night — sleep tight — President Trump!
Sherman Stock
New Smyrna Beach
Stock was counsel and longtime aide to Gaylord Nelson, the 35th governor of Wisconsin and founder of Earth Day who went on to spend 18 years in the U.S. Senate.
Battle the elites
The methods and tactics of those folks loosely termed Democrat, liberals or elites leaves me cold. When Barack Obama took office, I was deeply disappointed because I believed his goal was to convert America very left, quasi-socialism much like Canada or France.
My response was to write letters to my representatives, become active in the Volusia Republican Club, make phone calls and work to elect Republicans to office. It worked.
I watch the behavior of the elites: Name-calling, crazy accusations of Russian collusion, attempts at impeachment, claims that President Donald Trump is mentally unfit, and violence in the streets. They are willing to withhold support on issues that they previously supported for the sake of denying Trump a victory on any issue at any time.
They are unconcerned that their denial of support most importantly denies help needed and wanted by American citizens.
In the future, when a candidate of theirs is elected, they should expect the same kind of treatment from “flyover America,” and those of us who identify with the heartland.
The elites’ behavior just may be setting the country up for another civil war. That would be a shame, indeed. The elites should remember flyover America that grows our food, has the nation’s factories and has the firm support of the military and law enforcement.
The last elites who failed to support the fundamentals on which America stands were the Tories in the Revolutionary War. They were forced north into Canada, never to return. Remember that.
James Donahue
Port Orange
More good news
Question: If Hillary Clinton is being investigated for various reasons by the FBI, how come we don’t read more about it in The Daytona News-Journal? There’s only been one story, on Jan. 6. Instead we read repeatedly about Michael Wolff’s book quoting Steve Bannon, on the front page no less, and other trivial digs against our president. Let’s hear more about what good President Donald Trump has done for our country in his first year in office, instead of just the negatives.
Bill Grau
Ormond Beach