My Aunt, Letitia Leonard "Tisha" Harz, passed away this week. She was about one month short of her 106th birthday. Tisha was a wonderful woman who I will always remember as cheerful, energetic, with a positive outlook on life.
Rest in peace, Tisha.

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Congratulations to Nick Johnson, Fillmore High School’s Student of the Year. Nick is a truly great young man, who also happens to be the Gazette’s cartoonist, and has been for the past four years. We are very proud of his accomplishments.

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[This editorial was edited on 3-20-14]

How Far We Have Fallen

On every front America and her culture is in a state of collapse. The evidence is obvious; we are in deep trouble and even the most invincible cheerleaders of the Leftist Obama administration will not escape the inevitable conflagration. Liberal Political Correctness is the immediate tool of destruction. It has undermined all of America’s traditional Judeo-Christian principles.

Our motto, “e pluribus unum” (from many, one) no longer holds true. Diversity, rather than unity is what the liberal mind seeks. “In God We Trust” is now the exception rather than the rule – and that fact sets us adrift from our first principles as set forth in our Constitution. How can we possibly seek help from a God whose laws we now revile?

As a political entity America has altogether abandoned traditional ethics and social mores. What has been declared anathema for 5,000 years is now embraced instead. Our new political authorities demand that we provide special respect for ideas and practices which directly attack Judeo-Christian sexual morals; these affronts are now mandated in our military and in all official public works. What is profoundly evil is now pronounced good, what is abnormal, normal.

This new ethic is now mandated in all government educational facilities (e.g. male use of female bathrooms) despite protests from Christian parents who must use these schools. Strong official punishments are applied to those refusing to comply.

Our armed forces have been forced to accommodate activities of gay-lesbian members. Promoting homosexual events in the military ("US military sees first ever DRAG SHOW for gay and lesbian troops" [link: http://theweek.com/article/index/257285/speedreads-gay-and-lesbian-troop... ) This activity, which is growing, contributes strongly to the destruction of troop cohesiveness, especially in combat units.

Government always rules from the top down. A military private soldier, sailor, Marine, Air Force member, etc. has no authority. A probable result of this policy effecting troops who hold traditional Judeo-Christian moral standards (90 percent) is that eventually a cabal of gay superiors forms which severely undermines unit cohesion – like the lesbian General and her live-in Colonel girlfriend Obama bragged about in a recent speech.

This unprecedented change was deliberately instigated by generals and other high command individuals, like former Chief of Staff, Admiral Mullen, Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretry Robert Gates, etc. These people have betrayed the trust of our troops. Troops holding traditional religious beliefs are forced to tollerate activity which they recognize as sinful. Mullen, et al, have forced the 90 percent to respect the moral abberations of the 5 percent. Why? And why so little resistance? Military authority alone.

Why should any of America’s enemies now have anything but contempt for our armed forces? You see this contempt world-wide today as our craven commander in chief bows, maybe courtsies, to our most deadly enemies. America has become a laughingstock in the face of Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, etc.

Obama pledged to change America fundamentally in his first campaign. He is succeeding, in ways that only a determined enemy of this nation could appreciate.

Christian men and women thinking of joining America's armed forces today, as redesigned by Barak Obama, should closely consider the environment they would be entering.