I was born in 1939. Naturally, I do not recall any memories of WWII. I can remember, in my very young years however, questioning, wondering and unable to understand how the Germans and all others near the crematoriums and horrible death camps did not know - did not respond – while over 6 million humans were tortured, starved and killed. “They did not know” I was told. Even at 6 that did not make sense. “They were afraid” - Is that a good enough excuse to ignore such inhuman slaughter going on around you?

Then I learned the truth – they did not see because they did not wish to. But today at 78 I am confronted with the same problem. Over 6o million totally innocent, totally unable to defend themselves little babies in our country have been killed since Roe v Wade as they matured in their mother's womb. Do we convince ourselves they do not suffer? Dr. Bernard Nathanson performed over 6,000 abortions until he watched, in a simple test (sonogram) a child suffering as it was dismembered and sucked from it's mothers womb. The remainder of his life was spent trying to make us see. He made a video called THE SILENT SCREAM. We told ourselves for years that it is not a human – until it quickens -until it is born – and many more excuses.

There is truly no difference in a child in the womb and a 2, 4, 80 or any age human. It is only a matter of maturation. We know that now, but pretend we do not. Today excuses are not even necessary, for no one wants to tell the pro-abortion women of today that they are wrong – that they are screaming for the right to kill a defenseless child.

I remember once, as a child, singing solo to my church congregation at Easter. It haunts me: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord.” In my head it seems to crash into: “What so ever you do to the least of My brethern – you do to Me.”

This year, take the time to watch the March for life on TV (EWTN). More loving, more gentle, more God fearing people you will never see – in the cold – by the thousands – from all over the country and the globe.

Sincerely,

Annette Corrigan, Jackson Township

Caesar hesitated. Crossing the Rubicon River with a standing army was a violation of Roman law. If he forded the river "nothing would be left but to fight it out with arms." Then, giving a trumpet a loud blast Caesar ordered, "Advance! The die is now cast."

On December 22nd, the day the tax overhaul bill was passed, the die was cast. Trump, followed by the Republican Party, crossed the Rubicon. Now, "nothing is left but to fight it out with arms." There would be no turning back.

Not since the Civil War have the battle-lines been so sharply drawn. Free-market Republicans will square off against their ideological opposite, socialist Democrats. No quarter will be asked or given.

The Republican economic philosophy is based on laissez-faire, i.e., hands off. It is a policy opposed to government interference in business beyond that which is necessary. It implies that the party also believes that taxes should be limited to supporting the obligations of government listed in the Constitution.

Reverse that, and you have the Democrat philosophy. For them, higher taxes are necessary to support the bureaucracy created by a growing web of social programs. They are solidly against Trump's tax chop. Not a single Democrat voted for it.

Without any support from the opposing party, Trump passed the biggest tax cut since Pres. Reagan's in 1986. About $1.5 trillion will be left to those who earned it and presumably know how to spend it best.

The tax bill, they believe, will increase consumer spending, ramp up manufacturing, and eventually increase tax revenue to pay the debt incurred $1.5 trillion revenue shortfall.

The Republicans are betting the farm. If they win, Trump can keep his present mailing address. If they lose, the Democrats will move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Democratic campaign strategy is negative. It banks on a Republican failure. If the tax overhaul fails, they win.

Shrewdly, the Democrats don't campaign for what their party stands for---socialism. So we'll do what the leftists avoid doing, explain socialism.

Socialism: an economic and political theory that advocates government ownership, administration of production, and distribution of wealth.

Example. Bernie Sanders campaigned for "free" college tuition for some students. To a socialist, "free" means confiscating money from those who earned it and giving it to those who didn't, in this case, students. Make sense? It does to a socialist.

Put another way, one's wages belong to the government to dole out to you and others as they see fit. This casts workers as slaves of the paradisaical socialist state.

This philosophy has repeatedly proved to be a historical failure, witness: Soviet Russia, East Germany, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and now, North Korea. No bragging rights here. As one writer noted: "Socialism promised prosperity, equality, and security. It delivered poverty, misery, and tyranny."

Socialism in a nutshell.

Let's suppose that instead of students being graded on their performance---A, B, C, and D--- all grades would be averaged. Every student would now be given a grade of C+. However, if they knew in advance of the new grading system, there would be no incentive to work and study. The average grade would be a D; the entire class would fail. Hurrah! Quality at last!

Back to the Republicans' big gamble.

The smart money favors the odds-on favorite: Trump.

Here's why. Let's look at the short list of Trump's first year's accomplishments: Neil Gorsuch, not a conservative or a liberal but a constitutional originalist, on the High Bench; and a record number of like-minded appellate judges have been appointed.

It's sayonara to the Paris climate accord and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. NAFTA is being renegotiated on an America first basis, not on the dictates of the multi-national corporations. Employment is up; unemployment and food stamp applications are down; the stock market is breaking record after record, and the GDP has snapped out of its sluggish 2 percent growth to 3.2 percent.

And that glaringly unconstitutional tax penalty for not buying Obamacare has been eliminated, along with a library filled with stifling bureaucratic regulations.

If Trump's past successes shed any light on the future, then the tax cutback will be a resounding success.

America, I'd say we got ourselves a President.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins, New Milford, PA