As more challenges to our freedom and way of life in America seem to occur daily, I thought the Chinese spy balloon and all the recent sightings of UFOs seen was a good place to start this week. As Americans have turned their eyes to the skies, UFOs being reported seems to be a daily occurrence.
I like our President’s approach, let an unidentified weather balloon, which later became known as the Chinese spy balloon, survey our Nation and after they’ve had a really good look at everything, shoot it down. This followed by then declaring war on any unidentified flying object over our Nation and immediately giving the order to lock on and fire.

So far, our military has downed a Ball’s Mills Naval Academy weather balloon floating over Lake Huron, a power ranger balloon that got away from the Macy’s Day Parade, and an 11-year-old child’s remote-control spaceship which spun in circles and really did appear to be a UFO. Our Commander in Chief at work exercising his power to keep our sovereign air space safe.

Meanwhile back at the ranch millions of Americans have their eyes to the skies looking for extraterrestrials and answers about what’s really going on.

Transparency in government on full display, just like promised. This is where I must state government transparency and honesty is a bipartisan problem. Then you throw in the media, the internet, and social media and who knows what to believe.

Here are some common-sense facts I can share with everyone regarding our national airspace. There are more objects going across the sky than ever before. Most are natural occurrences that individuals take as unidentified flying somethings. Many are manmade, and the count is being added to on a daily basis. Some are identifiable, some are not. Some are used for spying, some are not.

The Chinese along with a list of other nations have been stealing American military and technology secrets for years. They have satellites that can see a flea on your dog’s butt while orbiting Earth. This is nothing new. Our Nation’s intelligence departments are spying on the same nations that are spying on us. The most important aspect of all this, is to hope and pray that our intelligence is better than theirs.
If you enjoy looking into the skies and trying to find stars, planets, or even UFOs, I encourage you to do so. If you happen to see Superman, please let me know. We could really use his help.

What an absolute terrible tragedy the train derailment was in Ohio. The environmental ecological and financial effects will be felt for decades. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected.

The stone-cold truth of the matter is you really don’t want to know what is going up-and-down our nation’s highways, railroads, ports of entry, or is being transported overhead. What happened in East Palestine, Ohio can happen anywhere. You hope and pray we have the best managed, safest transportation system and the best plan in place when an accident like this occurs.

Again, there is nothing any of us can really do about it, unless you work within the system. I hope that gives you a whole new respect and appreciation for the truck drivers that we all come in contact with each and every day and the emergency response personnel that deal with the aftermath of an accident. This again is where Americans want honesty and transparency. Especially if you’re in or near the accident site when a mishap occurs.

What did those worried about returning to their homes near the accident site in Ohio receive from the Norfolk Southern Railroad and US Environmental Protection Agency? The downplaying of the situation. This included the EPA administrator Michael Regan asking the people most affected to “trust the government.” This while there are more hazmat suits within the neighborhoods affected than in a Hollywood movie. How about this, take off the hazmat suits, swim in the creeks and have a glass of water and move your family to East Palestine, then I will consider trusting you.

Did I mention the controlled burn of the train cars containing the hazardous materials and contaminants being spewed into the atmosphere?

All the current events happening across our Nation got me thinking, what are Americans most concerned about? I wrote a similar article last February and thought it would be a great topic to revisit with all that has been witnessed in the last year. Here’s the catch, this year’s column will feature the thoughts of women from across the West Branch Valley. It will be a balance of views from Democrat and Republican ladies about what worries them the most. And now that I’ve laid the groundwork, I’ll have that column for you next week.

Oh, and by the way, as soon as I have evidence of actual intergalactic spacecraft or little green men living amongst us, I will let you know.

Let’s all be safe out there.

God Bless America.