Healthcare transparency needed
The Hutchinson News - May 17, 2018

Open it up
Kansas City Star - May 16, 2018

There needs to be more transparency for patients when dealing with healthcare providers and hospitals in Kansas.

Before a procedure is performed, an estimate of procedure cost and insurance write-offs should be mandatory so the consumer can do competitive shopping for the lowest price.

The more ignorant the healthcare consumer is, the more profitable they are for the healthcare provider. Shopping for health care across state line should be allowed.

When other types of insurance were permitted to cross state lines, we saw an immediate drop in costs. Why should health insurance companies be permitted to hide behind state lines shielded from the competitive market place? Gregory H. Bontrager

Letter: Border security
The Kansan - 5/2/1018

I suggest if we want a successful barrier erected along our Southern border with Mexico that we consider subcontracting with Hungary or Israel.
 
Both of these countries have proven they know how to stop aggressive migrants from entering their sovereign territory.
 
The days of dealing with invasion-migration tactics by massed foreigners must come to an end.
 
The use of tear gas, pepper spray or water cannon may be an unpleasant necessity when dealing with virulent border crashers.

 But the lesson will be learned very quickly.
 
The U.S. has learned the hard way we cannot be the world’s policeman.
 
We must also learn that we cannot be the repository for every person or group of people who have a real or imagined reason for fleeing their country of origin.
 
Perhaps these people should learn they must stand and fight for their own homes instead of shamelessly sneaking or crashing across our border. — Gregory H. Bontrager

The fact is walling off our southern border with Mexico would be a relatively minor engineering feat. In areas where barriers have been erected, they have been very effective.

Walls are not a panacea, but physical security is always a good starting point. The most vocal opponents of a wall on the border are sanctuary city types who think an open border will help secure their re-election by pandering to their voter base - Gregory H. Bontrager

Tech giants like Google, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are weeding out conservative voices on the internet by engaging in a technique called shadow banning. While liberal outlets like Media Matters and MoveOn.org have been given free reign to shred the truth.

Conservative publications like The Daily Caller and Breitbart have seen up to a 30-percent drop because Google has altered the algorithms by which they appear in their search engines.

Notoriously liberal organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center are being used as fact filters to weed out so-called hate speech and fake news. In effect, the chickens have been placed in charge of the hen house.

This fits a familiar pattern that when the left can't compete in the free marketplace of ideas, they attempt to suppress the truth by altering the rules of engagement for groups that they don't agree with - Gregory H. Bontrager

We need to develop a way to expedite the deportation of large numbers of foreign nationals who are illegally entering or maintaining residence in the U.S. The American taxpayer should not be expected to foot the bill for people who have no moral or legal right to be here.

Sanctuary cities that defy the will of the American people should be dealt with swiftly and, if need be, aggressively. The anchor baby loophole is being ruthlessly exploited by foreign nationals and no longer serves the purpose for which it was originally intended. This antiquated provision in the law needs to be eliminated.

We need to be selective in the people we grant citizenship to. They must reflect our religious, moral and constitutional values. If they don't, they have no business being granted citizenship. We are not citizens of the world, but of the United States of America. Our obligation is to our own welfare first, not the rest of the world. The days of accepting freeloaders into our midst must come to an end - Gregory H. Bontrager

The notion that cultural diversity necessarily makes us stronger or better is simply not true. In general the more homogeneous a society the better things tend to work.

Like socialism, cultural diversity is a talking point of the progressive left. If you want proof, take a look at what this failed concept has done to Western Europe.

By contrast, Japan and Eastern Europe have taken the best of western culture and discarded the liberal baggage to produce more stable, citizen friendly societies.

They have also shown the value of physical barriers to stop the mass movement of uninvited people. Japan is protected by an ocean and Eastern Europe by border fencing - Gregory Bontrager

As citizens we must never allow our judgment to become subordinate to people just because they have a Ph.D. or your honor attached to their names. These elitists have given us open borders, forced busing, the Paris climate accord, gun control and partial-birth abortion.

Somewhere along the way, they have surrendered reality for a virtual world ruled by intellectual duplicity and an absolute faith in their own supremacy.

The price we will pay for blindly following these people is the loss of our souls the way they have lost their own. Resistance to this cabal is a necessity if we are to maintain our sovereignty as a free and independent people.

All you need to do is look around the world and see that if we surrender to these so-called elite we will become as morally bankrupt as they are - Gregory Bontrager

From employment in the African American community to high skilled manufacturing, President Trump has turned the lofty words of the left into the reality of the right.

America needed to be rescued from eight years of empty Obama-era sloganeering.

America first has proven to be more than just a slogan in the Trump administration; it is a promise that is unfolding before our eyes. The rhetoric from the political class has been replaced by a real leader who knows how to get the job done.

With three and hopefully seven more years to go, this administration is showing the world what substance looks like over the identity politics of the Democratic Party and the get Trump reporting of the hysterical media - Gregory Bontrager

The NRA is probably the most effective civil rights organization the United States has ever produced.

They have done more to defend the constitutional rights of the average American than any other organization.

It is always difficult to prove a negative, so we will never know for sure how many Americans are alive because they have successfully defended themselves or loved ones because of the efforts of the NRA.

We do know that anyone who truly wants a gun for evil purposes will get one and that a gun in the hands of a citizen can bring the evil actions of another to an end very quickly.

If only a teacher, concert-goer or innocent bystander had been armed, how many people would be alive today? We will never know the answer to that question, but a solid case can be made that more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens is a proactive deterrent and immediate resolution to gun violence.

In a violent world, laws that depend on the compliance of the individual will never provide the social stability of an armed citizen - Gregory H. Bontrager

I believe President Trump will surpass President Reagan in greatness. The reaction of the left demonstrates how afraid of him they are.

Greatness is not always measured by how many people love you, but by the ferocity of your opposition and the depths to which they will stoop - Gregory H. Bontrager

The media hounding President Donald Trump are the same ideological malcontents who gave Barrack Obama a pass for eight wasted years of American history.

If you like welfare, food stamps or unchecked borders, Obama was your man, but if you work for a living or own a business, President Trump is on your side.

The working class finally has a friend in the White House. The American worker will no longer be the target of runaway bureaucracies like the Environmental Protection Agency or rogue tax collectors in the IRS who were weaponized by Democrats to suppress political opposition.

Whether they sit on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, city councils of sanctuary cities or the Hollywood elite, it is time to reject this neo-fascist sect that has seized control of the Democratic Party.

This new breed of Democrat follows a path of violent intolerance toward others and unlimited ambition for power, no matter how unethical the end result may be. The Democratic Party of today would be rejected by liberal icons like John F. Kennedy.

It is clear that a fifth column of Obama holdovers has embedded itself in the bureaucracy of the United States government and is illegally working to subvert the will of the American people and undermine the presidency of Trump - Gregory H. Bontrager

From chaos comes order, except if you live in England, Germany, France or a host of other Western European countries who have fallen victim to the progressive myth that by populating your country with semi-civilized refugees with whom you have nothing in common is a good idea.

This utopian fallacy has driven peaceful Europe to the brink of chaos. Like most progressive disinformation, multiculturalism is a product of self-hating indoctrination based on a variation of white guilt.

Poland, Hungary, Romania, and other Eastern bloc countries like most Muslim countries have restricted the influx of predominantly Muslim refugees. The result being healthy ethnic cohesion and century old cultural stability, minus the terrorism and high crime rates fostered by the virulent multiculturalism of Western Europe.

The sad fact is that mass immigration over the past several decades has led to social and economic disintegration of the host countries as it has for states like California - Gregory H. Bontrager

The Invasion Of Europe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIcltV7r-nM - by Pat Condell

Where females fear to tread:

KATIE HOPKINS reports from Sweden, the Scandi-lib paradise where terrified women have vanished from the streets and a conspiracy of silence and self-censorship on immigration buries the truth - continue

Violent crime in Sweden is soaring. When will politicians act?
Shootings, hand-grenade attacks and gang warfare have
made some city areas no-go zones
by Paulina Neuding

January was a particularly violent month in Sweden. A 63-year-old man was killed in Stockholm by a hand grenade lying in the street. A Dutch exchange student was hit by a stray bullet during an execution-style killing at a pizza restaurant in Uppsala. In Gothenburg, a hand grenade was thrown into a flat and exploded in the kitchen — the same predominantly immigrant-populated suburb where an eight-year-old British boy was killed in a grenade attack less than two years ago. In Malmö, a grenade was tossed at a police station and exploded outside. So it has not, so far, been a very happy new year - continue

https://qz.com/886244/open-borders-and-vintage-balkan-hand-grenades-are-
being-blamed-for-a-crime-wave-in-sweden/

Sweden: Rape Capital of the West
by Ingrid Carlqvist and Lars Hedegaard

In 1975, the Swedish parliament unanimously decided to change the former homogeneous Sweden into a multicultural country. Forty years later the
dramatic consequences of this experiment emerge: violent crime
has increased by 300%.

DAILYCALLER.COM
Sweden Opened Its Doors To Muslim Immigration, Today It's The
Rape Capital Of The West. Japan Didn't.
by James Zumwalt

If one looks at the number of rapes, however, the increase is even worse.
In 1975, 421 rapes were reported to the police; in 2014, it was 6,620.
That is an increase of 1,472%.

The NRA is probably the most effective civil rights organization the United States has ever produced. It has done more to defend the constitutional rights of the average American than any other organization.

It is always difficult to prove a negative, so we will never know for sure how many Americans are alive because they have successfully defended themselves or loved ones because of the efforts of the NRA.

We do know that anyone who truly wants a gun for evil purposes will get one and that a gun in the hands of a citizen can bring the evil actions of another to an end very quickly.

If only a teacher, concert-goer or innocent bystander had been armed how many people would be alive today? We will never know the answer to that question, but a solid case can be made that more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens is a proactive deterrent and immediate resolution to gun violence.

In a violent world, laws that depend on the compliance of the individual will never provide the social stability of an armed citizen - Gregory Bontrager

Everyone knows when you deal with criminals you are placing yourself in a high-risk category. At what point when you are being packed into the back of a trailer with a hundred other people do the alarm bells start to ring?

The people who paid for a space in the back of that truck knew they were committing a crime and chose to do it anyway. Theses illegal aliens made a calculated decision to violate U.S. Law and unfortunately some paid the ultimate price for that decision. Now the rest of America is supposed to engage in moralistic self-recrimination because of the willful behavior of these unfortunate people.

Is it too much to expect that people who knowingly break the law accept some of the responsibility for their own actions. After all, they made themselves vulnerable by placing their fate in the hands of human traffickers - Gregory H. Bontrager

Every time a police officer fails to protect a peaceful protester from the mob or stands idly by and watches public property being vandalized it becomes a greater threat to the constitution then the mob itself.

Around the world, U.S. soldiers have fought heroically against evil only to be betrayed at home by cowardly civil authorities who wither in the face of organized violence by groups like Antifa.

When the Berkley, Calif., police fail to protect peaceful protesters from 10-on-1 violence, I wonder what master they serve - because it is not the Constitution of the United States.

These civil servants dishonor the men and woman who have paid the ultimate price by their failure to safeguard constitutionally protected speech.

Have we become a third-world country that passively allows masked thugs to rule the streets of our cities and strike at the core values of our democracy? - Gregory H. Bontrager

When the progressives of the Democratic party sound the charge they discovered they are on the political battlefield alone.

The proletariat is not interested in trans-gender bathrooms or safe spaces for pampered children. They what immigration reform and an end to sanctuary cities.

The motto of the working class is America for Americans, not illegal aliens. Multiculturalism has proven to be a disaster everywhere it has spread.

The radicals of the left who couldn't get elected dog catcher have infiltrated the higher education system and have more in common with the fascist of the 1930's then the founders of our constitution.

America has rejected them and their anti-American platitudes. They can't give there sugar coated poison away, so they have turned to deception and violence as a substitute for being rejected by the American voter - Gregory H. Bontrager

Photo identification is a ubiquitous part of modern life. The thought that you have to produce a valid ID when you cash a check is acceptable, but somehow sinister to cast a vote is absurd. Why would any honest person think otherwise?

Perhaps it's because certain groups believe they benefit from votes that may not be legitimate.

The U.S. has traditionally been caught flat footed when dealing with its own vulnerabilities. Our voting process is antiquated and susceptible to fraud. Photo identification is a necessary step in maintaining the integrity of the democratic process.

There is selective outrage over alleged Russian interference in our elections, but none over undocumented immigrants who routinely cast votes in our elections - Gregory H. Bontrager

U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick has illegally blocked President Trump from withholding federal money from sanctuary cities. These cities are in open violation of U.S. law.

By blocking Trump's order, Judge Orrick has made himself a willing participant in the criminal activity of these sanctuary cities. Orrick is an Obama appointee who reportedly raised $200,000 and donated $30,000 of his own money to former president Obama.

The fact that cherry-picked judges like Orrick can be used to disrupt the lawful exercise of executive power is an act of lawlessness that must not be tolerated.

Politicized judges like Orrick know that their decisions will be overturned by a higher court, which means he is willfully engaging in ideological obstructionism. Not exactly ethical behavior for a jurist who is sworn to protect the constitution - Gregory H. Bontrager

If the fate of a nation rests on a single Supreme Court nomination, that can only mean the court has become too powerful and gone beyond the powers envisioned by our founders. The court's mission is to interpret law, not act as a dictatorial body unrestrained by the legislature.

By what measure has our Constitution given the court power to bus your children into other neighborhoods, allow abortion or deem homosexual marriage legal? None. The court has seized that extra-constitutional power for itself and acts as a dictatorial body unrestrained by the will of the governed.

Cross out the word judge and replace it with Caesar or Fuhrer and the end has become the same as unelected government officials forcing themselves on an unwilling population. Your life and children have become subjects of social experimentation at the hands of activist judges who not only have ceded to themselves the power of judge but usurped the role of jury and executioner as well.

At what point in our democracy do we apply the brakes to an errant court that has overstepped its constitutional boundary? - Gregory H. Bontrager

The "old white men" that created the United States and Europe must have done something right because minority groups from around the world risk their lives to get to the country's they created.

I haven't seen any Mexicans or Syrians storming the beaches of Cuba or China. If 'Black Lives Matter' thinks the United States is so bad, try the paradise of Mozambique or Angola and see how that works out for you.

European people have done more than any other group to bring equality, prosperity and stability to the turbulent world of humanity. That is why the world wants to be in the countries that they created. Anytime you think you have it so bad, remember you are always free to find someplace better - Gregory H. Bontrager

Bernie Sanders is a socialist cliche who hasn’t had an original thought since he honeymooned in Russia 28 years ago.

Poor Sen. Sanders got scammed by the queens of corruption, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Hillary Clinton, and then he laid at the feet of Clinton like a puppy.

What will happen to the misguided people who placed their hopes in Bernie Sanders? They will be expected to smile and joyfully march into the arms of the Clinton political machine and forget how cynically they have been abused - Gregory H. Bontrager

The first time I became aware of the devastating effects of criminal activity perpetrated against American citizens by illegal aliens came shortly after I graduated from the Emergency Medical Technician program at Wichita State University.

I was working as a volunteer with the Sedgwick County EMS reserve when the unit I was stationed with responded to a multi-car accident. When we arrived at the scene several automobiles where overturned and the smell of gasoline permeated the air.

Wichita fire department personnel worked skillfully to stabilize the scene and extract an elderly couple who had been pinned in their vehicle. I participated in CPR on one of the victims but unfortunately both citizens died as a result of the injury's they sustained.

I found out later the accident was caused by an illegal alien who had stolen a car and then attempted to evade the police in a high speed chase.

I never learned the fate of the perpetrator of this crime but I often wonder how many times a day innocent Americans are victimized at the hands of illegals who have no right to be in the United States.

I wish our president and supporters of the sanctuary city concept cared as much about the lives of innocent Americans as they do increasing their voter base - Gregory H. Bontrager

Colin Kaepernick is entitled to express his feelings, and I am free to boycott the team he plays for.

People who make their living performing before the public, whether they be athletes or movie stars, need to be aware that the way they express themselves may potentially devastate their careers.

Freedom of expression is very often a double-edged sword. If you offend your audience, don't be surprised if they no longer consume the product you produce - Gregory H. Bontrager

I wonder why "The Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence waited until after she made $52 million before she discovered how much she disliked Christians and Republicans.

Someone at Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. should suggest to Lawrence that she could always return that portion of the money if she finds it morally objectionable - Gregory H. Bontrager

Global warming/climate change is based on conventional wisdom, not science. It has become a left-wing slogan to rally the simple-minded.

As we can see, the simpler the minds, the more they love the concept. The problem is that the facts don’t back up the theory. Man-made global warming/climate change has been effectively debunked.

The “left” has become so invested in the concept that it is willing to accept a fairy tale. After all, the earth is flat, isn’t it? - Gregory H. Bontrager

When special counsel (former FBI director) Robert Mueller finds that Trump did nothing wrong, how long will it take before the Maxine Waters wing of the Democratic Party accuse Mueller of being a tool of Vladimir Putin too?

The nation is objectively better off from Trump's first day in office, unless you listen to the media, who have parsed the words of unnamed sources to create the illusion of wrong doing.

Is this what the Salem witch trials looked like in the 17th century? Maybe we should reinstate spectral evidence, because without it, Democrats haven't got a shred of proof that Trump did anything illegal.

When this witch hunt is over, the only thing that will be evident is a concerted disinformation campaign against Trump by the mainstream media and the left-wing of the Democratic Party. Another media manufactured crisis will be looming as soon as this one ends - Gregory H. Bontrager

What do we want? An end to sanctuary cities. When do we what it? Now. It's time for taxpayers to stop footing the bill for undocumented immigrants who are using America as a flop house.

We have a right to secure our borders from an invading army of foreigners. We must never allow ourselves to be bullied by a minority of indoctrinated, basement-dwelling college brats who are on a rampage. Maybe it's time for the parents who pay the tuition for these overpriced dens of intolerance to start making baby pay his or her own way through school. Most of these hypocrites didn't even vote.

President Trump must stay true to the citizens who elected him, not progressive liberals who had their shot for eight long years and blew it.

Things were just rosy when the Democrats thought Hillary was going to win, but now that the unthinkable has happened, they are in full tantrum mode. Elections have consequences. Trump won and, like it or not, his supporters aren't going anywhere - Gregory H. Bontrager

I don't think anyone was more disappointed than I was when Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential election. The way I expressed my disappointment was by writing letters to the editor. It never once occurred to me that throwing a rock or breaking a window was a legitimate way to express my feelings.

It quickly became clear to me that there is a difference in the way people on the left think. They preach tolerance as long as they get what they want, but are viciously intolerant when they don't.

As years of experience with Obama and Clinton has shown, deception is considered a legitimate part of doing business. There are no ethical limits when you consider yourself morally superior to others.

Young people who have been indoctrinated by the left in our schools and universities have not been taught the skill of critical thinking. They have been programmed to react in the same way as the Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany or the Young Pioneers of Red China. They march mindlessly down the shining path in route to a false new order that is older than the dawn of man - Gregory H. Bontrager

There has been an ongoing conspiracy by Obama and the Democrats to alter the population demographics of the United States. This effort has intensified during the last year of his administration.

Since the immigrant and refugee populations tend to vote democratic this is part of a long-term strategy to increase the democratic voter base

That's what the refusal to enforce immigration laws and sanctuary cities are all about, job security for a bunch of liberal democrats. So a large criminal element has been willfully set free to roam the streets of America and terrorists disguised as refugees are allowed to infiltrate the homeland for the benefit of career politicians.

As usual hard-working American citizens are left to pay the price in blood and treasure for these invaders. Does anyone doubt for one second that if these foreigners were breeding future Republicans instead of Democrats, that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would have had the border sealed tighter then a bass drum? - Gregory H. Bontrager

The stars of the Democratic Party shine so bright don't they? After eight years of the Obama administrations transparency, are we ready for more shenanigans from the Clinton clan? With single-minded determination, Hillary Clinton engages in questionable conduct then takes cover behind an ever-so-willing mainstream media.

The only thing predictable about Clinton are the fables she concocts to cover the ridiculously avoidable behavior she engages in. Like the perfectly innocent taking of money from foreign governments and all those emails she deleted from her personal server. We are obligated to take Clinton's word that everything she does is just rosy.

After all, the Clintons have never done anything questionable have they?

Lanny Davis and James Carville bristle with indignation at the thought that anyone would question the veracity of the anointed heir apparent to the White House.

Sinister right-wing forces must be hard at work forcing Clinton to do all those dumb things. Yes that's Just what we need, a few more years of sneaky duplicitous behavior from the president of the United States - GREGORY BONTRAGER

This is the first time I have seen a presidential candidate run a campaign incognito, from behind a pair of sunglasses and appearing in carefully staged media events. Hillary Clinton acts more like she's being profiled on America's Most Wanted than running for president of the United States.

A candidate usually wants as much media exposure as possible. But in Clinton's case, the more you see the less appealing she becomes. Instead of speaking directly to the people, she dispatches such acolytes as John Podesta and Lanny Davis to convince the proletariat she is as pure as the driven snow.

Clinton has calculated she has the Democratic Party's nomination wrapped up, so why upset the applecart answering questions about influence pedaling, big money deals with foreign governments and deleted emails.

Sen. Rand Paul summed it up best: Hillary needs two planes, one for herself and another for all that baggage.

If you want to see the way a Clinton presidency will operate, look at the way she is running her campaign and then draw your own conclusions. Is this a snapshot of a Clinton presidency? - GREGORY H. BONTRAGER

Obamacare isn’t going to call them death panels. The pattern will play out similar to the VA scandal. By limiting timely access to healthcare by using administrative delays, they are rationing healthcare. In effect, they have created death panels by allowing those most in need to die before receiving an appointment for medical treatment.

This is no longer in the realm of theory; faceless, nameless bureaucrats who sit at desks and care more about budgets and hiding mistakes will coldly, callously let you die.

What makes you think Barack Obama, who is off for a round of golf after the brutal beheading of a fellow American, will spend much time worrying about the fate of you and your family? - GREGORY H. BONTRAGER

Unfortunately for the Obama administration and Democratic heir apparent Hillary Clinton, the Benghazi scandal has sprouted a new pair of legs.

The four Americans who were abandoned by their country may soon become more than just another footnote in the sordid legacy of the Obama administration.

Perhaps Ms. Clinton will discover what a difference it really does make as her complicity in this sinister affair becomes apparent to even the most limited voters.

You reap what you sow, and if the American people want to continue with this progressive liberal belly flop into another presidential election cycle, Madam Clinton will make the ideal candidate.

In fairness to Clinton, she does possess that Bernie Madoff skill-set of milking the progressive Ponzi scheme until even the best and brightest have been thoroughly flimflammed - Gregory H. Bontrager

The Hillary Clinton spin machine is gearing up to full speed. The facts of a life dedicated to ruthless self-promotion have now become an inconvenient liability in Clinton's compulsive upstream swim to what she considers her birthright — the occupation of the White House.

It's not Clinton's concern for the welfare of the American people that matters but an ego bordering on narcissism and the fact Bubba wants to walk the halls of the people's house again in search of unlimited access to the television camera.

The only tether binding the former first lady to the current administration is her shameless ability to distort the truth without breaking stride. What difference does it make indeed when you're in pursuit of the biggest entitlement of your life, the presidency of the United States - GREGORY H. BONTRAGER

The third world invasion of the United States has begun. Not in darkness but in broad daylight the invaders walk across our southern border unchecked and are fed, housed and clothed at taxpayer expense.

At the same time the most highly trained soldiers in the world are receiving pink slips in the field and receiving shoddy medical treatment at home.

Among the invaders are a fifth column of gang members and violent criminals who pass themselves off as children.

Is this just another unintended consequence of the most incompetent administration in history or a calculated effort to polarize the electorate along racial lines?

When all you have to offer is six years of total failure the only strategy left is to divide and conquer - Gregory H. Bontrager

Wouldn’t it be neat if President Obama would grow a spine when dealing with third-rate thugs like Vladimir Putin or the mullahs in Iran? As it is, the only people getting the shaft by our fearless leader are American citizens and allies like Israel who have discovered through bitter experience how expendable they have become in the politically expedient world of Obama.

The burden of fear has been lifted from the shoulders of the Putins of the world as the administration retreats into the fantasy that stuff like climate change is as big a threat to humanity as Iran getting a nuke or Putin invading Ukraine.

If the Obama administration had spent as much effort working with Republicans as it does deceiving low-information voters or weaponizing the IRS to target political opponents, perhaps prosperity instead of angst would be the hallmark of this failed administration - Gregory H. Bontrager

It's almost biblical the way the United States is receding as the pre-eminent World power. And with our decline chaos follows. We lack even the rudimentary political will to control our own borders, much less our vital interests around the world. As Friedrich Nietzsche said generations ago out of chaos comes order. The frightening thing is Nietzsche's kind of order comes at the price of our freedom and if you live in the Middle East maybe your head.

As the forces of darkness coalesce around our shining city on the hill feckless self-serving cowards inhabit the seats of power in Washington. Our enemies' fear has turned into mocking laughter, as this stranded giant can't even stop foreign children from walking across our border in broad daylight. Deviant lifestyles are taught as if they were normal in our schools and left-wing disinformation is passed off as truth.

Day by day the agencies responsible for maintaining order are being used as tools to spy on and persecute honest citizens because of their political views. As free American citizens it is time that we reassert our constitutional sovereignty and take back our government from leftist usurpers who are determined to save us from ourselves whether we like it or not - Gregory H. Bontrager

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson aren’t interested in truth or justice. They are just making a living doing what they do best, race-baiting an innocent man.

Without a wit of concern that George Zimmerman was defending himself from a violent assault by a stranger in the darkness, these men of God profiled Zimmerman based on his racial ethnicity because he dared to defend himself from an African-American assailant.

These self-proclaimed leaders of the civil rights movement chose a course of high-profile demagoguery by appealing to the base instincts of the mob.

We have come to know the shenanigans of Sharpton and Jackson all too well. We can only hope more rational leaders among the African-American community will have the courage to step up and provide an alternative to the antics of these two cynical opportunists — Gregory H. Bontrager

President Obama's inability to man up to the malfeasance connected with his administration, coupled with an inability to tell the truth, appears to be a pathological characteristic of his presidency.

Hope and change has been replaced with an ethos of cynicism and duplicity.

With the election of her husband, Michelle Obama said, For the first time in my life, I am proud of my country. After America has been repeatedly lied to by Obama, who falsely claimed that you could keep your doctor and your health insurance, is the first lady still proud?

Fortunately for the Obama family, they are exempt from Obamacare. Apparently the cook is too good to sit at the same table with the proletariat.

Republican attempts to remove the special carve-outs for Congress under Obamacare were blocked in a party-line vote by the Democratic majority at the time. Is there no limit to the hypocrisy of this president and the Democratic Party?

If you have employer-based insurance, get ready. The other shoe has yet to drop. When the employer mandate kicks in, millions more Americans will lose their coverage and be forced into the uncertainty of overpriced Obamacare exchanges.

After five years of experience with the empty rhetoric of this administration, can anyone seriously have confidence in anything its people say or do? - Gregory H. Bontrager

While America languishes, President Obama spends his time on the golf course or sunning on the beaches of Hawaii.

But then maybe the country would be in better shape if the commander in chief spent a little more time frolicking and doing a little less so-called “work.”

After all, the welfare of the nation isn’t really Mr. Obama’s primary concern. It’s appeasing billionaire miscreants like George Soros and union thugs like Richard Trumka. Saul Alinsky and Bill Ayers must be proud of their protégé.

We travel down a road fraught with peril with a pretend president whose single-minded goal seems to be driving the United States into the history books of “once-great nations.” As “Atlas Shrugged,” the legacy of this bamboozler is a bankrupted, third-rate nation.

He couldn’t care less as long as Air Force One has fuel enough to fly him to the next exotic junket at taxpayer expense - Gregory H. Bontrager

Once again, President Obama has proven tone-deaf to the energy needs of the American people, instead placing his desire to appease the eco-left ahead of the security and economic needs of the nation. Clean coal was the first casualty of the “new order.”

Now the Keystone pipeline continues to be held hostage by this administration despite empirical evidence to the environmental safety of the project. On the food chain of political priorities, the welfare of the nation ranks behind a minority of radicals who view us and our energy needs as an impediment to their voodoo green agenda.

With the stroke of Obama’s pen, the Keystone pipeline would become a reality. When it comes to radical ecological dogma, rational priorities have been rescinded. We have become expendable in the new world order of ecological extremism - Gregory H. Bontrager

When Texas district attorney Mike McLelland and Kaufman County, Texas, prosecutor Mark Hasse were brazenly gunned down earlier this year, a chill colder than jagged steel tore through the heart of the American law enforcement community.

It was widely believed these demonic murders were retaliation for the recent convictions of upper echelon gang members and that the killings bore a striking similarity to Mexican drug cartel assassinations.

A disgraced Kaufman County magistrate appears to have been the perpetrator of the murders. The frightening thing is that, with the porous southern border, these assassinations could easily have been carried out by Mexican murder squads that could just walk across the border in broad daylight. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported Mexican cartels are currently setting up shop in American cities, controlling wholesale drug distribution across the nation.

The question is, when will these Mexican Narco terrorists, many of whom were trained by U.S. special forces, bring their grisly brand of violence to the main streets of America?

And will we deal with this threat in the same corrupt spineless way as the Mexican government? - Gregory H. Bontrager

You unlock this door with the key of intellectual dishonesty. Beyond this door is another dimension – a dimension of lies, a dimension of deceit, a dimension of unparalleled failure.

You’re moving into a land of both darkness and despair, of a downgraded credit rating and a $16 trillion deficit. You’ve crossed into a land where middle-class income dropped by 5 percent, and with the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression.

Congratulations, you’ve just crossed over into the Obama Zone - Gregory H. Bontrager

The United States sits on untapped oil reserves estimated up to 2.3 trillion barrels, three times the reserves of OPEC. We are also the world’s largest producer of natural gas and coal.

So why do we spend billions importing petroleum from hostile powers and enriching our enemies when we are literally the energy capital of the world? This energy can be obtained safely but we allow misguided politicians and eco-radicals to block our path to energy independence and the revitalization of our economy.

In the meantime, we sit on an untapped gold mine that could free us of debt from China and dependence on Middle East principalities that hate us. We should be reaping the reward of our own natural resources. Energy independence by 2020 is an easily obtainable goal. The alternative is bondage to foreign powers that gloat at our misfortune.

The presidential election this November will be decisive in determining if the United States remains a superpower or fades into the obscurity of history - Gregory H. Bontrager

I never thought I would say this, but after three and a half years of Barack Obama, the George W. Bush presidency looks like the good old days. When Bush left office, we had a moderate recession that Obama turned into a catastrophe.

Our economy should be in full recovery, instead we’re going from a nation of prosperity to a slum. With the most blatant campaign of political disinformation since the late Huey Long, the Obama administration brings new meaning to the lyrics “How low can you go?”

What the progressive-left has forgotten is that capitalism is the measure of all prosperity, and ultimately all equality - Gregory H. Bontrager

If the Mexican government spent as much time and energy protecting its citizens from human traffickers and drug dealers as it does race-baiting the United States, maybe a lot of suffering could be avoided. If you are worried about the Mexican people, ask the Mexican government what it is doing to protect its citizens? The answer is zero.

The fact is the Mexican government is pimping its citizens out for cold hard U.S. cash. That's it in a nutshell — money! Mexican men, woman and children abused, degraded and murdered by fellow Mexicans, all done with the complicity of the Calderon administration. What are the words to that old song? "I ain't got no-body."

It's not American guns or drug-users or evil corporations driving up the body count in Mexico, it's greed for U.S. currency and an overriding disregard for the welfare of its own citizens, driven by the oldest motivator in the world: money - Gregory H. Bontrager

Godfather of the progressive movement, billionaire George Soros of The Open Society Institute is silently trying to destabilize the American democracy.

Hiding behind well-financed front organizations, this Judas, who as a youth during World War II assisted in confiscating property of fellow Jews (as revealed in a 1998 "60 Minutes" interview), hides his nefarious financial empire offshore to avoid the scrutiny of U.S. financial regulators.

He will use any means necessary to reshape the world in his own twisted, left-wing image.

With billions of dollars and insidious fifth-column maneuverings, Soros is attempting to encircle independent media outlets and replace the truth with his progressive "one world" dogma. What happens to those who stray from Soros' path? Ask Juan Williams, formerly of National Public Radio.

Using mouthpieces like the Huffington Post, Soros is relentlessly moving toward the destruction of our core American values.

Unfortunately, Mr. Soros has run into a problem; fearlessly, Glenn Beck of Fox News is exposing this elitist socialist in his insidious plot to reshape our nation and the world in his own distorted, godless image.

If Mr. Soros is successful in his endeavor, hopefully we will receive better treatment than he gave his fellow Hungarian Jews 65 years ago - Gregory H. Bontrager

As America slips under the icy waters faster than the Titanic, who will save us from President Obama and the Democratic Party? Open the telephone book and select any name at random and you will likely find a more competent leader then this bungling socialist the American people have placed in our White House.

Did Obama kill Osama? No. If not for the ground work of George Bush and Dick Cheney, Osama bin Laden could have been living in Trump Tower and the Obama administration wouldn't have had a clue.

Our brave Navy SEALs using information obtained from enhanced interrogation techniques and the polices of Bush/Cheney lead us to bin Laden. While the single greatest accomplishment of Obama is to take credit for the work of someone else.

You can't have it both ways. If you're going to blame everything on eight years of Bush, you have to give him credit for the demise of bin Laden too  - Gregory H. Bontrager

What do President Obama and the left fear more the any force on earth? The American people uniting and saying they have had enough!

While such left-wing pundits as Chris Matthews and Ed Schultz try to marginalize Fox News viewers as birthers or gun-toting kooks, the fact remains that the vast majority  or what used to be called the silent majority are the ones who made this country great.

The resurgence of the American middle class is the dread of the Obama/socialist left. Embodied in this vast middle ground are the values of our forefathers and a decency the Barney Franks of this world will never understand. Truth, justice and the American way or whichever corny phrase you chose, Americans don't like socialist concepts passed off as mainstream values.

I apologize to those who embrace Obama, but every time I see this guy do his thing in front of the teleprompter it reminds me of the barker at the state fair telling us how much we will win if we hand him our spare change.

Remember that old saying If it sounds too good to be true. In the case of Obama and the Democratic Party, this point has been proven beyond all doubt! - Gregory H. Bontrager

While the United States slumbers, an insidious assault is being perpetrated against our nation by the People's Republic of China. As reported by Peter Brookes of the Heritage Foundation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkiPQ-sJE), the United States has become a virtual supermarket of unabated theft of military and commercial technology.

With our preoccupation with the war on terror, this looming superpower - more powerful and deadly than the former Soviet Union - is aggressively seeking to supplant the United States as the preeminent military and economic power on the globe.

Following a policy of appeasement, the Obama administration has abysmally failed to protect the American people from the Chinese. Why design for yourself when you can steal the best. And steal they do, from nuclear warheads to toaster ovens. According to Brooks, the PRC has 3,500 front companies in the U.S. whose sole purpose is the theft of our technology.

While Red China plays military and economic hardball, the Obama administration remains oblivious, exposing America to what may be the greatest threat to our national survival in modern history - Gregory H. Bontrager

Potential presidential candidate Donald Trump has finally had the nerve to use the C word, you know, that 800-pound gorilla in the room that everyone seems to ignore. China steals our technology with impunity and has implanted malware in our power grid.

The Chinese have a specially designed ballistic missile just waiting to take out our carrier battle groups. They manipulate their currency to take unfair advantage of us, and we owe them tons of money. But I guess we don't have anything to worry about do we? They are our friends, right? - Gregory H. Bontrager

Once the flagship of Internet services, AOL now occupies the corner booth in the Internet flea market.

In an attempt to revive its fall from the stars. AOL has purchased the Huffington Post and anointed Arianna Huffington, cofounder of the site, president and editor-in-chief of the new and improved AOL.

What’s that you say — “forgive them, for they know not what they do”? Aha, but there is silver to be made by joining the “dark side,” and it doesn’t get any darker than the loony-left Huffington Post. Humm, do I smell the king of the loons George Soros lurking somewhere behind this?

It would appear AOL has sold itself to a new master to pump up the bank account at the expense of its soul — a perfect example of unbridled capitalism lacking a shred of moral fiber - Gregory H. Bontrager

Citizens of the United States beware. At this moment, you are being stalked by a cunning, sophisticated predator. Thousands of American men and women have fallen victim to this ruthless hunter. The tool this predator uses is a smile, and the warm embrace of a lover.

This predator has one goal, to gain entry into the United States by marrying an American citizen. Once this objective is accomplished, you have served your purpose. You will be discarded like a rag. Be assured this predator is not alone. He or she will have access to attorneys who specialize in distorting the intent of our legal system.

No matter how unethical, they will get the job done. The predator, through legal maneuvering, is now transformed into a "victim" - Gregory H. Bontrager

When are we going to take the gloves off? With the escalating violence on the Mexican border spilling into the U.S., what better use for the thousands of soldiers retuning from Iraq and Afghanistan than to secure our southern border?

I am tired of seeing my country trashed by drug dealers and human traffickers.

What disturbs me even more is watching our political leadership bend to appease a Mexican government that actively encourages its citizens to break our immigration laws while it ruthlessly enforces its own.

We are being invaded by foreigners who don’t care about our nation or our heritage. They are here for one reason, to take. Whether it be from our schools or medical system, these criminals continue to consume the life’s blood of our elderly, children and working class.

We should expel those who have committed a criminal act by entering our nation illegally. If you have come to the U.S. by marriage fraud or any other illegal means you are not an immigrant, you are a criminal. You have no right to be here.

When will we man up and stop this invading army of marauders? - Gregory H. Bontrager

Glenn Beck of Fox News is a brilliant entertainer who overstates the truth the way truth is supposed to be overstated. The left is wilted by his blistering, hard-hitting persona and they just can't stand it.

With his impromptu style, Mr. Beck makes the toes of the neo-Marxist Obama administration curl like the Wicked Witch of the East in Munchkin Land. The closest thing the left can muster is Keith Olbermann of MSNBC. If he's the best you can do, all hands abandon ship. Um ... is that Barney Frank boarding that life boat?

Remember, if you repeat the truth over and over again someone will believe it. This is why the Obama administration hates Mr. Beck and Fox News with a passion - Gregory H. Bontrager

Once again, syndicated columnist Cal Thomas was on the mark. His insight, expressed in a recent column, into Obama's belief that a good press release or putting on a good show in front of a teleprompter makes for sound policy is so true.

The fact is, Obama is all fluff and very little substance. It's unfortunate that some liberals in this country swoon every time they see his face and fail to realize it's backed by a head filled with tried and failed left wing policies as old as Karl Heinrich Marx.

Down the road to oblivion we travel, with the belief that Obama's pretty face and glib syntax are going to save us from something - Gregory H. Bontrager

It's true, there is no lie too big to tell. As the debate on health care moves toward legislation, let's not forget how our truth-telling Chicago politician and his crowd - Christopher Dodd, Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi - tried to stifle debate and shove their Orwellian health care plan down our throats sight unseen.

The Brave New World is upon us, brought on by President Obama and the socialist left and those other honest folks who inhabit the slimy underbelly of the far left.

Our well-scripted president stood before the nation and handed us the same empty words that all propagandists have fed the masses à the big lie in a prim, articulate package - Gregory H. Bontrager

Kansas Department of Corrections officers and staff provide an unseen, but nevertheless vital, role in the safety and security of the citizens of Kansas. With our decline, the lives of average Kansans will become less secure.

In the midst of a declining economy, rest assured the first priority of legislators is to feather their own nest first.

If you think I'm joking, look at their health insurance, retirement and other benefits compared to state and private sector employees. Wouldn't it be nice if we all controlled our own paycheck?

When was the last time you gave your staff $25,000 bonuses in the middle of economic hard times? Ask House Speaker Mike O'Neal - Gregory H. Bontrager

Keith Olbermann of MSMBC's nightly program Countdown never engages in debate on his program. It's always stacked with people who agree with him. Is Olbermann scared to face an opponent?

Like a typical liberal, with the most unflattering sound and video bites taken out of context, Olbermann shoots fish in a barrel because he can't stand the heat of face to face debate.

While Olbermann courageously faces down his teleprompter and hand picked guests, some of us appreciate a fair exchange of ideas. Like them or not, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity give their opponents an opportunity to express their views - Gregory H. Bontrager

Americans live in a world of many threats from abroad. One of the least understood or talked about is marriage fraud.

Thanks to the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, safeguards that once protected U.S. citizens from this type of fraud have been largely swept away.

There are Web sites that instruct foreigners how to circumvent U.S. law by using VAWA and an abundance of attorneys who specialize in distorting the well-meaning intent of this law.

While we wage war in Afghanistan and Iraq to combat terrorism, this insidious form of terrorism is taking its toll on American citizens inside our own borders.

Don't count on help from your government or elected officials, you will be met with indifference or open hostility. Chief among this group is Sen. Sam Brownback. Only Sen. Ted Kennedy has a more liberal voting record on this issue.

This elitist group has turned a blind eye to fraud perpetrated against their own honest, hardworking citizens, while claiming to do so in the name of justice and fair play -  Gregory H. Bontrager

How does it feel to be slapped in the face? If you are a corrections officer in Kansas you already know. The sad fact is the slap didn't come from and inmate, but the Kansas Legislature.

Instead of being recognized for safeguarding the safety and welfare of our community we are being treated like a doormat by the Kansas Legislature. While they sit safely in guarded chambers and walk on polished marble floors, we, the corrections officers of Kansas, walk on hard concrete with the sound of steel on steel and the ever-present danger of sudden physical assault.

At a time when assaults on staff are increasing, coupled with an overwhelming turnover rate, the Kansas Legislature, in their wisdom, is attempting to reduce the standard of living of Kansas Department of Corrections employees. They are attempting to take away our cost of living increase, our longevity pay, and in a feeble attempt to appease us, they wish to issue insulting one and a half percent wage increases.

Add to this, currently, inmates of KDOC can take grievances to Topeka for review; but the Legislature is attempting to take away that right for corrections officers. The inmates seem to have gained more rights than law-abiding citizens. As citizens we pay for gas, medical care, food and roofs over our head; this is all provided to inmates at taxpayer expense, the biggest welfare system in the state.

The citizens of Kansas should be outraged at the treatment we are receiving from our elected leaders. Kansas corrections officers rank 40th in pay in the United States. It seems as though our state leaders are aiming to make us number 50. We of the KDOC represent part of the thin line that stands between "them" and the community. With every action the Kansas Legislature takes, that line is becoming thinner and thinner.

Ultimately, the citizens of Kansas are the ones who will suffer from the Legislature's recklessness. While Kansas legislators will retire with hefty pensions, the dedicated men and women of the KDOC will continue to sink into a low standard of living while working in an increasingly violent environment. I hope they are proud of the legacy they leave the citizens of Kansas - Gregory H. Bontrager

For the past several years all Kansas corrections officers have received intense training in cognitive communication skills. If there is a reduction in recidivism, the rank and file corrections officers are responsible, not Secretary Werholtz or a legislator sitting securely in an office in Topeka.

Yet we hardly received mention in his article of March 15 in The Hutchinson News. According to Werholtz, we have obviously saved the state of Kansas millions of dollars, and made Kansas a safer place to live.

I think a substantial pay raise is in order for the successes we have made of the system. Let's keep up the good work - we serve the citizens of Kansas - GREG BONTRAGER

In the heartland of the greatest democracy on earth, we have allowed an oligarchy to control who is on the ballot.

Instead of the vibrant exchange of ideas and competing views of a true democracy, we have passively allowed the same career politicians to occupy the government offices of Reno County.

Isn’t it time we insist on a choice at election time instead of accepting the same unopposed candidates?

Let us send a message to the powers that be in Reno County. We are not going to tolerate unopposed leadership taking up residency in our valued government offices.

When I go to the polls this November, no matter what party afflation, I will “write in” rather than vote for an unopposed candidate.

It is time for the bright light of competitive Democracy to return to our community - Gregory H. Bontrager

If you should find yourself before a Reno county court, fasten your seat belt, you may be in for a bumpy ride.

You may find the Judge handling your case is not the impartial arbiter we have been led to believe they should be.

You may find that some of Reno counties finest use the bench to dispense justice according to personal prejudice, rather than the intent of the law.

The sad fact is some judges of the 27th district have held office so long they have acquired a sense of infallibility, power corrupts, and in my opinion, with the Reno county courts, this is true.

In my view, the 27th judicial district has an odd assortment of eccentric, retaliatory individuals who use their power as an extension of their personal beliefs and opinions and will retaliate against those who may defy their wisdom.

To some extent, these individuals have spent little time earning a living other than at taxpayer expense and may be incapable of doing otherwise. They have become creatures of a privileged bureaucracy.

If you find yourself before a Reno county court, retain an attorney from another area whose livelihood does not depend on going before these judges. This simple expensive act may turn a loss into a victory.

Always order a copy of the court transcript, you may be surprised by the inaccuracies, if not outright lies you discover.

Never go to court or into the Judge’s chambers without independent witnesses present. If you arrive at court and see the opposing attorney coming out of the judge's chamber, be afraid, be very afraid.

This means the opposing advocate has had first contact with our “impartial jurist”. Is this ethical?

Never let ethics stand in the way of our local judiciary.

With the Kansas Commission on Judicial Qualification acting as goalkeeper for the 27th Judicial district.

Reno County Judges stand safe from all but the most egregious ethical violations - Gregory H. Bontrager

How many citizens of Reno County have found themselves before our esteemed 27th judicial district? How many of you have had one of our 'guardians of justice' place bald-faced lies about your supposed courtroom conduct in public record.

How many of you have read sworn court transcripts listing you as present in court, when you were home in bed? I have. All of our jurists are of the highest character, or are they? I guess the question is have enough citizens of Reno County seen the dark side of our legal/judicial system as it works on an everyday basis? If you haven't, you may be in for a surprise.

Here is good news. We don't need a revolution or revolt to change this system. The founders of our nation have given us all the tools we need to effect change. Go to the polls and vote. With a little involvement we can make our community a better place to live - Gregory H. Bontrager

How long is this going to continue? The citizens of Hutchinson and Reno County keep electing the same judges, county attorney, sheriff and other public officials.

Isn't someone in this town tired of being led around year in and year out by these same people?

Why are we handing tenure to this same tired crew? They don't have to run for office anymore, the political elite puts the same names on the ballot, like sheep "we the people" vote them in, again and again year after year. These extended terms in office breed cronyism and arrogance.

These political "hangers-on" have grown too comfortable in their power. Or should I say the power that is rightfully ours.

I for one am tired of it! It's time to clean this "sludge" from the arteries of our community. Let's send this bunch back to the private sector and bring new fresh faces to our courts and local government.

We deserve so much better then we have! Times are changing and as a community we need to move in a new direction. Do we have the courage and will to do so? - Gregory H. Bontrager

The rot starts at the top. While rank and file Hutchinson Police Department officers fall left and right, has anyone stopped to think that maybe the problem starts a little higher up?

Any organization runs from the top down. If this is true, what does this say about the upper echelon of the police department? Maybe the wrong people are losing their jobs! This "we can do anything we want attitude" filters from the top down.

If ethics and honesty were a priority with the brass at the Hutchinson Police Department, maybe some of these problems could be avoided - Gregory H. Bontrager